Uncharted 3 to push the envelope with fire effects

Uncharted 3: Drake's Deception is set to continue Naughty Dog's tradition of graphical achievement by featuring procedural fire effects which gradually eat away at flammable structures.

"Essentially, we're programming oxygen and then having the fire follow it around the environment," Naughty Dog's Arne Meyer told the EU PS Blog.

"It's not just a static asset – the fire deteriorates the wood realistically and there are blowback effects, like you would expect. ...You could sit down and watch the chateau burn around you, if you sit there long enough," he continued.

This allows for some pretty spectacular visuals, Meyer said..

"Procedural fire is a pretty difficult technical challenge, especially on top of everything else you're trying to get in the game, but it produces some brilliant effects, like the corners of the wallpaper starting to roll and then igniting, and then the embers flickering in the air."

As well as looking glorious, procedural fire allows for dynamic gameplay opportunities rather than set-pieces.

"You can see beams deteriorating as they burn, and you can even take cover behind them when they give way and fall to the floor," Meyer explained. "Only for that cover to disappear when the beam has burned away completely."

Thanks, Eurogamer.