u/Broken_Anthology

Greetings, everyone!

Sharing a technique my colleagues (rainlike, gurovsgames001) developed for their Unreal Engine 5 project MATCHLIGHT. They're going for authentic PSX-style visuals, but with a key constraint: no "pasted-on" post-process filter. The retro look is built into the render pipeline itself.

The main goal is to make the scene read correctly before the shader is applied. The level should still work with PSX-era constraints: big silhouettes, clear color blocks, intentional lighting. The shader enhances the vibe, but doesn't carry the design.

Here's the technical breakdown:

1. Pixelization via 4x Bayer matrix
- We sample the original scene color and use it as the basis for thresholding + blending against a 4x Bayer pattern.
- The result isn't just a lower-res frame: color, brightness, and the matrix pattern interact to form chunky, readable color blocks that behave like 3D pixel art.
- This happens during color sampling, not as a full-screen post-process.

2. Integrated dithering pass
- A second dithering pass adds the classic retro screen pattern.
- Critical detail: it lands *inside* the pixels created by the Bayer step, not on top as a separate overlay. This keeps the pattern coherent with the underlying grid instead of looking like random noise.

3. Object-aware jitter
- Global jitter pass for the classic PSX "unstable frame" feel.
- Separate, tuned jitter for small objects to prevent flicker/artifacts on props, distant silhouettes, and fine details.
- This lets us keep the low-poly shake without sacrificing readability.

4. Materials & textures
- Filtering disabled, native texture resolution reduced intentionally.
- Without filtering, edges stay harsh, pixels read "honestly", and the scene avoids modern smoothing that breaks the illusion.

The hardest part of this style isn't just the shader. It's resisting the temptation to fix the image later. If you design the scene assuming PS1 limitations from the start (less micro-noise, stronger composition, deliberate color blocking), the technical pass pushes it over the edge instead of doing all the heavy lifting.

Has anyone worked with similar Bayer-based approaches in UE5? Do you think this pipeline is sustainable for larger scenes, or would you optimize it differently?

Appreciate any thoughts or feedback!

Hey, everyone! I want to share with you the PSX style our colleagues are currently working on for their game MATCHLIGHT. The tech art way they apply is really interesting because it is not about processing the final render image, it is about the creating image in rendering with Bayer matrix applying.

The team behind this beauty:

• Tech Art: rainlike
• Level Art: rainlike, gurovsgames001

What do you think? Does it feel like the real PSX language?

My team did an amazing job on these PSX-style assets for one of the levels from our game. I’m proud of their results for the last months and really wanted to showcase their work to the community.

Software and Tech Stack:

• Modeling: Autodesk 3ds Max & Blender
• Texturing: Adobe Substance Painter
• Engine & Rendering: Unity (Built-In Pipeline + PSX Shader Kit by Valerie Moza)

My team who was working on this level and assets:

• 3D Environment Models & Textures: meatmaker
• 3D Rabbit Model & Textures: Kawella
• Tech Art / Unity Render Setup: TownSparrow

We would highly appreciate your feedback, especially about geometry and PSX-style texturing quality!

In this level segment, you have to escape the technical floor and get back to the warehouse where you could continue doing your typical elf’s job. But it's not going to be that easy: you need to find a screwdriver to open the vent crawlspace, all while being hunted by an evil rabbit toy. You'll have to use your speed, awareness, and the geometry of the corridors to outsmart and confuse your pursuer.

My team was working on this level environment for the last month. We were trying to combine PSX style, darkness and horror vibes (especially taking visual references from old games like Silent Hill). In my opinion, the team achieved really good results but it’s only a little step of our big development process. The next step is to finish all our other environments and reach the final art vision of our project. But I am personally really proud to show you our current work.

The team behind this level environment:

• 3D Environment Assets: meatmaker
• Tech Art and Level Art: TownSparrow
• 3D Model of Rabbit: Kawella

Hi everyone! My team and I wanted to share our attempt at replicating the classic PSX style in our game. For the past few months, we've been working on a technical floor level where the player has to escape a deadly rabbit toy. Our art style was heavily inspired by the old-school Silent Hill vibe, especially its rusty, industrial, and dirty environments. By combining the PSX aesthetic with a dark atmosphere, we aimed to create a truly tense and creepy horror experience during the chase. In the screenshots, you can see the final in-game look alongside our technical setup.

The team behind this environment:

• 3D Environment Assets: meatmaker
• Tech Art & Level Art: TownSparrow
• 3D Rabbit Model: Kawella

Models were created in 3ds Max and Blender, then textured in Substance Painter. The final look was achieved in Unity using the Valerie Moza PSX Shader for the Built-In Pipeline. I’m personally really proud of what the team achieved and wanted to share it with you all! What do you think? What elements do you think we could improve to nail that PSX horror vibe even better?

Hi! I wanted to share the character design of a horror mascot created by my artist, TownSparrow, for our game project.

The goal of this design was to create a memorable, dark, and scary character that combines Christmas elements (an elf's uniform, a reindeer party mask, a bell rope) with body horror anatomy (disproportionate puppet body parts, torn lips, rotten teeth).

This character was once an elf who loved working in Santa's warehouse, but he became the victim of Krampus' curse. The curse transformed him into a decayed, fully controlled toy forced to spread evil across the workshop.

The artwork was created in Adobe Photoshop. I really love how the visual storytelling turned out, so I wanted to showcase TownSparrow's work to the community!

Check out this concept art by TownSparrow, who tried his hand at concept art for the first time for our game!

We wanted to create a horror game mascot character named Krampil. He is an elf who was cursed by Krampus and trapped inside a distorted puppet body.

Key design highlights:

• The toy is heavily damaged. Some body parts are torn off and replaced with oversized pieces from other toys. This creates an imperfect silhouette, showing how the poor elf was rebuilt from mismatched parts.
• Torn lips revealing rotten teeth, heavily inspired by the Resident Evil games (and general teeth-phobia vibes for artist).
• Christmas horror setting details. We added a bell rope holding the coat and a deer party mask. The previous masquerade-style mask design was scrapped because it didn't match the game’s gritty aesthetic.
• A specific color palette chosen to blend the Christmas spirit with a dark, horror atmosphere.

The art was created in Adobe Photoshop. This was a great creative challenge for the artist, especially as a first attempt. It was a lot of fun to design a key character who represents the main vibe of our project.

Please share your feedback on the work in the comments! TownSparrow would highly appreciate your advice to help improve his skills and learn for future art pieces.

PSX aesthetics, a sense of anxiety, and the futility of existence. If these vibes resonate with you, add it to your wishlist - https://store.steampowered.com/app/4181790/Broken_Horror_Anthology/. 

Enjoy watching. I'm sending you a tight hug.