Destiny 2: Forsaken - Toxic Water

I was asked to create a toxic sludge water shader for Destiny 2 Forsaken. To do this I needed to work closely with the designers as well as the concept and environment artists to create a look for the water which met the needs of both gameplay and visuals.

 
 Environment Art by Alex Stockwell
 
 Environment Art by Nate Sartain

Besides the shader requirements I needed to create a kit of additional visual elements for grounding this toxic water in the environment. This included an iridescent decal that could add that oily look to the surface in certain areas. Fizzing debris rising up from the ground below the water, causing bubbles and splashing with normal scaling water ripples on the surface, and ultimately steam rising up from the water. Lighting had to be applied from below the surface, and a volumetric fog was placed above the water's surface to provide density to the particle effects which would be too expensive in overdraw to achieve the same low laying density above the water.


The gameplay also needed to be affected by this toxic water, as the water was traversable and would have different affects on players, and vehicles. The player is damaged with a new damage type accompanied by screen space and third person effects when in the water, while the vehicles do not receive damage but do cause the water to be displaced by the vehicles motion.