Have you ever played a game where a character’s cape or dress just looked… wrong? Maybe it moved like a stiff piece of cardboard. Perhaps it clipped right through their legs in a distracting way. For a long time, that was just the reality of video games.
Clothes were often just painted-on textures, a static part of the character model. But a new game, Infinity Nikki, is changing all of that. It’s not just a fashion game; it’s a technological marvel. The developers have built a custom engine with one ambitious goal: to simulate the physics of almost every fabric imaginable. We’re talking about the heavy drape of velvet, the light flutter of chiffon, and the delicate stiffness of tulle. This incredible attention to detail is the very heart of the gameplay itself. Azurslot puts the same level of effort into their mechanics, rewards system, and user satisfaction, so try it if you prefer online gaming instead!
The Magic Behind the Threads
So, how do you teach a computer what silk feels like? It’s not like you can feed a piece of cloth into a disc drive. The team at Infold Games had to start from the ground up, creating a new engine they call the “World Material Engine.” Think of an engine as the foundation and rules of a world. Most use existing engines, like Unreal or Unity, which are powerful and versatile… But for a game entirely about the subtle differences in how cloth behaves, they needed something more specialised.
A World of Tiny Calculations
At its core, this engine is running thousands of tiny physics calculations every second. It’s not just asking, “Is this cloth moving?” It’s asking much more complex questions. How much does this specific fabric weigh? What is its elasticity? How does it react to wind? How does it interact with other pieces of clothing? How does it absorb or reflect light? For a simple cotton shirt, the calculations might be simpler. It’s sturdy. It has a predictable swing. But for a flowing ball gown made of layers of organza and satin, the engine has to manage a chaotic dance of different materials all on one character, each affecting the others.
From Code to Canvas
This goes far beyond simple animation, as it’s a true physical simulation. The developers likely studied real-world fabrics, analysing how their threads weave together, how much friction they have, and how they respond to force. They then translated that data into complex algorithms (fancy math formulas) that dictate the behaviour inside the virtual world. The result? When Nikki jumps, her heavy wool coat won’t float upward like a balloon. It will have a satisfying, weighty delay. When she spins in a tulle skirt, the layers will bounce and float with a life of their own, not just follow a pre-recorded spinning animation. The engine makes the clothes feel alive and real.
Fabric Physics
This is where it all comes together. You might think such detailed physics is just a fancy visual effect, a “nice-to-have” feature. For Infinity Nikki, it’s the opposite. The simulation is the gameplay. It is an open-world adventure where your outfit actually gives you special abilities, and the type of material you’re wearing directly impacts what you can do.
Imagine you come to a wide river. You can’t jump across it. What do you do? If you’re wearing an outfit made of light, airy materials like chiffon or silk, you might activate an ability that lets you glide gently on the wind, floating safely to the other side. The engine knows your clothes are light, so it enables that power. Now, imagine you need to climb a steep, icy cliff. A flowing dress would be useless. But if you’ve equipped a sturdy, grippy outfit made of materials like leather or thick rubber, you might be able to scale the wall. The game’s physics system recognises the properties of your gear and grants you the appropriate skill.