Source: Masataka Hakozaki (@m_hakozaki) - image used with permission

Japanese indie app developer’s lifelike AI-controlled CG goldfish have Twitter stunned

Masataka Hakozaki is a talented Japanese indie app developer who has already created several simulation apps which you can download for iOS and Android. As you can see from his Wa Kingyo (see the video here), an app simulating goldfish swimming with realistic water effects that he released in 2014, he has been fascinated by goldfish for many years now and is currently developing a more sophisticated goldfish app.

Recently, he has been focused on liquid environments and particularly, caustics, which is the envelope of light rays reflected or refracted by a curved surface or object, or the projection of that envelope of rays on another surface. His Water Caustic Effects for URP has been highly acclaimed and is now available at the Unity Asset Store.

Hakozaki continues to provide updates on his Twitter account and his YouTube Channel and the glimpse they provide into this upcoming app are truly astonishing for the level of realism he has achieved.

Take a look at his latest update:

"Goldfish AI. Contact with other goldfish."

Not only are the light and water effects amazing, but the goldfish are so lifelike, not only in their individual movements, from the way they move their bodies and their fins, but also in their behavior when they interact. Everything looks so natural it's truly astonishing to consider that they're artificially generated.

If it weren't for the graphics indicating various parameters around each goldfish, you probably wouldn't be able to distinguish them from reality!

This Tweet has nearly 61,000 likes and 17,000 retweets at the time of writing.

You can watch a more high-definition version here:

Here's another video showing the goldfish interacting with an object that touches it:

In this video, he simulated a goldfish trying to escape from a tight spot:

It goes without saying that many people are excited about his work and can't wait to see the completed app when it comes out. In the meantime, you can follow his work on his Twitter account and YouTube Channel, and find out about the apps he has released so far on his official website.

And if you're also working in graphics, his Water Caustics Effect for URP is now half off at the Unity Asset Store thanks to their year-end sale:

By - Ben K.

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