Artificial intelligence improves the graphics quality of old video games and does it really well.

Artificial intelligence technologies are gradually developing, helping to solve problems and problems in various fields - from business to medicine and entertainment. Recently it became known about another problem that AI solves very well. We are talking about gaming modes - as it turned out, machine learning is an excellent tool for improving the graphics of classic computer games.

The technology in question is called “AI upscaling”. Everything is simple, like a clock: the algorithm is “fed” an image from a low-resolution game, and a little later the AI ​​issues an improved version of this instance. Of course, at the beginning of the work it is necessary to train the neural network, otherwise there will be no improvement. But after learning, the AI ​​shows very interesting work results.

Example - graphics from The Elder Scrolls III: Morrowind. A fan of this game processed all graphic files using an algorithm and turned out, if not ideally, then close to that.
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Usually, improving the quality of textures from any game requires the work of a whole team of enthusiasts who spend days, weeks and months of personal time on achieving the desired result. These are hundreds and hundreds of hours of the whole team, and it is far from always possible to complete the project.

With the help of AI, the graphics cannot be improved in a couple of minutes, but still the work is done much faster - in weeks, not months or even years. And the work can be performed by a single person. It may well be that soon we will see a large number of "turned" old games that will look new.

Such well-known titles as Doom, Half-Life 2, Metroid Prime 2, Final Fantasy VII, and Grand Theft Auto: Vice City have already been improved. Recently, even Mass Effect 2 has improved, getting a very good result .

According to one of the “optimizers”, it took him about 200 hours of work to set up the algorithm and get the desired result. But only one person could update Doom.

Optimizers are working with games, where textures are stored in special files. These are images of stones, metal, grass, weapons and everything else that is in the game. At launch, all these images are “stretched” onto level maps and we see what we see.

According to those who have already engaged in improving graphics, after working with AI, there are graphic artifacts that have to be removed manually. It takes time. By the way, about the same happens in all other cases when using artificial intelligence - its presence in the project does not mean the absence of a person. "Manual" work is still needed.

Here is one of the services that are actively used by modders and optimizers .

The service has two functional parts. The first translates the image (or rather, tries to translate) from low-res to high-res. Well, the second part deals with a comparison of what happened with the accumulated experience after training. If the second part assesses the picture as “successful”, it is taken as a result.



At the same time, over time, the AI ​​improves its working methods and complicates the algorithms. This is not just “stretching” images, which a graphics editor can do, but a real multi-step transformation.


Gamers who play optimized games (and remember the original versions) say that the impression of passing remains the same, the emotions are the same. But it is also added with admiration for the quality of the “new” picture. Previously, gamers saw a better picture due to the fact that the graphics were displayed on the kinescopes of the old versions, so that many graphic artifacts were simply invisible. But now, when you start an old game on a modern monitor, all the flaws are clearly visible, which in some cases reduces the pleasure of passing.


It has already been said that we will soon see old games in new packaging - and this is true. More and more services appear that allow optimizing graphics and modders of all stripes are working on various projects. It remains to wait a bit and we will be able to enjoy new impressions of the game in well-known titles.