Cyberpunk 2077-Inspired Point Cloud Effects in TouchDesigner

Taking inspiration from sci-fi and cyberpunk classics of the past, Cyberpunk 2077 presents a visual aesthetic equally gritty, vintage, and futuristic.

The retro-futurist aesthetic is taken even further during certain scenes throughout the game where the main character interacts with a firewall called the Darkwall — the environment transforms into a pixellated, glitchy computer rendering of dot matrix buildings and characters. For those who are familiar with them already, it looks like a world made of point clouds!

In this tutorial, Jack DiLaura walks you through creating point cloud effects inspired by the aesthetics of Cyberpunk 2077. You’ll start the effect from scratch, generating your own point clouds in a roughly Darkwall-like grid, and then transition to working with the point cloud data as textures, exploring the kind of possibilities this approach enables.

Finally, you’ll finish up the effect with a variety of post effects that aim to recreate some of the game’s subtle aesthetic touches, like chromatic aberration and bloom.

Get project files here: https://interactiveimmersive.ac-page.com/cyberpunk2077-Inspired-Point-Cloud-Effects