Toxologic - Rain Effects

One of the things i was happy to have been able to do for Toxologic was the rain effects during the final Minotaur sequence. Here is a video of it. Be sure to view full screen in HD for every last drip!

The system is actually composed of 3 parts: A rain cone that surrounds the player, the drops on the ground, and a few rain sheets for where the player enters and exits the rain. There were several reasons i took this approach, the biggest one being efficiency. Since the rain had to cover the entire level, individual particles were impossible. Instead, i created a simple cone which i parented to the camera, and added a transparent shader to it. I also used invisible planes attached to a mesh particle emitter to spawn particles along the ground for raindrop splashes. 

All in all, i really like this little hack, and think it adds a lot to the dramatic tension of the final encounter :D