Since the beginnings of videogames, all characters have had or needed abilities, also called 'skills', which are basically special abilities that a character can use in the game. These skills can be combat moves, spells, tactics to hinder the opponent's action, and increase speed, among others helping the player to achieve their goals.

The final aspect and construction of these skills is crucial to define the strategy and individuality of each character, enriching the gameplay and being determinant for the success or failure of the player in various game situations.

We will explore in depth all the FX techniques and tools used for the creation of skills, from their initial conception to their transformation into complex and attractive in-game functionalities, significantly increasing the player's interaction.

All the techniques we will see are applicable to the game environment to create all the necessary effects, providing more realism and creating a deeper immersion in the user experience. These techniques are also used in cinema, since videogame engines and film production companies are becoming more and more united, and it is increasingly required that the final scene is as realistic as possible.

Visual effects are a very important part of CGI and the most complex processes at a computational level as they require high-level hardware that allows us to calculate millions of particles, physics simulation, destructions, volumes, liquids, crowds, etc. All these techniques are a way to "facilitate" the calculation to the computer or the device that is being used so that everything works smoothly within the real-time, something crucial in a game or in a real-time rendering.