Lighting and creativity in video games. A methodological approach towards the understanding of lighting in three-dimensional ludic environments

Abstract

Throughout visual culture’s history, both the symbolism and the evocative potential of light have been used in order to make the public be engaged by the atmospheres and to make the storytelling richer in media and arts such as cinema or advertising. Lighting has also been used to guide visual attention in a selective way. With the increasing importance of game studies, this role of lighting has started to be studied in the context of 3D interactive environments, where not only the narrative and evocative features are important, but also players’ navigation and the interaction.

The aim of this paper in to contribute to the understanding of lighting inside ludic 3D spaces, as well as to propose an analysis model to assess lighting design in these kind of interactive spaces as a tool to promote interaction and navigation.

Accordingly, a content analysis on a sample of 12 current video games has been carried out. These results have been contrasted and completed with interviews to experts and professionals of the game industry.

The paper is finished with a methodological proposal to address (both from an analytic and creative point of view) lighting in game spaces so that communication students and professionals get awareness of the expressive potential of this visual resource.