Ultimate Game Design : Building game worlds

C H A P T E R 3
L IGHTING
There are several lighting parameters we can normally adjust to light an interior or
exterior environment. How we accomplish our lighting goals exactly is dependent on
many factors, such as our game engine software tool specifics or the tool system we
have built into a common 3-D package. We’ll talk about several kinds of lighting
control in this section. First, let’s take a moment to look at the high-level concerns for
designers starting to light a game scene:
� Source number This is always confined by performance issues, so it’s best
to start with what you believe will be the minimum number of lights
required to accomplish your lighting objectives.
� Type of light Your choice will depend on the scene details and your plans
for handling those details.
� Intensity This is frequently adjusted, but you should light for your game
scene environmental details (for example, external sunshine, early dusk,
internal office fluorescent lamps, and so forth).
� Falloff (dissipation) Relates to tuning and dialing in your lighting, so at
this early stage, you will want to consider where falloff might be applied
across your level to benefit your lighting goals.
� Color Comes from color concept drawings, if you have them. If not, you’ll
set up a starting point for the color palette of your lights and adjust these
as required.
We should also consider some of the more particular aspects for lighting our world:
� Location-to-location lighting details Inevitably, sections of your map will
be lit differently. Considering the lighting for your map on a location-tolocation
basis makes you aware of how lighting requirements will change
from section to section. Don’t change the lights just to change the lights.
Change the lights to change the mood.
� Emphasis points These are props, clues, or visual payoff points for your
lighting that you want to highlight and accent for the player. Don’t miss this!
� Special-case light animations Consider whether you want to do any specialcase
light animation. For example, will there be rotating siren lights? Lightning
strikes? Searchlight sweeps? These fall under special-case light animations
for the sections of a map that call for these effects.
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Lighting, Texturing, Particles, Effects, and Audio