Remember,
This is a Theatre!
On
several occasions I have had a chance to walk through the "Pirates
of the Caribbean" attraction in Disneyland, CA. During my first
visit, I took a breather in the "Auction Scene." As I leaned
back against one of the Caribbean stucco buildings I was shocked to
discover they were entirely made of painted stretched canvas! All through
my childhood I had just assumed that the buildings were solid, and even
today it is hard to remember they are only clever theatrical magic.
It is important to remember that the virtual world is no different than
a theatre stage or a film set. Although we don't use canvas and paint,
we can learn much from the tried and true tricks handed down to us by
2000 years of theatre. Texture maps are our canvas sets and how we choose
to use them will make or destroy the story we are trying to convey.
Texture maps are not wallpaper, but our tool to trick the eye. Even
though dynamic lighting is one of the many luxuries of the new 3D technology,
don't let lighting dictate how an environment appears to your audience.
If your texture has architectural details that are carving into, or
stick out of the two dimensional surface, it pays to paint in the necessary
shadows to help heighten the illusion of depth an drama. The more you
can achieve in your texture maps the fewer polygons you will waste on
frivolous details.
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The
buildings in the "Pirates of the Caribbean" attraction
at Disneyland, despite appearing solid are entirely made of painted
stretched canvas and example of clever theatrical magic
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The
design mantra "Less Is More" applies. Refrain from cluttering
your spaces with complicated, busy, or loudly patterned textures. Visual
complexity is a luxury that should be used lightly. Pick and choose
where you place your accenting textures, and down play simpler patterns.
Use your details as architectural arrows that help lead your audience
from one space to another. One trick is to save your most decorative
elements for areas you wish to draw your audience to. Rather than cluttering
an unimportant corridor with gorgeous ornamentation, simply save one
detailed element for the end of the hallway and let it draw your audience,
like a dangling carrot, into the next space.
Another
pitfall to be weary of is the overly illuminated environment. After
a map builder has painstakingly finished a level, it is understandable
that he/she should want to show off every nook and cranny. Unfortunately,
too many lights flooding an environment washes out and flattens the
illusion of depth. Just like a flash photo removes all sense of mood
or drama, so does a map that's lighted like a Walmart. Don't be afraid
to loose large areas of your map in shadow. Of course it is important
that you do not hide vital game elements in the gloom, but use your
lights to draw attention to only those things that are most important
to your story!
It
is easy to see that lighting can create marvelous dramatic effects,
but the same can be true of the placement of props and objects. A large
room with a single shaft of light illuminating a solitary prop is more
effective than a room filled with detailed elements. If you have an
important "cause and effect" prop you wish to highlight, compose
all other textures and props in the space as merely supporting players
to the important Story element. Be careful not to confuse the game player
with too many choices at any given time. Though it is you who has orchestrated
the environment, when it is done right, the game player has the illusion
that they are in complete control of their character's destiny.
Using
Contrasting Elements to Your Advantage
If
you have ever visited a medieval cathedral or even a large old church,
there is a reason the vast interior is so awe inspiring. What you may
not realize when you enter, is that the architects of these places have
forced you to enter the church through a small confined space, before
revealing the monumental interior of the main church. This in done quite
on purpose, and it is the contrasting effect of having been confined
in a small space that makes the adjacent room all the more dramatic.
Contrast
is another tool in the environmental designer's bag of tricks. Whenever
possible, create variety in your spaces. Force your audience to wander
through a cool lighted space before dropping them into a hot one. Give
them the experience of disorder before you deliver them into a place
of order. And above all, give them asymmetry whenever possible. The
world we live in is far from geometrically perfect, and spaces where
every chair, desk, and potted plant is lined up in a grid only helps
emphasize how fake your world really is! This is the same with your
architectural interiors. Many architectural monuments can be perfectly
symmetrical, but in our lives little else is. If you must create a long
expanse of repeating pillars, or some such element, make one unique
among the rest. Nudge it out slightly, or knock the thing right over,
it will only add life to an otherwise mathematically perfect, but boring,
environment.
The
Paradox of Designing Environments for "Gamers"
One
challenge to designing successful environments in the computer is working
in and around the expectations of your main client.... mainly "gamers."
I had an experience of art directing an Indiana Jones type game for
a gaming company. After painstaking work on making the environments
as realistic as possible, I walked into the lead programmers office
to witness my carefully rendered torch flames flickering at an unrealistic
lightening pace. When I complained, the Programmer proudly argued that
he had done it for "the gamers." To be specific, he wished
to show off the remarkable frame rate of the game, and felt that "gamers"
would appreciate the visual effect of a high frame rate over the realism
of my environments.
Needless
to say, there is a fine line between fulfilling the desires of creating
a beautiful game, and creating a game that people will want to play.
No matter how stunning your environments might be, if it's no fun, no
one will buy it! The same is true of the layout of a particular space.
Designing environments that optimize the enjoyment of firing rockets,
may not be one that tells a slowly evolving story. This does not mean
that we should be left with spaces that are no more than strategically
placed platforms, no matter how ornate the decor. It is within these
challenges that a team can lean back on a strong Story. If you are creating
arenas for gladiators to blast each other to bits, play up the gladiator
arena aspect of the game rather than guild it in unrelated ornate textures.
Above all, make the game playable, but use your knowledge and Story
to support the enjoyment of your game rather than confusing it.
I
have also had the experience of working with team leaders who can only
articulate their desires as "Make it more 'edgy' or "It's
not awesome yet, I will tell you when it is." Sadly, I do not have
foolproof advice to combat such statements, it's a part of this industry.
I do however know that if you can establish a strong story, one that
your whole team can agree on, arguments are usually relegated to small
details rather than gutting and overhauling the look of the game 3 months
before it ships!
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Advantages
of Computer Environments Over Theme Parks
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