Let's talk about light for a moment.
How to light your world.
How to light a video game.
Well, lighting is absolutely fundamental. It's key in any video game design you do.
Not just the video game world, but it can be also part of the gameplay.
It can be overlooked and it doesn't have to be technical.
It's only a thoughtful choice you will make as a designer.
It can be extremely simple.
It's just a matter of shadows and spotlights.
What is going to be in the light?
What is going to stay in the darkness?
It can be just one part of the gameplay.
Can be part of the actual video game itself.
You can be organic in the placement of lights.
You can paint the light, really.
Look at how lighting was rendered during the history of visual arts or
more efficiently maybe in theater.
How to render light on a stage.
Well, it's exactly the same thing.
We already talked about video game world and spaces in video games as a stage.
Well, you would render this world the same way you would in a theater maybe.
And all these terms that you will hear or you have already heard a lot,
ambient occlusion, global elimination, shaders, and
physically-based rendering textures.
Well, all of these are just sprinkles on the cake, don't fall for
the marketing technical jargon.
It is eye candy, but only if it's used in very specific and defined situations.
A world can look original and engaging with the most simple lighting system.
You don't need extremely complicated devices from a video game engine, you can
just use light in simple ways as a matter of guidance in puzzles and mechanisms.
Some video game genre like survival horror are relying
heavily on lighting, obviously.
Some of the games will use day and night cycles,
which brings a sense of timing and pacing in the world that you are walking in.