OVERVIEW

Activities in this unit of study are designed to introduce effective use of cameras and lighting within game design. The focus will be on effective placement of lights and cameras to engage the learner in the game environment and create the atmosphere for the overall game experience

TOPICS

• Cameras and Lights for Mood and Direction
• Light Types (e.g. Spot, Directional, Point, Area)
• Lighting Direction, Intensity, and Color • Viewpoint and Perspective (e.g. distance rendering , first person, third person, orthographic, perspective, oblique projection)
• Camera angles and Positioning (e.g. composition, environment creation, usability, immersion)

OBJECTIVES

1. Apply the Rule of Thirds
2. Demonstrate the importance of scene balancing
3. Explain how viewpoint impacts gameplay
4. Create atmosphere and enhance emotion through the principles of lighting
5. Position lighting and cameras in order to focus attention within a game
6. Create and place cameras within 2D and 3D game environments

COURSE OUTLINE

1. Fundamentals of Lighting

• Understand how real world, practical lighting works
• Basic color theory
• Types: Point, Area, Directional, Ambient, Spot
• Lighting models: ambient, diffuse, emissive, and specular
• Properties: color, shape/size, direction, intensity
• Three-point lighting: Key light (or Main), Fill light, and Rim light (or Backlight)

2. Fundamentals of Camera use in video game design

• Essentials of scene composition and the Rule of Thirds
• Types: fixed camera systems, tracking cameras, interactive camera systems
• Understanding the 3D camera view: position, aim direction, field of view
• Introduction to projection types: perspective, orthographic, and oblique

3. Viewpoint and perspective

• 2D - Top-down and side-scroller
• 3D – Fixed 3D, first person, and third person
• 2.5D, 3/4 perspective, and pseudo-3D
• Projection types

4. Bringing it all together: how cameras and lighting are used to engage and immerse the gamer.

• Mood Boards