Publication: La iluminación como recurso expresivo para guiar las interacciones en los videojuegos tridimensionales
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2013
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2013-07-10
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Abstract
Los avances tecnológicos (especialmente las sofisticadas técnicas de animación y el renderizado a tiempo real, así como el desarrollo de la iluminación dinámica) han dado lugar a un gran realismo gráfico y a mayores oportunidades de interacción en los entornos tridimensionales de los videojuegos. Estas posibilidades han fomentado en los visitantes de dichos entornos la sensación de libre albedrío y de sentirse habitantes de los mismos. No obstante, los entornos de los videojuegos se crean a partir de recursos expresivos que tienden a mostrar al usuario los elementos con los que éste puede interaccionar y aquellos con los que no. En otras palabras, estos elementos son situados para guiar la experiencia interactiva de los usuarios del mundo del juego (y consecuentemente restringir sus posibles movimientos y comportamientos). Estudios previos han abordado el papel de la capa visual del videojuego a la hora de facilitar y promover el acceso interactivo a la actividad lúdica que en ellos tiene lugar. Además, una de las heurísticas de usabilidad en el videojuego señala la necesidad de que la representación audiovisual sirva de apoyo a la gameplay. De los diferentes elementos expresivos que constituyen la capa visual de los juegos, ¿qué nos dice la iluminación en los mundos interactivos lúdicos? Estudios previos han establecido conexiones y puntos de divergencia entre la iluminación en los videojuegos y la iluminación en medios de comunicación previos como el cine o la arquitectura. Al mismo tiempo, se ha demostrado que diferentes condiciones de iluminación ejercen una influencia en las emociones de los jugadores. El propósito de este trabajo de investigación es aportar una nueva contribución al entendimiento del lenguaje lumínico en los entornos tridimensionales de los videojuegos, así como proponer un modelo para evaluar y analizar el diseño de la iluminación como herramienta paraproporcionar ayudas a la interacción y la navegación. De acuerdo con ello, se ha desarrollado un análisis de contenido sobre videojuegos comerciales actuales, así como entrevistas a expertos y profesionales del sector. Tres corrientes de investigación proporcionan la base de este trabajo: el diseño de la interacción, la percepción visual y la iluminación en medios previos (especialmente cine y arquitectura). Se concluye esta investigación con una reflexión sobre la relevancia de la iluminación como una herramienta con la que diseñar experiencias de juego. Se observa que determinadas propiedades específicas de la luz, así como la procedencia de la fuente de la luz y la agencia del jugador (entendida en el contexto del uso que los jugadores hacen de algunas fuentes de luz de manera voluntaria) juegan un papel estratégico para guiar la experiencia interactiva del jugador.
Technological advances (such as sophisticated animation techniques, real time rendering and lighting) have given rise to a great graphic realism and wider interaction opportunities inside game worlds. These possibilities have been said to promote a feeling of being an inhabitant of this new world and a sense of agency. Nevertheless, game environments, specifically those pertaining to progression games, are built out of expressive resources which tend to show the visitant the elements she/he can interact with and the ones she/he can’t. In other words, these elements are placed to guide the interactive experience of the game world’s users (and consequently constraining their possible movements and behaviors). Previous studies have dealt with the role of the games’ visual layer in facilitating and promoting the interactive access to the ludic activity. Additionally, one of the game usability heuristics is claimed to be the audiovisual representation supporting the gameplay. This means using the visuals to deliver the player information and feedback in an engaging and easy to understand way. Out of the different expressive elements that constitute de visual layer of games, what lighting tells us inside interactive ludic worlds? Previous studies have established connections and divergence points between lighting in games, on the one hand, and lighting in previous media such as cinema and architecture, on the other. At the same time, different lighting conditions have been demonstrated to have an influence on players’ emotions. The aim of this study is to make a further contribution to the understanding of the lighting language inside game levels, as well as proposing a model for assessing the lighting design for delivering interaction and navigation cues. Accordingly, a content analysis is done on a sample of commercial three-dimensional current games. Interviews to game developers are also made. Three main streams of research provide the basis for this work: interaction design, visual perception and lighting in previous media (mainly cinema and architecture). Specific properties of light, as well as the provenance of the lighting source and the player’s agency (understood in the context of the use the players make of some light sources voluntarily) are found to play a strategic role to guide the players’ interactive experience. Now that academic attention toward game level design and online environments has grown up, and several studies about the interface providing interaction cues to promote usability have been carried out, we conclude this research with a reflection on the relevance of lighting as a useful design tool for achieving further gaming experiences, making specific kinds of behaviors more likely to occur and optimizing resources.
Technological advances (such as sophisticated animation techniques, real time rendering and lighting) have given rise to a great graphic realism and wider interaction opportunities inside game worlds. These possibilities have been said to promote a feeling of being an inhabitant of this new world and a sense of agency. Nevertheless, game environments, specifically those pertaining to progression games, are built out of expressive resources which tend to show the visitant the elements she/he can interact with and the ones she/he can’t. In other words, these elements are placed to guide the interactive experience of the game world’s users (and consequently constraining their possible movements and behaviors). Previous studies have dealt with the role of the games’ visual layer in facilitating and promoting the interactive access to the ludic activity. Additionally, one of the game usability heuristics is claimed to be the audiovisual representation supporting the gameplay. This means using the visuals to deliver the player information and feedback in an engaging and easy to understand way. Out of the different expressive elements that constitute de visual layer of games, what lighting tells us inside interactive ludic worlds? Previous studies have established connections and divergence points between lighting in games, on the one hand, and lighting in previous media such as cinema and architecture, on the other. At the same time, different lighting conditions have been demonstrated to have an influence on players’ emotions. The aim of this study is to make a further contribution to the understanding of the lighting language inside game levels, as well as proposing a model for assessing the lighting design for delivering interaction and navigation cues. Accordingly, a content analysis is done on a sample of commercial three-dimensional current games. Interviews to game developers are also made. Three main streams of research provide the basis for this work: interaction design, visual perception and lighting in previous media (mainly cinema and architecture). Specific properties of light, as well as the provenance of the lighting source and the player’s agency (understood in the context of the use the players make of some light sources voluntarily) are found to play a strategic role to guide the players’ interactive experience. Now that academic attention toward game level design and online environments has grown up, and several studies about the interface providing interaction cues to promote usability have been carried out, we conclude this research with a reflection on the relevance of lighting as a useful design tool for achieving further gaming experiences, making specific kinds of behaviors more likely to occur and optimizing resources.
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Videojuegos, Iluminación