GI

Without GI our games would feel very flat and look unnatural. Calculating bounce rays from their source to every object accounts for a lot of what we see in nature with real light. By contrast if we had to do it all by hand, it would take much longer and so many unaccounted nuances are lost. We avoid losing range and colors in unexpected areas. DP’s in film have natural light to work with so they concentrate on style, mood, and direction; likewise GI helps us with a natural starting point that allows us to focus on art. Even if it’s not perfect, an approximation gives us an ideal starting point that otherwise takes much longer to achieve without. Sometimes beautiful caustic effects can happen by surprise, but the reverse is true, we’ll get artifacts that exaggerate what we’re going for and may require black bounce cards (blockers) or bounce reduction to make it appear natural.

How do you make light work with gameplay?

We look at intended paths, where to guide or distract players and iterate on anything that may discourage or encourage advancement. Also assisting combat, making sure enemies and cover in an area remain distinct. Sometimes a light can entice players to pay attention to an object, location, or help with puzzle. Some of the most involved is with light-based puzzles. We’ll work closely with designers to get runtime lights working well with mechanics.