Light + Art

Left 4 Dead Game Uses Lighting to Instill Fear and Horror

Hat tip to Jim on Light for this one, courtesy of one of his readers … As a fan of zombie movies, I’ve played this game and I have to tell you the lighting effects do an amazing job at bringing you into its tense, movielike atmosphere. It is one scary ride and lots of fun.

Here’s a passage from the game creators’ blog that talks about some of the lighting technique used:

From watching many playtests, we found players instinctively moved towards well-lit areas. Simplifying the lighting helped the gameplay (the player is drawn to the warm glow down the street, and not distracted by unnecessary light sources); the fiction (this entire city block’s been abandoned—something’s not right here); and the aesthetics (by simplifying the visual information, we’ve given a focal point for the eye to follow).

Read the entire article, which discusses the game’s lighting techniques in detail, here.

02 03 08
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Craig DiLouie

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