Creating the Lighting for Resistance: Fall of Man
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Decisions, Decisions: The example of lightmaps vs. dynamic lighting is just one in a very long series of decisions that are made during the development of a game. If you read the online forums on just about any game, you'll see that you can never please everyone with any given decision. The "dark, gritty" look is one area that people disagree on quite a bit: some don't like it at all, while others do and think that it adds to the mood of the game.
Personally I think the look we gave Resistance fit well with the period and storyline. It's in the past, part of a very bleak alternative past, where fear, panic, and the uncomfortable unknown played a big part of what was going on.
On a more practical day-to-day note, it's a great contrast to our other games in the Ratchet and Clank series. R&C are about as lively and colorful as you can get, so it's great to be able to switch back and forth between the two extremely different styles.
Multiplayer level Nottingham. Designer: Mike Stout
Environment Artists: Zachary Adams, Chris Capili.
Again, this shows only the lightmaps with no textures on the objects.
Under the central hub.
Lighting only.
I like the shadows from the grating overhead here.
Lighting only.
Learning more about Light: So what can you do if you're interested in learning more about lighting, both in the real world and in Computer Graphics? A lot of 3D artists are comfortable with modeling objects, fine with texturing, no problem with animation, but then hit a brick wall when it comes to lighting. There are a few things you can do. One of the best is to take up photography as a hobby (if you haven't yet) and shoot everything and anything that strikes you as visually interesting. Concentrate on the lighting and what you do and don't like in your photos. Buy some cheap lights and light stands and light things in the real world to learn about why things light the way they do in reality before you try to light in 3D.
It's important to understand that you're duplicating what you understand on the computer: if you don't yet have a firm understanding of real-world lighting, it will be much more difficult to duplicate in CG. Pick some of your favorite photos with strong lighting, and then try to duplicate those scenes in 3D. Study the work of the classic painters, of other photographers, and you will begin to develop a better eye.
It's a life-long process. I'm still learning all the time.
