Primary Research: Light in The Darkness

After studying Mirrors Edge previously, I evaluate it to represent my 'Positive' variant of subway station. This is because the concept of the game and it's environmental design is made to be bright, clean and positive. For my 'Negative' variant representation, I have chosen the game 'The Darkness' to analyze. After completing The Darkness many years ago, it is was an easy game for me to choose, especially knowing there are many scenes that include a subway station. The game itself is ironically very 'dark' in both visually but also as the written narrative. The character in which you play as hosts a type of demon that thrives within the dark environments of the game world. That can also be metaphorically speaking within the mental status of the character. Many events that happen with the story are quite devastating and emotionally intense, therefore strengthening the demon know as 'The Darkness' inside of the main character. It is interesting because although this demon is a physical entity, it almost acts as metaphor for the mental instability of the main character. He leads a past of regret and a future of loneliness, it's almost as if it's expressing his emotional battles with 'The Darkness' demon acting as a visual representation of that anguish. The game itself, I believe has an incredibly well written story and acts out more like a movie than a video game in certain cut scenes. You connect with characters more emotionally within this game because of the cleverly written narrative, thus making future decisions and experiences far more traumatic, which in total accentuates the mental metaphor of 'The Darkness'.

Already with the study of both the demon and the main character, I understand how light is being used in a more physical sense. Darkness is being represented as a physical entity, the demon in which strengthens your character. Making him able to combat his foes, but in return stealing his mental stability, as he becomes more dependent on the power of The Darkness. Especially during moments of turmoil, The Darkness acts as a mental representation of the character's weakness. As mentioned in previous studies, we associate light and dark to represent good and evil, so this is a perfect example of how Darkness is used to replicate Evil within the game. The game itself is visually very dark, especially in most of the environments you explore. I believe this is further representation of the theme of the game, highlighting the aspect that it is about evil, terror and sadness. Although this game isn't particularity 'scary' in a sense, it still utilizes the traditional aspects associated with Horror games.

I took some screenshots in the same way as I did previously for Mirrors Edge. Unfortunately the quality is also not as good due to taking the photos on my television. Also the contrast between the light and dark areas of the environment often interrupts the quality of the image. Here are the images:

In the image above you notice in comparison to Mirrors Edge, the subway environment is much, much darker and has next to no colour at all. The main tone represented in this scene is a grey, a wash out type of colour which flattens and dulls the scene. Grey is also a tone that represents depression and sadness, which is good to convey the theme of the game. There is actually very little use of lighting within this particular image. There seems to be one spotlight in between the two central pillars which is bright enough to illuminate the center of the platform. Towards the back of the image, there is a lit vending machine which has a quite intense light that highlights the exit to the stairwell, which is a small but noticeable way of adding depth to the platform. At the very far end of the image at the top of the stairwell we can see quite a bright light that further highlights the accessibility of the environment. Most of the lights within the scene are spotlights and area lights, which add direction to the illumination and also generate a 'bounced' light effect.

Here is a close up of the stairwell at the end of the previous image. The combination of highlighted posters and phone box add to the realism of the environment as it makes the scene more relatable and believable for the player.

I really like this image because we finally see how the lighting effects the environment. From the spotlights in the center of the platform, we can see how they have reflected and bounced off the different structures and textures in the scene. The different pipework on the ceiling, the pillars and tiles all carry the reflection in some manner, adding more depth length and depth to the tunnels.  The addition of the graffiti on the walls further adds realism to the environment, making it more of an urban and believable area.

Here is another image highlighting the center of the platform. Here we can see how the spotlights illuminate this area of the scene and make surround items more of a focal point. It is also nice to see the curvature of the ceiling with the way the light carries through the texture. This method of lighting adds a little more space to the scene.

Here is an image representing the barrier terminals of the underground station. There is not much here to explain as the same lighting methods are carried throughout all areas of the station thus far. We still have a similar tonal palette with little diversity in lighting techniques, However the theme and atmosphere of the game is conveying effectively through this method.

 Here are more items that signify the realism of the subway station.

This image is quite nice as it appears slightly lighter than most areas of the station. I think this is because, like Mirrors Edge, is used to pull the player into the environment, inviting them with point lights that highlight interests. As you can see the end of this tunnel is illuminated with a brighter intensity, thus making it more of a focus in exploration. The gritty texture is highlighted well in this area and conveys the urban environment in an effective way.



After looking at how The Darkness compares to Mirrors Edge, it is interesting to see how there isn't that much use of light at all. I see how the particular theme is conveyed effectively with little use of illumination technique. Shadow plays more of a vital role than lighting within The Darkness to further highlight not only the visual style of the game but the atmosphere of the story. I will take this into consideration when it comes to making my own 3D scene. I have been influenced by both variants of theme and there lighting methods have significantly made me think deeper about lighting my own environment. Taking into consideration the importance of both light and shadow equally, to portray my two variants of theme.


Bibliography:

The Darkness, Raven, Microsofts Xbox 360.