Real Meaning of Visual Work in Video Games

Watching Peter Gornstein’s video, titled “Virtual Environments”, made me, a self-proclaimed gamer, question something: Why are the environments in today’s video games are so lively and detailed? Is it just to make the game look pretty? Although while playing the game you are mainly lost in the experience, when you think about it with a calm mind, the reasoning behind this effort makes sense:  It is to convey the story, the events and the emotions to the audience in a more engaging manner, just like the Renaissance artists did with their paintings.

gematsu.com

Let’s take a look at the game ‘Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood’, a game  taking place in the 16^th century Rome that features historical characters such as Machiavelli, Leonardo Da Vinci and finally the Borgias as the main villain. There are also citizens of Rome, who we never get to know by name, and don’t seem to make an impact on the core game, but why are they there? Well, while playing the game, you inadvertently begin to decide your actions according to theirs. Are they running around and screaming? Then you should know that something bloody has happened, and you might want to get out of there as soon as possible. Instead of telling you directly what has happened, the game shows you the reactions to that event. It sets a theme that you have to take into account and interpret if you strive to give a meaning to what is going on.  Although the reactions don’t directly affect you, they point you to a certain direction, a direction that you have to take if you aim to succeed in the game. Actions of the citizens tell us their emotions, these emotions reflect the incident that took place, and our necessary reaction to this incident cleverly writes the story that the game developers purposely created for us. As you can see, the gamer is helpless and aimless without the existence of such visuals. Although the game developers should be appreciated for such kind of work, are they the ones who developed this technique? Well, this technique can be found in every kind of art, including painting. If we closely analyze and examine, we can perceive that such subconscious guidance was used in Renaissance paintings frequently. Let’s take a look at the painting called ‘School of Athens’ by Raphael. Although the painting is huge and full of details, first thing we notice without thinking are the two guys walking under a dome. They’re surrounded by others who seem to attentively listen to them. From this instance, the audience directly gets the feeling that this is the part they have to focus while reviewing this painting just like a certain mission or an objective assigned to the gamer during the game. However, rest of the painting cannot be deemed unimportant, since it creates the composition that has to be used while interpreting the main focus of the painting, just like the citizens in the video game example sets the tone to focal incident of the game.

wikiart.com

Undeniably, visual details in video games enhance the overall gaming experience. However, they do not achieve this by flooding the screen with unnecessary and trivial visuals, but with visuals which narrate the emotions and the story to the audience nonverbally. They guide the gamer to the focal point of the game, and let the game unravel itself by letting the gamer engage with it in a personal level.

Source Video: Peter Gornstein | Virtual Environments | Building the Picture