Virtual worlds and renaissance paintings

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Peter Gornstein: Virtual Environments

Virtual worlds and renaissance paintings

Virtual worlds have no limits as well as the renaissance paintings do not. The builders of the video games feel themselves free to decide on borders of the landscape of a game. Similarly painters of renaissance were also feeling freedom of choice in the amount and depth of vision that was going to be transmitted over the painting to the viewer. This freedom is only limited with the imagination of the artist. Both the painters and producers of video games are somewhat creating a new atmosphere in their works. “Masters see their works admired and feel themselves to be almost like the Creator”, like the God (Alberti 61).

Producers of the video games and painters of the rebirth era use similar techniques when they are producing a new piece of work. These techniques include the use of depth, space and light. Another aspect these producers look alike is the way the objects are placed and structured in a visual cut. Both the platforms in the video games and the paintings subconsciously tell a story and give an emotion to the viewer. Small details that are provided give background information. These small details such as objects and figurative characters guide the audience on which perspective to look at. The background characters and the small objects gain the attention of the audience and help him/her to look in the way that the objects are directed to.

Nowadays there are many video games that hold the similar attributes of the paintings made in the renaissance era. These games are highly valued and hold a good market share. This is widely due to the success of the producers and the curiosity of people towards the life in past decades. God of War and Assassin's Creed are some of the examples to the games that have similar building designs with the ones that we are able to see in the renaissance paintings.

Resources:

[1] Alberti, Leon Battista. On Painting. Comp. Martin Kemp. Trans. Cecil Grayson. London: Penguin, 1991. Print.