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Lighting dissertation

Jenny
Jenny
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Jenny
Hi,
I'm currently in my final year of my university degree. The degree is a computer games modelling and animation BA (Hons) degree and I've been working on my dissertation for a while, I'm already finished with the literature review but I've got a major issue; I hate my topic. I'm doing it on using education theory to improve training material for lighting. I chose my topic because I wanted to do something on lighting and I still do, but I want to rethink the focus of it. I'd be really really grateful if someone could give me a few suggestions on interesting lighting topics I could focus on instead of training material. Something a bit more artistic if possible. I just need something to get me going again before I try to murder my dissertation...

Cheers for any help, I really need it :)
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  • Wesley
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    Wesley polycounter lvl 13
    My friend is doing a dissertation on how lighting affects player navigation through an environment. Kinda cool... also Portal 2 does that super-well.
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  • Jenny
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    Jenny
    Cheers, sounds interesting, I'll look into stuff like that and see if it gives me any ides, don't want to do the exact same thing I know someone else is doing but works as a starting point :)
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  • glynnsmith
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    glynnsmith polycounter lvl 17
    There's more of what Wesley suggested in the commentaries for Left 4 Dead, if it interests you. Well worth watching.
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  • Wesley
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    Wesley polycounter lvl 13
    Jenny wrote: »
    Cheers, sounds interesting, I'll look into stuff like that and see if it gives me any ides, don't want to do the exact same thing I know someone else is doing but works as a starting point :)

    Yeah you can go in a bunch of different directions with it. I think my friend's focuses on replication of real-world way-point lighting in games.

    But anything around how lighting affects player movement or actions is a pretty interesting topic. Navigation, choice, performance, etc. You could investigate it and then build a sample level and get people to play it and record what/how they do.

    One of my dissertation ideas I had originally was to look at how lighting can affect the player's perception of an environment. Friendly, dangerous, etc. Look at lighting techniques other mediums use. Then create an environment, light it in different ways and test what people think/feel when looking at it.
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  • doc rob
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    doc rob polycounter lvl 19
    James Gurney's book "Color and Light" might give you an idea. It's a painting book, but the topics/chapters have big crossover into how computers render light as well. Any one of the chapters could be a dissertation topic. Plus, it's an awesome book and you should just have it anyway.
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  • Jenny
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    Jenny
    Thanks, I'll have a look at the left 4 dead commentaries, and I think I've actually browsed through James Gurney's book. I know my university's library has it so I can just check it out again to see if I get any new ideas. Also, it's a very pretty book...

    I'm liking the idea of focusing on how lighting changes player perception, I was actually thinking of doing something on how it affects the mood which I suppose is pretty much what player perception would be. It would also mean that most of my research is still pretty spot on with just a bit of tweaking...

    I'm getting more and more pumped up now, doesn't feel as insanely dull or painful anymore
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