Lighting Notes

Stranded Factory Lighting Notes

In Stranded Factory lighting was used to illuminate the environment, make the space appealing and enhance the level mood.

Helping Level Mood

In the service hallway I wanted to invoke the feelings of abandonment and isolationism in the player. The hanging lamps along the hallway's ceiling were purposely placed apart from each other to perpetuate a feeling of isolationism.

Each hanging lamp is far enough from the others to create a circular pool of light surrounded by dark shadows. I used a yellow spotlight as the light cone of the lamp mesh and a yellow point light was placed under each lamp to represent radiant bounce light around the hallway. Together with the various crates, barrels and trash props, the lighting made the hallway feel like an abandoned and isolated area. (See details on Visual Notes)

The service hallway introduces players to Stranded Factory

The two major light sources for Stranded Factory came from the windows on the south wall and the florescent lights on the ceiling. For the windows my goal was to make it appear as if the sun was shining directly into them creating a bright illumination effect.

Wide cone angle spotlights were placed at the windows to represent sunlight seeping into the factory. Low radius point lights were placed close to the windows to brighten the window mesh and its surrounding area. Several other point lights with a mix of faded yellow and grey color were placed around the factory to represent sunlight spreading across the level. The point light's location in the level determined how much grey color was added to and how much yellow color was faded from the light.

Lighting was used to advance the level theme and mood

This technique of light drop-off made Stranded Factory's lighting appear more realistic and made the level feel a bit larger. Having areas where only some light reached it created the impression of light traveling across long distances through the factory.

The cyan colored florescent light props were used as an interior secondary light source for the factory. Adding cyan colored lights gave the level another color variety besides white or yellow, which was already extensively used.

Cyan lights added a new color to the environment

Appealing Environment

Placing lights not only illuminated the environment, but also determined where shadows would be located. Shadows, such as the ones created by objects, added just as much visual interest as the lighting setup in the level.
(See details on Visual Notes)

Lighting also makes the environment aesthetically pleasing

The objects that I desperately wanted to get shadows from was the second story slatted catwalks. Shadows from these objects created nice strips of yellow and cyan across the walls, floor and other objects adding more visual appeal to the environment.