Game Design Tips from the Louvre
During vacation recently in Paris, I visited the Louvre again, but this time with the eye as a grad student game designer. As I wandered through the wings of massive, 500-year-old master paintings from France and Italy, I studied them as the possible launch page to a game with a rich, detailed backstory. I was struck with the deliberate design and placement of every key element of these paintings which helped explain their stories.
Just as a game design must strategically design game environments for ease of player immersion and advancement, including strategically placed interactive items, these master painters displayed excellent examples of placement and design of key elements to their stories. In the painting below, the eye is drawn first to the globe that is being handed from the man to the woman. Clearly, this would be the first interactive element to click on in a game. But the following items also appear as key elements in the painting, and potential interactive elements: the dog (jumping up, engaged); the guns (strategically placed in the foreground); the ram head above the arch (overseeing all, and a guardian to the environment beyond the arch; the boy (the center of attention by his bright red clothing, his placement in center of the painting); the flag (tallest item, bright green color, symbolic). These items are all placed, designed, lighted and colored to maximize their significance to the painting, and as such, could serve as well placed and designed elements to a digital game.
Similarly, when I observed the design of ancient busts, it's apparent the sculptors use shape, detail and light to call attention to their subject. In the bust below, the density, shape and quantity of curls of the hair symbolizes the social stature and importance of the subject. Also the detail in the hair, with defined lines, draws the eye to this, and then the face. There was similar defined detail in the medal on the man's chest. Likewise, game designers can help players identify interactive icons or find hidden tools or items in a game by designing them in contrast with their surrounding, adding more detail to the item's design, or differentiating it in shape and lighting from its environment.
Perspective is critical in game design to both adequately design an expansive,interesting environment that is interesting and engaging to players, but which also visually guides the player into and through the virtual world. As I moved into the Sculpture Halls of the Louvre, the elements of spectacular game design of a massive environment were on display. The halls were designed on different levels, to give the viewer different perspectives of the sculptures, just as a player can often choose different views of their game environment. There were different stairs, and halls leading to different areas, and were designed to be easily identified, yet not intrude on the overall sculpture hall environment. Importantly, the placement of the sculptures, and the trees, were placed so that the eye is drawn through the environment among the elements. Attention by game designers to perspective helps the player easily and quickly navigate a virtual environment, which will enhance immersion and task achievement, thereby increasing enjoyment. The masters in the Louvre understood the same key elements of design that game designers use today to create successful, engaging games. Game designers can benefit by looking at works from these great artists with an eye toward game design to appreciate the timelessness of essential art and design elements, and gain inspiration for future work.
Just as a game design must strategically design game environments for ease of player immersion and advancement, including strategically placed interactive items, these master painters displayed excellent examples of placement and design of key elements to their stories. In the painting below, the eye is drawn first to the globe that is being handed from the man to the woman. Clearly, this would be the first interactive element to click on in a game. But the following items also appear as key elements in the painting, and potential interactive elements: the dog (jumping up, engaged); the guns (strategically placed in the foreground); the ram head above the arch (overseeing all, and a guardian to the environment beyond the arch; the boy (the center of attention by his bright red clothing, his placement in center of the painting); the flag (tallest item, bright green color, symbolic). These items are all placed, designed, lighted and colored to maximize their significance to the painting, and as such, could serve as well placed and designed elements to a digital game.
Similarly, when I observed the design of ancient busts, it's apparent the sculptors use shape, detail and light to call attention to their subject. In the bust below, the density, shape and quantity of curls of the hair symbolizes the social stature and importance of the subject. Also the detail in the hair, with defined lines, draws the eye to this, and then the face. There was similar defined detail in the medal on the man's chest. Likewise, game designers can help players identify interactive icons or find hidden tools or items in a game by designing them in contrast with their surrounding, adding more detail to the item's design, or differentiating it in shape and lighting from its environment.
Perspective is critical in game design to both adequately design an expansive,interesting environment that is interesting and engaging to players, but which also visually guides the player into and through the virtual world. As I moved into the Sculpture Halls of the Louvre, the elements of spectacular game design of a massive environment were on display. The halls were designed on different levels, to give the viewer different perspectives of the sculptures, just as a player can often choose different views of their game environment. There were different stairs, and halls leading to different areas, and were designed to be easily identified, yet not intrude on the overall sculpture hall environment. Importantly, the placement of the sculptures, and the trees, were placed so that the eye is drawn through the environment among the elements. Attention by game designers to perspective helps the player easily and quickly navigate a virtual environment, which will enhance immersion and task achievement, thereby increasing enjoyment. The masters in the Louvre understood the same key elements of design that game designers use today to create successful, engaging games. Game designers can benefit by looking at works from these great artists with an eye toward game design to appreciate the timelessness of essential art and design elements, and gain inspiration for future work.
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