An investigation into perception-altering lighting concepts for supporting game designers in setting certain atmospheres within a videogame environment

Lighting in video games is used to set moods and atmosphere, or can serve as a gameplay tool. This paper examines the effects lighting concepts can have on a virtual game environment on the players’ navigation within the game. Previously known lighting concepts were tested in a virtual environment to determine if they have a similar effect on the perception of the presented virtual space as they do in real life, as well as the effect they have on the navigational behavior of players. In a game-experiment with 50 male participants we show that the previously known lighting concepts apply to the virtual environment in a similar manner as they do in real life, although the effects on the navigational behavior of the participants remain inconclusive.