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#Post#: 24--------------------------------------------------
Establishing the Scene
DIR By: Pam
Date: May 21, 2021, 6:09 am
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An important element of the graphic adventure game is to make
sure that scenery is practical and playable. It has to serve a
purpose: it's the backdrop on which the action happens, it's the
board on which the pieces are placed by the designer, and this
means that things have to be clear, visible and laid out neatly.
A lot of the time this can limit an artist in what angles they
can use, what framing they can use, and what distance they can
use, because there's a fairly specific range of each in which
adventure games especially 2D ones can work. One way to add
variety, however, is the use of establishing shots to break up
the scenery, and to show off parts of the world we couldn't
normally see.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=1.png
One example is this scene from the very beginning of
Technobabylon. Here we're establishing an era, a level of
technology, and an idea of purity/oneness of the figure. A lack
of scenery cements the idea that we're viewing cyberspace, in a
more pure form than the simulated environment that follows,
and the focus is centred entirely on the character, who's
delivering a monologue. This is a very simple composition that
uses well-known symbols to deliver the idea of cyberspace to the
players, and establish the tone of the game.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=2.png
Another example we had fun with was this ruined cathedral from
Sharlight. Due to the limits of 2D adventures, we couldn't show
the door of the cathedral as well as the imposing size of the
building in a single static shot. The solution here was to begin
the shot at the very top of the cathedral, with a fairly strong
angle that gives a sense of looking upwards, which then becomes
less and less pronounced as the shot pans down to the bottom of
the scene. This creates a sense of scale that informs players of
the height of the structure, and allows them to see the wreck of
the plane sticking out of it, and then drops the shot down into
a form that we can actually play, without having to use a
separate shot.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=3.png
For the beginning of Unavowed, we're using this skyline both to
set the location (the Empire State Building serves as something
of a geographic icon) and the tone (the threatening red sky,
looming with ominous clouds, suggests danger). Having bold
colour in a shot like this really helps to develop the mood
early on, preparing players for the story before the first line
is spoken, a sort of visual appetiser for things to come.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=4.png
One of my all-time favourite establishing shots is this
scrolling panorama from Full Throttle. Starting from the sky,
and rolling down, we get a great sense of distance through the
perspective of the clouds and the canyon, which then slowly
pulls our attention to the main focus of the scene (and, indeed,
the game) the road. This is a great opening shot to a road
adventure, which leads directly into the first animated
cutscene, and is a clever use of the limited technology of the
time to emulate something of a cinematic camera pan.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=5.png
Another fun use of a cinematic idea in an establishing shot is
in this opening scene from Kyrandia 2, where we see parts of the
land disappearing, creating the mystery that we'll be
investigating throughout the course of the game. Here the angled
horizon line known as 'Dutch Angle' in cinema helps to
create a more dynamic, intense shot. The energy that this sort
of angle brings to the scene makes what would otherwise be a
fairly standard scene in terms of content quite arresting and
engaging. It's a great way to grab the player's attention at the
very beginning of a game and get them interested in the
exposition you're trying to deliver.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=6.png
Speaking of grabbing the player's attention, a fantastic example
of setting the tone of a game well is the very beginning of
Indiana Jones and the Fate of Atlantis. The setup is fairly
simple: Indy is searching for an item among the college's
collected artefacts. Rather than presenting this as a dull
warehouse or storeroom, however, the artists used the designs of
cultural relics and some bold, moody lighting to make it seem
like he's exploring some ancient, forgotten temple. This
immediately creates a wonderful mood, getting us into the idea
of an adventure to exotic lands before we even leave campus.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=7.png
Another great use of lighting is in this shot from Gabriel
Knight, in which we see the street and morning sky. A paper boy
cycling past helps us to understand that it's dawn, rather than
dusk, and the presence of Gabriel's motorcycle helps draw our
eye to the front of this shot, but most of all the fantastic
combination of orange sky and greenish-blue streetlights lends
the scene a fantastic atmosphere. This is a very common
combination of lighting colours, and it's easy to appreciate how
it became so popular for the mood it can create.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=8.png
This potent colour combination can be seen again in this
establishing shot from Simon the Sorcerer 2, where we're shown a
full view of a castle, lit by eerie moonlight from above and
blazing lava from below. I particularly like how the lines of
the castle feel warped and distorted here, in an almost fisheye
effect, which helps to enhance the sense of scale and looming
feel of the castle. This exaggerated low camera angle really
gives a powerful sense of the size of the location and the mood
being established before the camera moves to a much closer, more
practical shot.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=9.png
Beneath a Steel Sky uses another great angle in this backdrop,
in which we see a helicopter fly past and crash. Much like the
Kyrandia 2 scene, the angles here create an intensity not
present in more straightforward compositions, and though this
type of perspective wouldn't be practical in the playable part
of the game, it works perfectly here to establish the setting
that we crash into and begin our adventure, and is one of the
few chances the artists had to sell the idea of a tall city
before things flatten out to allow players to start to walk
around.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=10.png
Similarly, this opening shot from The Secret of Monkey Island is
one of the few moments in which the game's artists could convey
any sort of height for the Melee Island setting. Seen above from
the map screen, or from most of the section's playable
locations, the island seems fairly flat. Only in this
establishing shot is a real sense of verticality given to the
area. Something I particularly like here is the distortion of
scale in order to direct the player: here the fire and the arch
at the top of the hill are disproportionately large and bright
compared to the town and buildings nestled below it, but in
exaggerating their size and brightness, the artist has drawn our
eye to this location, which leads directly to the following
scene in which we move to the close-up.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=11.jpg
One particularly novel establishing shot of sorts is at the
beginning of Broken Age, in which we have the option to choose
between our two protagonists, each shown in their own worlds.
The lovely symmetry of this dual shot is captivating, and
suggestive of two individuals living in very different
situations, but in some way connected to each other. Especially
beautiful is the way that selecting one's preferred starting
point seamlessly pans the shot to whichever side we've chosen,
showing more of the background. This transitions from a shot
that was initially about the characters into one that shows off
more of the setting whichever one weve chosen making it
play to both the foreground and background details at the same
time.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=12.png
Both foreground and background are equally important in this
establishing shot from the introduction of Alone in the Dark, in
which we see our main character walking up the path, as seen
from the vantage point of someone we can't quite see, but whose
hands alone create a chilling atmosphere. This is a wonderfully
suggestive composition placing equal emphasis on foreground
and background to tell a story and establish a mood in a very
clever way. The emphasis is helped especially by the warm
lighting on the foreground details, contrasting beautifully
against the dark green of the yard, and really bringing the
hands to our attention.
HTML https://adventuregamers.com//?ACT=49&d=33670&fid=43&f=13.jpg
Establishing shots are a powerful tool that have been used by
many artists in the genre. They help give a sense of scale, of
atmosphere and tension before the game zooms into the more
practical, playable parts. Their impact on the experience should
not be underestimated it comes down to the old adage urging us
to show, rather than tell. It's one thing to inform the player
that they're trapped in a crashed plane, teetering over the edge
of a cliff, as in the start of Broken Sword 3. Before we get to
escaping that plane, however, the designers show us exactly what
the situation is, and in doing so, establish our location, our
problem, and our atmosphere, all in a single shot. That's the
power of establishing shots, and that's why they're such a
valuable element of adventure games.
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