The Improvement of Player Immersion in Pre-Existing Game Worlds Through Advanced Modeling, Texturing, and Lighting Techniques
By: Mike Jones
Supervisor: Chris Jagers
Masters of Interactive Technology degree conferred September 23, 2007
Thesis / Project completed: September 22, 2007

This project examines the use of current generation modeling, texturing, and lighting techniques to improve player immersion in game worlds that were limited due to the hardware and software technology available at the time. The advancements of normal mapping and support for larger, more complex geometry and texture maps has allowed an unprecedented improvement in the detail of game environments, affording players worlds that they can easily become immersed in.  

The research explores current modeling techniques and strategies to ensure the highest level of detail without sacrificing real-time performance.  It also discusses texture advancement such as parallax and displacement mapping to optimize depth in texture maps without needing additional geometry.  The research also covers lighting techniques and types, as the true test of realism is not in geometry or texture alone, but in blending the two with photo-realistic lighting to create an immersive environment. 

The development of the two scenes covers the techniques used to generate the geometry and textures, keeping within the bounds of current generation hardware.  It discusses the addition of focal points and high contrast to create scenes that are not only immersive but also visually engaging, causing a player to want to explore the area further.  The result of the project shows that pre-existing game worlds can benefit from the latest techniques in real-time environment creation, evaluation of form and function, and can create visually interesting and immersive environments for players.

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