Painting in Terms of Virtual Graphics of the Game Space
Abstract
World design of a modern game is hard to imagine without cultural references. In-game space can not only be a decoration for a narrative, but also represent a complex multi-layered text filled with metaphors, hints and reminiscences. The game level, being a passing element of the general canvas of the narrative, does not always imply an emphasis on specific details. Despite the fact that the main goal of most games is to go through the story from beginning to the end, the player as a direct participant in the interactive space is free to voluntarily deviate from the main plot. Attention to various structural elements, analysis of the visual component, search for clues that can tell more about the history of the game world — all these are extremely popular ways of spending time for users.
One of these elements is virtual graphics. It can manifest itself in a variety of forms: in the form of comics on the shelf, posters, advertising, and graffiti on the walls or paintings. At the same time, virtual stylization is always focused on creating a deep immersion effect. Despite the fact that the immersive space implies the automatic reading of information, by analyzing its individual parts the player is able to learn new meanings outside the main narrative line. Graphic images fill the inner world of the game, change their shape depending on the setting and provide many opportunities for interpretation. Therefore, the interior design of the cyberpunk universe using virtual graphics will differ from the Middle Ages. Whether it is a decorative, representative or sacred function, the use of images, works and practices of the real world, as well as their graphic embodiment, is of great interest for research.
The article provides a structural analysis of painting as a participant of game narrative, and explains the need of the term "virtual graphics" in the aesthetics of video games. The example of 21 games demonstrates how important it is to be able to contact art in the virtual world.
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