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Matthew Birkett-Smith
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Killzone Mercenary - M05

M05 was a level with a slightly complicated visual narrative. You were on the planet Helghan but located in the Vektan embassy building. However this level had been retaken by the Helghan's. Art wise this meant we were trying to make things look a little less harsh and brutal than typical Helghan architecture. Elements like the cherry blossom trees were also a nod to this.

I was the lighting artist for the level. To go with the themes above we tried to strike a balance of making this level almost feel like a warm, brightly lit day, it's definitely the closest to a pleasant feeling atmosphere of the Helghan levels. This meant by far the most work in the level was in getting the sunlight and bounce feeling believable, manmade lights were only used as minor light sources.

This is one of my favourite shots of the game. You can see how natural lighting was a big part of this level but where necessary I used fires to add small points of contrast.

This is one of my favourite shots of the game. You can see how natural lighting was a big part of this level but where necessary I used fires to add small points of contrast.

Godray VFX where hand placed in certain window locations. These bring a lot of wow to a scene. This is a room that is lit exclusively by natural light.

Godray VFX where hand placed in certain window locations. These bring a lot of wow to a scene. This is a room that is lit exclusively by natural light.

Another interior area that is mostly naturally lit. You can see the effect of a small fire over to the left.

Another interior area that is mostly naturally lit. You can see the effect of a small fire over to the left.

This is the establishing courtyard section of the level. The blossom trees were quite hard to fit in budget, they were originally planned to be much grander. We found we couldn't afford to fill the view with lots of alpha.

This is the establishing courtyard section of the level. The blossom trees were quite hard to fit in budget, they were originally planned to be much grander. We found we couldn't afford to fill the view with lots of alpha.

This is a view from the main interior chamber. There weren't enough windows here to rely solely on natural light so a lot of secondary lights are turned on.

This is a view from the main interior chamber. There weren't enough windows here to rely solely on natural light so a lot of secondary lights are turned on.

This more open area is virtually all naturally lit. We added the blue water feature to break up all the warmth and help bring some ISA colouring back into the embassy.

This more open area is virtually all naturally lit. We added the blue water feature to break up all the warmth and help bring some ISA colouring back into the embassy.

This is the area where the players finds the recently killed ambassador. We found these looked better when placed slightly in shadow otherwise players found it hard to make out details under the bright sun.

This is the area where the players finds the recently killed ambassador. We found these looked better when placed slightly in shadow otherwise players found it hard to make out details under the bright sun.

Killzone Mercenary - Walkthrough "Diplomatic Incident"

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