Project Journal Week 5

The meeting with the supervisors on Thursday October 18th was very important and influenctual to our project. The supervisors stated that our project was far too broad to test. After this meeting there was a lenghtly discussion as to where to take the project. It was decided to perhaps focus on one or two aspects Mise-en-scene with the final outcome that the investigation should focus on lighting and colour.

This ammended our investigation title, which is now ;Can the Lighting and Colour techniques of Mise-en-scene be applied in Video Games to Elicit Emotion within the Player?
To ensure this was a valid title , the group spoke to one of the supervisors(Brian Morris) who confirmed this was a valid alteration, which allowed the writeup of the literature survey to begin.

Nick designed the overall layout and structure of each delirable item within the Literature Survey, aiming to have a draft copy by Wednesday, so that Claire and Amanda could confirm that it was too a good standard and the team was heading on the right track.
Once each area of the Literature Survey had been assigned to each member and a draft copy had been completed, Nick was given the task of amending the survey so that it flowed well.
The next process was to write the abstract, introduction and conclusion.. Nick was given the task of writing the academic pitch, I(james) was given the task of creating a draft copy of the Design Document, which was later refined by both Matt and Nick. The initial draft of the Plan was done by Nick , which was amended by the whole group. During our group-lesson on Wednesday 25th, Claire read a draft copy of the survey and stated that it was on the right track and to a good standard, although there were a few minor points that needed changing.

The supervisors meeting on 26th October was again very helpful. They read all of the documents within the Literature survey and stated similar points to what Claire had done the previous day.

Additionally to this week the following books were read to help with my Literature Survey.

Bordwell D; Thompson K. (1997) Film Art: An Introduction. University of Wisconsin, USA, McGraw-Hill.

This book goes through each aspect of Film Art. It states all the elements of film and gives examples of each technique in a variety of films.

The book proved immensely helpful to my study as it gave concrete definitions , such as Mise-en-Scene.

Barratt, C; (2007) Evolution of Bioshock. Interview with Hoagy De La Plante
http://www.gamesradar.com/gb/pc/game/features/article.jsp?sectionId=1003&articleId=20071012162535562068&releaseId=20060426172718471012
Date accessed: 1/10/07


This is an interview with Hoagy De La Plante who works for the company that recently released the game BioShock. The game itself has been applauded for its use of Mise-en-Scene in a variety of sources shown in our Literature Survey. Plante discuses in this interview the evolution of the game, and what influenced the design.

This interview proofed invaluable in our survey as Plante suggests the game was heavily influenced by The Shining, which many of our other resources focused on.

Jones, M; (2007) Thinking Cinema - Game Probe Bioshock Narrative Architecturehttp://thinkingcinematic.blip.tv/file/401654/Accessed 09/10/07


This deconstruction of Bioshock by Jones proved to be very influential to the write-up of the Literature Survey. Jones deconstructs two scenes from the game and discusses how the game developers have used elements of Mise-en-Scene for specific purposes. It proved a valuble link to a variety of our souces.


Campbell C, Lazzaro N, Game Theory Episode 9 – Emotionhttp://www.gametheoryshow.com/index.php?post_id=216328Date accessed: 2/10/07

This Podcast is an interview with Nicole Lazzaro from XEODesign. This Podcast gave me many points to research from and it helped massively when it came to our groupwork, particularly in the Literature Survey.

It states that the company XeoDesign are the Leading experts on emotion in games. They theorise that many of todays most remembered games are ones that evoked strong emotions in games. This companies aim is to help improve game play through evoking emotions, therefore stating “companies can innovate with much less risk.” Lazzaro states that they have helped improve over 40 million experiences.

They state that contemporarily speaking, the industry is only really good at evoking a few specific emotions, but XeoDesign aim to expand the palette of emotions. One very interesting point they had found in all their years of research is that there are over 30 emotions that are evoked just from gameplay itself, with no relation to narrative or cutscens.

The interviewer in this case poses the question WHAT ARE THE BEST EMOTIONS THAT GAME DESIGNERS DO? What are the best emotions that game designers evoke? And Nicole answers Excitement and Surprise, which found very interesting.

Xeodesigns services have sky rocketed in recent years and the industry is only starting to take emotions in games seriously, to show this, games don’t even have a word for the most important emotion Fiero- which is characterised by the player feeling frustration at first and then overcoming it .

Xeodesign’s main focus is that all gamers play based on four set rules, these are Hard-Fun, Easy-Fun, Serious-Fun and People-Fun , each with a set of unique characteristics.

They also theorised that in the Next Generation of games , there would be a divide between what gamers want. This will come in the form of how they feel against what they see, or in other terms, emotions in games against graphics. Lazzaro suggests that we can already see this happening with the PS3 and the Nintendo Wii, with the Wii having sold more consoles.

Lazzaro then goes on to analyse Nintendo stating that they have never really target a specific audience, in that they make games for everyone. This is in stark contrast with the rest of the industry which targets the “ Hardcore-gamers.” Lazzaro describes the characteristics of Hardcore gamers as the “ early adopters” or “ innovaters” in society. The most important point to take from this is that this Hardcore market are only a niche, and are not the mass market.

Lazzaro states that over time a new form of language will be needed for games , just has film has over time created its own language i.e. Cinematography.

Nicola then goes on to criticise the way the games industry is just a redefining process each year. “ It’s the same games each year but with different packaging,” stating that games copy last years big sellers and just include a few new features.

Nicola discussed whilst walking around the gaming department of the Toys R Us store , that she found there were only really four different types of games out on the market at the moment. These were, Gi Joe , Dungeon and Dragons, Sports Games and Hot Wheels. She did state however that there was a fifth game, “ the house that wright built”, which was The Sims, which is one of the most sold games of all time.

Logas, H; Muller; D. (2005) ‘Mise-en-scène Applied to Level Design: Adapting a Holistic Approach to Level Design’ Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, USA, No 1 pp 1 – 8


This article was probably the most important to our research. Below are quotes and paraphrased sentences highlighting the most important aspects of the journal.


“As game developers strive to introduce a stronger sense of emotion into their games, new opportunities are presented to the level designer to imbue their virtual spaces with deeper symbols and meaning. Since the very beginning of film, the exploration of the concept of Mise-en-Scene(literally “put in the scene” ) has allowed filmmakers to convey sub-text to the viewer by the careful consideration of how each frame looks. A definition of Mise-en-Scene is given; its connections to level design are explained and then illustrated by an analysis of Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining and Konami’s Silent Hill 4 : The Room.”




If games designers pursue more emotional experiences in games, then they can not only reinforce emotion, but “hint at psychological factors affecting the computer-controlled characters and reveal the narrative.” A film maker chooses every given aspect in the scene, to communicate information to the viewer, both on the conscious and sub-conscious level. One example of a genre in video games that do something similar is the Survival horror genre. “A holistic approach to level design creates a greater sense of immersion in the player and can communicate to the player on an emotional level.”


“Mise-en-scene is defined by film theorist Robert Kolker as: ‘ the use of space within the frame: the placement of actors and props, the relationship of camera to the space in front of it, camera movement the use of colour or black and white, lighting, the size of the screen frame it self. “ it is a French term that literally translates, “put in the scene’”

One key aspect shown in the article is about the game Shenmue, with its palette being mainly grey and clear. This is an outwards manifestation of the main characters feelings, which convey sadness to the player.

Analysis of The Shining

The article also discusses Stanley Kubrick’s The Shining, stating that Kubrick has used Mise-en-Scene expertly. The movie itself Muller and Logas state, is quite game like. Having two locations, overlook and a maze.


“Since level designers must contain their game play to a certain amount of levels, The Shining is a great example of how limited resources can be crafted in such a way as to have multiple layers of meaning and interest.”

Muller and Logas highlight one scene from the movie which Jack speaks to Delbert Grady in the bathroom. They state that the “red overwhelms the scene to show that Jack has already descended into hell.” This simple technique of changing the colour can have dramatic effects on what the viewer thinks.

Muller and Logas also highlight the different lighting techniques shown on the character Jack. At the beginning of the film he is lit from above with a diffuse that softens his features, which instil as peace through the warm, amber and peach colours.

However when Jack descends into madness the light reflects this, for example when he is in the Gold Room bar, his facial features are distorted by the sharp lighting.

Analysis of silent hill

Game developers on Silent Hill 4, Akihiro and Akira Yamoaka state:

“While the silent hill series lies firmly in the horror /action adventure genre, the root of the terror is not a fear of being attacked and killed by horrific creatures. Rather, it is a psychological terror of being slowly stalked and concerned by unknown beings. It’s not really about the shock value, but much more of a deeper sense of foreboding; you know something is coming, but you don’t know when and you cant stop it.”

There are many Mise-en-Scene techniques to evoke something in the player. The use of the First Person Perspective allows the feeling of being in that space, which is different from most Horror games, in that the view is Third Person. Another good use is through the low ceilings and cramped conditions, which heighten the claustrophobia. The Palette of the game is mainly grey, the walls aren’t white, their “off white”, “Tempered with a dingy grey”

“Examining the ways Mise-en-Scene is used in film will help these designers adapt a holistic approach to their own discipline and create deeper resonance with the player for whom the game is ultimately created.”