3.1. An object look in the FPP

The FPP perspective is very limiting. In a frame only a part of weapon is visible, and this part is the most important for a graphic. All elements should be given the right proportions and arrangement so that the cropped picture would show more than is really visible. All the uniqueness of a weapon must be expressed in this visible part. Therefore, while working on a silhouette it’s worth checking if what we can see in the FPP perspective applies to the features of the whole object.

In case of weapon in a frame we don’t see a butt, magazine or the right side of a weapon.

When a prop is placed statically, on the right side of the screen, its left side is far more important. Such assumption causes that some parts of the object are mirrored to make it more attractive in the frame.

Yaron Levi. <b>MSBS Call of Duty: Ghosts</b> [portfolio online]. 2013, <i>source: http://yaron-levi.squarespace.com/call-of-duty-ghosts/</i>
The gun sight’s knob was mirrored on the left side (in reality it is placed on the right side) in order to display it better in the frame.
Ubisoft Montreal. <b>Far Cry 4</b> [PS4]. Ubisoft, 2014, <i>source: http://www.imfdb.org/wiki/Far_Cry_4#FN_Minimi</i>
In this case the whole optical sight was mirrored.
If a game has an upgrade or customization option, all configurations should be taken into consideration. Thanks to that we are able to identify problems resulting from connecting attachments at an early stage. The following are the most typical:

  • crossing the geometry of different attachments,
  • incorrect scale of attachments,
  • incoherent width of fixing devices (e.g. a rail),
  • maladjustment caused by mutual exclusion of attachments, e.g. lack of possibility to attach a torch and a grenade launcher together.

An example of the extensive system of weapon customization. In this case all the parts had to be well thought and adjusted at the stage of whitebox creation.