The Left 4 Dead official blog was updated tonight with a special look at the film effects in use in the game. If you don't know what vignette, color correction, or local contrast meant, you will after reading the entry.
The public demo is still a little ways away, so why not kill a few minutes of your time?
Local ContrastThe L4D staff also included a couple of short clips to better illustrate how these effects come together in a gameplay setting.
The final technique used in Left 4 Dead was local contrast. This is a technique borrowed from photo retouching, where the contrast is adjusted specifically on areas of an image that contain a high level of visual detail. This technique helped make the visuals sharper and more focused.
This ended up being great shorthand for us, as it effectively imitated the feeling of an adrenaline rush or near-death experience. The effect gives the player a sense of heightened perspective, and was a great subliminal way to let them know a zombie attack was coming.
The public demo is still a little ways away, so why not kill a few minutes of your time?