Game Talk - BLOOM EFFECTS

Ever noticed how so many games near the start of this generation were so bloom heavy? It was as if the developers thought that by making their games look like a airbrushed perfume ads, it would create a sense of realism and importance. Take for instance Zelda Twilight Princess, Oblivion, or even Lair ( bad game blah blah blah.) These games just took the idea of bloom and just went overboard. Every thing was just showered in glowing light. Close up of Zelda near the start were just painful because of the blinding use of the effect.

But why would so many developers feel the need to use this technique so heavily? So I wanted to see how real life pictures changed when adding in small amounts of bloom. Trying to divulge what they had in mind.

More after the Jump~

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So here's a really gay picture of me taken by my webcam. Messy unkept hair, strange lowered glasses, tired baggy eyes, etc. You get the point, I like the picture, but it has major flaws. The "trying to hard" syndrome.

But when you take a little bloom magic and add it into the mix, what do you get?

BOOM! Even gayer bloom induced, airbrush looking Omegaro. Now why would developers like this look in their games? If you take a closer look, you'll see some minor unnoticed changes.

First and foremost is my skin. No longer does my skin look pale and lifeless due to the toll of sleepless nights of gaming and drawing. Now replaced by a softer, smoother, and more lively tone, the bloom has done away with any signs of fatigue and imperfection. Baggy eyes, gone. Wiry hair, vanished. Say hello to great skin, full luscious hair, and deep inviting eyes (although still very gray.)  All done with just a simple overlay of bloom.


Now this was just a test of minor bloom effects. Most early games went bounds and leaps more as they pushed how far this technical mechanic could remove small but noticeable imperfections in the character models and environments in their games. As developers became more adjusted to the new hardware, the infamous bloom effect went through severe moderation. But it does make you wonder; just how many shortcuts developers take in the early years of new consoles to cover their slight mishaps of handling the new technology.

~Matt Smith (Omegaro)