Sky: Children of the light is a calming and peaceful game that lets the player go on a quest in saving the spirits exploring the fallen kingdoms in 7 different realms. Each realm represents each stage of life which the player can see in the game later on as the story progresses. For this activity, I decided on capturing my shots in Isle of Dawn, Daylight Prairie, and Hidden Forest. The three realms had different lighting, making me shoot between day and night. Because of this, I planned on doing landscape photography and angle shots. Using my Asus Microsoft Windows 11, I downloaded Steam and tried out 3 different games; tiny glade (demo), panorama, and Sky: Children of the light. As much as I wanted to play the first two building games, it lacked visuals and camera settings for me to choose from. The camera setting of Sky: Children of the light was adjustable using the scroll button on the mouse where the player can adjust how close or far away the camera is to the character. With moving the RMB and LMB, it allowed me to shoot at certain angles like by the shoulder or a drone shot. The video attached above is a reference on how the camera in the game adjusts. My shots were captured by pressing the PrtSc button. Comparing it to a real-life camera/photography, I was not able to adjust any camera settings such as the shutter speed, aperture, and ISO along with composition tools, which made it harder for me to capture when there are moving elements and bright lights. I wasn’t even able to pause mid-game if I wanted to capture the action of the character which made it harder for me to achieve the shot I desired to do. Regardless of the limited tools in the game, the skills I learned from this activity can still be applied in real photography regarding angles, shots, and technique composition. 

Another reason why I picked this game to photograph, even though the graphics are heavy on storage usage and might make my laptop heat (especially this month's summer heat), I love going back to what I played before. So, I can say that I am already familiar with the game and its story.  I played the game almost 3 years ago but didn’t finish it because of how boring it seemed to me. Since the past few days have been stressful with midterms, I found the game relaxing and chill. Even though this is an activity from MMS 173, I still enjoyed playing the game as it brought back old memories. 

Reflecting while playing the game, I have forgotten how enjoyable it was to play these types of games. From the eye pleasing graphics to the concept of the story, I like how it all comes together and how creative it was for the developers to create a world like this. Although the game is big and heavy in storage usage, I can definitely say it was worth playing. The virtual world in this game is good practice in shooting from different angles and learning more on how to handle lighting when reflected in the lens.  Like I said before, I found the game quite boring because back then I didn't appreciate the graphic and was longing for more adventure. However, this time, because of this activity, I enjoyed exploring the different realms and elements in the game allowing me to focus on what I should capture next. From the technique compositions I learned in Unit I and the lighting compositions in Unit II, I was able to apply them in capturing the shots I took while appreciating the landscape graphics in the game. 

The comparison between game photography and real world photography can be told apart easily. Real world photography needs you to bring your physical camera to the spot you want to shoot while game photography just lets you roam without the feeling of heaviness on you while finding the spot to shoot. Expensive gears and ideal lighting can be hard to deal with in real world photography as you, the photographer, adjust to the world’s setting. Sometimes, built-in cameras in game photography already have automatic camera settings such as the aperture and exposure, which the photographer doesn’t need to adjust to get the perfect shot. Although this seems like a pro-side to game photography, sometimes if the photographer wants their photo to be in a specific setting, they couldn’t achieve it because of the limited camera settings given by the game. In real world photography, the camera settings limit will depend on what camera the photographer uses. Regarding achieving the perfect shots in angles and perspectives, game photography does not limit how high or low where you want to capture your photo, unlike in real world photography, you have to make an effort on where to angle your camera. For example, I can’t achieve a close-up shot of a bird in the sky because I can’t angle myself beside it while it’s flying. I only encountered one challenge while doing this activity, that is there was no freeze action where the game pauses for you to angle the perfect shot. I mentioned it twice already but I struggled with capturing the flying moments in the game as I needed to hold the keys while trying to push the screenshot button. I was happy with the final shot I picked because it shows movement while looking steady. 

In conclusion, game photography is a good practice zone for beginner photographers who want to explore their style and practice techniques. Game photography gives creative freedom forming concepts and ideal shots that real world photography can’t achieve. Although game photography looks like less work and manageable, real-world photography still differs as it teaches the photographer how to adapt to the conditions of the world which is what photography is all about. The feeling of heaviness of gear and the irritable heat of sunburn in your skin cannot weigh the joy of having to capture that perfect shot.