If there is one aspect to be named, that has the most effect on the level, it would have to be lighting. It plays a major role in setting the mood, directing players, and allowing us to see things in a pitch-dark environment. Working with lighting isn't as simple as trying to imitate the real-world setup. It's a process that involves a lot of witty tricks and optimization techniques, understanding of how the lighting works in the real world and what's going on under the hood of the rendering engine.
Throughout the chapter, we will look into the following topics:
Light types, their functionality and application
Global Illumination
Light's influence on dynamic and static objects
Shadows
Emissive materials
Baking Lightmaps
Light probing
Reflection probes
Projectors
Light cookies
Halos and lenses
Covering every tiny detail might probably take a book of its own, and definitely beyond the scope of an introduction. Instead, we will look at components that make up the lighting...