Why do Lasers in Games Look Like That?

Wishlist SINGULARIUM on Steam - store.steampowered.com/app/26...
Why do lasers in games, movies, and tv shows look like that? Today, inspired by a roadblock I faced in my game's development, I do a deep dive into why lasers in visual media have a distinctly different appearance to actual lasers. Hope you enjoy!
I DO NOT OWN ANY OF THE SHORT MOVIE CLIPS SHOWN IN THIS VIDEO.
Support me on Patreon (and get access to early builds of SINGULARIUM) - / nivmizgames
Join my Discord - / discord
Play my games: nivmizzer.itch.io/
Music:
- "Funky Monkey" by Antti Luode
Clock Animation:
- Clock coming back in time
Animation by Teclaplay
Chapters:
0:00 - Intro
0:42 - Example From SINGULARIUM
1:49 - The Problem
2:06 - War of The Worlds
2:43 - Special Effects in 1953
4:02 - A Twist!
4:54 - An Interesting Tangent
5:20 - Level Design
6:56 - Medal System
Funny paragraph you can ignore:
This is a devlog (DEVLOG) that's also a Video essay about lasers or LASERS CHALLENGE similar to mr beast or MR BEAST last video. The game is about black holes and is a Movement Shooter like Karlson or KARLSON (by dani). It's made in unity, like among us (AMONG US) and has been in development for 6 MONTHS. It is first person like minecraft (MINECRAFT).
#GameDev #devlog #essay #IndieDev #Unity #Unity3D #videoessay

[@barakzary4528]

Lasers aren't real

[@theinsanemaniacs1297]

You're not real

[@Catman_321]

@anemaniacs1297 Your real's not real

[@chrono9503]

10000 IQ

[@AntonioNoack]

Really bright objects also lose their color in our perception. It's not hard to find videos of lasers, where the core becomes white. There is also a new tonemapper called "AgX" in Blender, which emphasizes that effect, which was quite hyped up a few weeks ago.

[@nivmiz0]

You're very right, I mention the effect you're talking about in the video. It's way less pronounced than what it looks like in films and games though, because it's mainly a very situational effect that's dependent on the air the beam is going through, the intensity of the laser, and way more factors that are pretty complex and go way over my head haha. I actually haven't seen an in depth explanation video on the real life version of this effect, if you guys find it interesting I could look a little more into it and make one!

[@rarebeeph1783]

@@nivmiz0 I'm no expert on the subject, but I'd hypothesize the effect might happen because our cone cells and camera films might not perfectly filter between colors, so even spectral light activates R, G, and B simultaneously, at least a tiny bit. if i'm correct, then we'd expect to see a white core in very intense laser beams, because the light is so intense in that direction that regardless of its frequency, it'd activate all R, G, and B as much as they can be activated, which we interpret as white.

[@user-xm7zt4iq1i]

More colors, More fun

[@nivmiz0]

Absolutely!

[@Sacky_The_Artist]

Cuz its really cool thats why

[@nivmiz0]

Agreed

[@nadavperry2267]

really like the direction you went with the video and its awesome to see these long form videos! (compared to previous devlogs)

[@nivmiz0]

Thanks! Took a little longer to make but I'm really happy with how it turned out

[@thecrasylemon6271]

YES

[@Hack--rz1io]

Niv : "really get into that speedrunning mindset" The video : *me bonking every wall for 5 seconds straight*

[@JamieCracker]

This was a very fun video, I had never known lasers appeared in media before they were actually discovered. Very cool!

[@jademonass2954]

the centers being white is because of something called overexposure not that many people get to see such thick lasers, just the cat toy level lazers (very thin), so the only reference we have is from videos in theory, lasers are VERY bright to be able to show up so thickly (like a fire!) and are brighter than the brightest color the camera can pick up

[@Dergburger]

Ok so like small idea time what if the lasers bent towards the black holes a bit. Or a lot depending on use of lasers. The black holes are black and they are holes but they are not consuming, take into consideration if you agree

[@weckar]

I'd like to thank you for making the speedlines in your game more subtle..

[@pikoisu]

singularium reminds me a lot of a mobile game called data wing, both have very similar aesthetics and are momentum-based speedrun games. data wing also has really polished ui so i think you could look into it for inspiration!! idk i played it like 6 or 7 years ago so i dont actually remember it too well!! but if you want to improve the menus and stuff i would recommend checking it out maybe possibly.. im also interested if youre going to add more music into singularium? i think having just like 3 more tracks would make it a lot more fun and interesting, anyways game looks cool so far, lasers are a great addition and im really excited for the release!!!

[@nivmiz0]

Thanks a ton, I'll check Data Wing out! Regarding music, I'm not sure what you mean, because I only share snippets of the game's OST in the devlogs, the final game will have a quite a few tracks (:

[@pikoisu]

​@@nivmiz0i thought the full game was going to only have 1 repeating track, now im really getting excited :D

[@NeaLx86]

neon stuff (like my pfp) shows off this effect very well

[@samthedev32]

I really enjoyed this devlog, can't wait for more! good job :)

[@omayoperations8423]

I was just playing Boneworks, then I thought about this video, and the lasers there don't have white cores. The lasers in that game use noise on them, and maybe that helps. I'm not sure if it's the noise, the contrast, or just the game being in VR, but they look very realistic.

[@biphonic]

the vids keep getting better! also like the different topics you are making

[@warriorsabe1792]

You say that the fact real lasers sometimes look like that isn't a good justification because it's less pronounced, but the whole reason they look like that is their power. The reason it's less pronounced isn't anything fundamental, it's just the fact it's not strong enough to slice you in half - look at something like Styropyro's lasers for something more powerful to get a better impression. The white core is also the same reason why many bright flames look white - basically, it's just so white it overloads the color perception of both cameras and of our eyes. To put simply, if you had a laser as powerful as the ones we see in movies and games, it'd look a lot more like those than the puny ones you typically see irl. And the reason you don't see lasers like that irl is for the same reason you *do* in those movies and games - they're incredibly dangerous

[@jonwatte4293]

I think this is emulating a HDR over-brightening effect, and even a dynamic-sensitive color desaturation in the eye -- it's not just "film did it." The desaturation indicates "saturating whatever the color difference receptors are to the point of just being brightness." Compare to bloom effects, or maybe even something like audio saturation.

[@Koshirama]

Really like the lazers idea, adds a fine touch to your game. Keep it up man, love your work

[@nivmiz0]

Thanks, I really appreciate it! Yeah, the lasers totally spice up the gameplay and visuals in SINGULARIUM.

[@Koshirama]

@@nivmiz0 Yeah, also what if there was some time levels with a wall of lazers coming at a player, unless it would not fit the game

[@nivmiz0]

@@Koshirama Because of how fast the player is going, that kind of thing might be too unpredictable to be fun, but if I find that it fits that sounds like a great idea!

[@Koshirama]

​@@nivmiz0I get your point, but what if these laser walls appeared several times per level, not just one following the player but like in tomb of the mask one gets locked out and another chases the player, it would motivate the player to try be faster and dodge obstacles more efficiently

[@staticedge9035]

The type of lasers in most sci-fi media are also super hot beams of plasma, which I would imagine would have the white center just from the sheer heat needed to be capable of slicing through things like they do in movies. I've always attributed the white glow to the intense heat rather than it just being a laser pointer. Without that glow they just don't look hot or dangerous enough to be attributed as an obstacle, which is probably why they look off without it.

[@jamjumper]

The movement and lasers look very good! Though in my opinion the walls could use a bit more work. They are very flat and repetitive (also applies in the sewer levels) and the grid gets a bit too bright with that many lines. Then again it's your game. Keep up the good work!

[@elrond3452]

I actually think its really interesting that we started looking at lazers with the white line in the middle before we even invented and saw one. Also, I really like the video style and length and you make it entertaining to watch throughout the whole video :) I unfortunately dont have enough money for patreon but I do have it wishlisted :)

[@nivmiz0]

Thanks so much for the high praise! I also think it's really interesting to see how real lasers and fictional ones sort of split off from each other, was super awesome doing the research for this video and connecting all the dots

[@elrond3452]

Yeah I can imagine that. I always like looking up projects like these, especially the ones including science and physics that look or work cool.@@nivmiz0

[@Aaa-vp6ug]

To make hitboxes clear, and to make it not just look like a boring beam

[@smileeeboi]

loving these dev logs

[@ANTIMONcom]

I think the white core makes it look hotter. It makes the laser look like something that is hot and dangerus.

[@barakzary4528]

Loved the video! Really amazing to learn about more than only game development

[@nivmiz0]

[@GraveUypo]

it's not because of movies, it's because of camera sensors and the eye. when they get saturated with, say, red light, even blue and green receptors will start to respond, and very bright things will look de-saturated even if they're pure colors. the bayer filter algorithm even was calibrated to account for that, because when pure colors don't desaturate when going super bright, it looks absolutely wrong.

[@yoavsaporta7348]

Watched this video with my cat, she said my priorities are straight

[@qyasar8046]

i imagined that the white was to signify energy or some variation of it, like those very high powered lazars they're just really god damn bright and defuse into a different colour as the energy radiates away from the epicenter. real lazars don't look like this because we don't have death cannons yet

[@nivmiz0]

"real lasers don't look like this because we don't have death cannons yet" is a sentence that made me laugh lol. Yeah white centers definitely make them look intense, the explanation I mention in the video is just a more historical analysis of that signature look.

[@Wilhelmthewide]

You could add different color lasers that move at different speeds

[@foxdonia]

HI NIVMIZ!

[@nivmiz0]

Hey there!

[@vektorz1spektro557]

Формат приятный, было интересно узнать историю. Жду новые видео!

[@404Foundnt]

problem with the lasers atm is that they seem a bit difficult to see off the background when moving at high speed

[@spygun21]

I never thought i'll see Enders Game on a youtube video. It's a really good book! Meanwhile, Lazers go bezzz and pew pew

[@tobiasweber2517]

you probably already thougth of this and i have no idea how practical it would actually be but a mechanic that could work together with the lazers could be "reflective surfaces" im thinking disco ball on th one hande. but you could also have one laser "follow" the layout of the level. to give the player a noticable path while also needing him to keep weaving around it.

[@cactuz116]

Theres two points that are more of an actual reason why For one, colors like red and bllue when at max saturation actually get 'darker' and lower in their value and as such dont look like a source of light. Second, lasers are light, but ur monitor's brightest color it can make is pure white. In real life a lazer is brighter than a pure white piece of paper and brightness can get so high that it hurts our eyes to look at. Since we cant emulate that range of values on a screen, the white core gives off a relative low exposure effect. If u make a level or environment thats really dark, u can use fully solid colored lasers and theyll look right 👍👍

[@KatzRool]

It's not *really* white light, it's actually a fault in the sensor. Spectral light which is bright enough can pass through camera filters of any colour and likewise, our cone cells are not sensitive to any one wavelength but are all sensitive to a relatively broad distribution of wavelengths. Also I know this is semantic nitpicking but I highly doubt the plasma-looking beams in War of the Worlds cemented this conception of "laser" before lasers were invented. Especially since I don't even really think that was the inspiration for other *actual* lasers in film. Overexposed light just kinda looks white, so it makes sense to land on that representation. Fire too looks white in the centre (yes I know it emits multiple wavelengths) and that's something we're all familiar with which is "hot" and "dangerous".

[@kristenhawkins5453]

Perfect🤗 🔥☺

[@watercat1248]

I don't know if you already did that but In the order the lezer to look great and to be performance ofiecnt I segest to use line redeing The other feedback is to add smoke in the area this Lazer collide to the wall

[@ValTheVillain]

wow this game really kills youtube's bitrate lmao

[@post_rot]

it's contrast, that's all

[@SillyandgoofyAnim8or]

It's because death lasers are bright, and white is brighter than any color, so without it the laser looks dim. Wich is wrong because it is made of light.

[@RobiCsontos-bt5tw]

For extra chalange: i think it wold be cool to have a mehanic that acording to the players speed lasers size wold change. It wold make the game balaced if lasers decreas in size if you are slower or even reversd it wold be cool. Also are you planning on adding a story line? Idk what, but it wold make the game better i think

[@nivmiz0]

That's a really cool concept, I'll see if it fits in game! As for story, there'll be a fairly simple story when it comes to dialog (I haven't even decided if there'll be any at all), but there's definitely a lot of environmental and thematic storytelling in the game.

[@JupiterCrusher]

👏

[@barakzary4528]

Addblack hole pulldeath white push

[@dennismakesgames]

It also just looks color :)

[@krowbutt]

i think the main reason as to why "realistic" lasers look weird in sci-fi is because.. its science fiction. its not real. nothing LOOKS real in it. yes, you can have realistic elements and things based off of real objects and have them augmented into your sci fi world, but i would find it hard to imagine an art style that could use the stark colouration in a realistic laser in comparison to the "white-hot" feel of the unrealistic one. just a thought

[@voidyll5582]

I've gotta ask, when did you start doing game development?

[@nivmiz0]

A little over 3 years ago!

[@fluktuition]

OR you could have spent 2-3 minutes looking at styropyro laser videos. You would notice that his real-life lasers have this white glow in the middle in most angles ! So it's not just a culture thing.

[@nivmiz0]

I did mention in the video that the effect CAN occur in real life, but depends on a lot of external factors like the beam intensity and surrounding air. In styropyro's videos there might be a camera effect going on as well. All these show that although lasers can have some color variation it's: a) much less pronounced than in most films and games b) probably not a real justification for the way they look And even if all these points don't convince you, notice how the first "laser" to appear in film was in 1953, 7 whole years before lasers actually existed! So there was definitely no way to check if the effect was realistic back then.

[@maraneur6374]

I really liked your video but I had a question that has nothing to do with the video, are you going to give a body, a name and maybe a story to your character?

[@nivmiz0]

Yep! Haven't talked about that part in a devlog yet, but there'll be one!

[@toasted8557]

Obligatory comment for exposure