Camouflage and video game feedback

I played a lot of Tom Clancy's The Division . Friends could not keep up with my rhythm, so I spent many hours wandering alone around the Dark Zone. The experience was rather painful: groups of players would not hesitate to kill you, and single players are encouraged to do so as soon as you turn away. The longer I played, the more developed the habit of being as invisible to other players as possible . I realized that this habit emerged due to the course of the Alpine shooters, while passing through the service in the French army.

Of course, I cannot disclose some aspects of the tactics of the units and the general strategy, because otherwise I would violate the agreement on non-disclosure of information. However, camouflage techniques are well known all over the world, and even the most specialized websites tell about them. I want to share this knowledge and briefly assess the level of their use in video games to create stealth gameplay, or vice versa, deliberately ignoring to provide the best feedback in games of any genre.

A bit of history

Wikipedia defines camouflage as "the use of any combination of materials, colors or hiding lighting that make animals or objects unobtrusive (protective coloration), or similar to something else (mimicry) . "
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Many species of animals received protective coloration or seized mimicry in the process of evolution. They helped them hide from predators or prey. Until the 19th century there were only a few examples of camouflage use in military affairs: the oldest was the painting of reconnaissance ships in blue during the Gallic War so that they better merge with the sea.

In the 19th century , the first British army officially replaced the shining uniforms with khaki, which was more suitable for the hot climate of the colonies. It also turned out that khaki better hides soldiers wearing it. However, camouflage techniques were widely used only after the French army created camouflage troops during the First World War. According to Wikipedia, the term "camouflage" originated from the Parisian slang expression, meaning "to put smoke in the face."


Anime Ghost in The Shell (1995)

Later, camouflage techniques were significantly improved to counter the parallel evolution of discriminators. For example, ships are now made of special materials that impede thermal detection. Canadian uniforms are woven procedurally to reduce the likelihood of detection by modern devices capable of recognizing pattern patterns ( CADPAT ). A few years ago, the University of Tokyo introduced an invisibility cloak using optical camouflage to simulate mimicry. This discovery can be considered the first technology of universal camouflage.

Principles

To memorize the basic principles of camouflage in the French army, the FOMECBOT mnemonic is used ( F orme - form, O mbres - shadow, M ouvements - movement, E clats - glare, C ouleurs - colors, B ruit - noise, O deurs - smells, T races - traces). After completing my service, several variations were added. I could not find English-language counterparts, if you know them, share.

Shapes and colors

Principle:

Previously, military uniforms were painted in bright colors to praise the soldiers and attract new recruits. However, each medium consists of a specific color palette, which rarely coincided with the colors of this uniform. Therefore, the soldiers were easily visible even in the dense forest.

The silhouette of a person also stands out against the background, regardless of the color of his clothes, because we, naturally, recognize the features of other people. Therefore, in most uniforms not only the color matching environment is used, but also various patterns that distort the silhouette of a person .

Creation of stealth gameplay:

Most stealth games are based on the player’s visual appearance of an NPC character with a conical field of view of various lengths and widths. In some games, the simulation goes even further. For some episodes of the Metal Gear series, there are, for example, stealth bonuses corresponding to the patterns and environments in which the character is located. The choice of the pattern directly affects the route to which the player is pushed, improving autonomy - the tactical aspect of the game and its replayability.


Metal Gear Solid 3: Snake Eater


Metal Gear Solid: Peace Walker

The Metal Gear series is also well known for its camouflage devices that make the player’s character (almost) invisible , just as animals use mimicry. This mechanism is used in many games, for example, in Ghost In The Shell: First Assault or in the Aliens vs Predator series. It has become something of a “special regime” that excludes most of the principles of color and camouflage form. However, the use of such devices is always compensated by restrictions , because invisibility gives a huge advantage, especially in multiplayer games:

• The character of the player is clearly visible at close range.
• The player’s character remains invisible for a few seconds, the device takes time to recharge.
• Player character is invisible only when standing still.
• The player character is easy to detect using infrared devices.
• A player character cannot use another item.
• The device can be disabled by an electromagnetic pulse.
• Etc.

In the Hitman series , which I especially like, the change in narrative is used . The context implies the role of the environment, and the clothes of the agent 47 determine the shape and color of his camouflage. A stranger in a black suit, hanging around with a briefcase next to the villa, will attract the attention of the guard. Having changed clothes by the repairman, the agent becomes imperceptible. In his article, Stanislav Kostiuts (Stanislav Costiuc) calls this type of gameplay " social stealth " and analyzes its use in the Assassin's Creed series .

Destruction of stealth to improve feedback:

The simplest way to highlight an important element is to color it in a contrasting color so that it stands out in the scene . The player will easily see it from a long distance and will guess that the element is interactive, without even knowing what its interactivity is.


Tom Clancy's The Division

I especially like the example of the Tom Clancy's The Division container for hazardous substances, which players' characters use to store items collected in the Dark Zone. Being an adventurer is always risky, even if you play as a band. However, the color of the container further indicates that the player has things, and killing him can be beneficial.

Since the player tends to be as inconspicuous as possible, this detail motivates him to ignore uninteresting things and maintains tension when searching for valuable items.

However, as stressed by Peter Angstadt, it should be noted that coloring an important element is usually not enough to reduce visual entanglement . For example, exploding barrels (red) perfectly stand out in a snowy environment, but are hardly distinguishable in dark rooms. Therefore, he also recommends adjusting the saturation and luminance of each object.

Motion, shadows and highlights

Principle:

Although shapes and colors are the main principles of camouflage techniques, do not underestimate other visual principles - movement, shadows and glare.

We instinctively pay attention to the movements , because everything that is moving can be a threat. Sudden or long movements can detect a detachment regardless of the color and patterns of its uniform. Therefore, it is advisable to remain as still as possible. It sounds pretty simple, but I assure you, it requires more self-control than it seems. When meeting enemies, there is always a great temptation to hide better. However, any movement can attract the attention of the enemy.


The film "Indiana Jones and the Last Crusade" (1989)

Stealth concerns not only the body, but also its shadow , which can easily reveal the position of a soldier. This is especially true when he stands behind a tree or a corner of the street. Contrary to popular belief, shadows are visible in most rooms, as well as at night. The light source is always there .

And finally, soldiers often forget that some equipment, such as sights, metal watches or metal plates, can glare , reflecting the light and attracting the attention of the enemy. Think of Indiana Jones, who was discovered in the "Last Crusade" by the brilliance of binoculars.

Creation of stealth gameplay:

In video games, movement is often associated with noise produced by running characters. I will talk about him later. In many games, there are stealth bonuses or complete invisibility (mimicry) when the player remains stationary. Many examples can be cited - from elves in RTS Warcraft III to camouflage devices in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain . By the way, in this game, thanks to the " stealth mode " there are additional bonuses when the player pretends to be dead. They automatically turn off when the character starts moving again.

However, it should be remembered that the player is the main driving force when entering enemy positions. He can postpone the controller, calmly plan his next actions, and even take a break if the character is well hidden. Sensations become completely different when his opponents track him down : they are aware of his presence and are actively looking for him. The player must decide whether to remain hidden or move. Feelings in games of the stealth survival genre, for example, in Alien: Isolation are very deep, because the player’s character is especially weak, and Alien’s behavior is unpredictable . Imagine now a virtual reality game based on the player's movements, in which any turn of the head can reveal his position. Feelings will be extremely similar to real life.

Shadows , as described in the camouflage principles, are rarely used to encourage player secrecy. The camera’s point of view usually prevents the player from seeing the character’s shadow. The effect on the gameplay of an element that the player cannot track would be incredibly annoying. However, we note that in many games there are levels in rooms and night levels that allow the use of areas of light and shadow . The shadow areas are considered safe zones, where the player’s character can relax and plan further actions. Enemies patrolling lighted areas can be easily noticed by the player.

Destruction of stealth to improve feedback:

As stated earlier, our movement is instinctively attracted by any movement. This feedback can be used to indicate important points : birds soaring in the distance, shaking bushes, flickering light, even animated coins from Super Mario Bros immediately attract the player's attention.

Similarly, the play of light can be used to direct a player along a certain route . For example, in Left 4 Dead, the action takes place only at night or indoors. This choice adds to the atmosphere, and also allows developers to orient the player on the map. Here is an example from the episode No Mercy :


Left 4 Dead (open the link in another tab to enlarge the picture)

Tom Clancy's The Division also uses shadows and highlights from a gameplay point of view. For example, the headlights in the Lincoln tunnel greatly helps the player anticipate the appearance of enemies due to the shadows cast on the walls. In addition, the sniper rifles in the game usually cause very high damage. However, when a character begins to aim, a noticeable glare appears on the gun's sight, giving out a sniper's position and warning the player about the danger.

Traces, sounds and smells

Principle:

Traces are understood to mean any items that pass through the area: footprints, sleeves, debris, fireplaces, broken branches, open doors, etc. This principle adds a time dimension to camouflage, which should never be neglected: penetrating enemy positions or escaping pursuers are long-term goals, they can last for hours or days. Over time, characters can leave many traces.

Camouflage is not only based on visual detection, it also relies on hearing and smell . Soldiers should always keep an eye on objects that can give out noise: debris and debris in the city and branches in the woods. In addition, food, gunpowder, or sweat can easily give out their positions. Be wary of dogs: a CIA study shows that they can hear at a distance of 4 times more than a person, and they have 25 times more olfactory receptors than we do.


Hitman: Blood Money

Creation of stealth gameplay:

Footprints add a time dimension to camouflage. In most stealth games, opponents react when they find corpses, pools of blood, or footprints in the snow . This draws the player’s attention to level design and encourages him to think before acting. Killing a target and disappearing into a safe zone is one thing, and slowly dragging a corpse into cover, when patrols can detect a player, is completely different.

Hitman and here was an excellent example illustrating the original ways of implementing this aspect of the game. Hitman: Blood Money provokes a player to go unnoticed with a recognition system . At the end of each mission, a newspaper is shown, the contents of which summarizes the player’s actions. The more openly he acts, the more accurate his description, and the more difficult the game becomes in the following missions. Opponents find it easier to recognize agent 47, no matter how disguised it may be.

Hearing in stealth games is logically interpreted as a simple radius of sound that can be heard 360 degrees. Depending on the difficulty of the game, the enemies may have one of several radii, which determine the different sound intensity . This motivates the player to move slower, prefer cold weapons or weapons with silencers and avoid noisy surfaces, which directly affects his route.

But hearing is also easy to use to distract opponents . Throwing kuna into Mark of The Ninja , a stone in Far Cry 4 , bottles in Rise of the Tomb Raider or empty cage in Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain is an easy way to send the enemy to the right place to make it easier to kill him or free the passage .




Mark of the ninja

As stated earlier, in animals, feelings are sharper than in humans. Realizing this in the gameplay is always quite complicated: animals should always be more serious opponents than people, but too realistic a setting increases the complexity of the game. Therefore, in some games, such as Cabela's Big Game Hunter, the strength and direction of the wind are taken into account. The detection radius becomes a dynamically changing cone that stimulates the player to either wait for the wind to change, or to look for a better way to get closer to the victim. This system actually becomes a good alternative, but it is also quite complex and requires important real-time feedback.

As far as I know, Tenchu ​​Z is the only game where people can sense a player’s character and this is an important feature of the gameplay. The more brutal murders a player commits, the more he smells of blood and the easier it is for his enemies to find him. This aspect is especially interesting because it combines little-used feeling and temporal change of tracks.

Destruction of stealth to improve feedback:

Of all three aspects, hearing based on sound effects and music (or, on the contrary, on the absence of sound and music) provides the most effective feedback. The player can predict enemies or events, even without seeing them . For example, it is used in the behavior of all the special ones infected in Left 4 Dead .



The information they give us is just as important as their position: NPCs can give out information about the level design, their weaknesses, or the tactical moves they are going to take (“I'm reloading!”, “Cover me, I'll come from the flank!”) .

I will give examples of how tracks are implemented in the gameplay. In The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt, Geralt is able to use his mutant vision to highlight the traces of all kinds of creatures. Designers play on this in level design to navigate it through difficult areas. Footprints can also be used as simple feedback: bloody streaks, corpses, burnt spots on the floor, etc. All of them can very effectively warn the player of impending danger , while at the same time strengthening the atmosphere by adding short stories.


Dead space


The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim

This year, Ubisoft introduced the Nosulus Rift , a parody version of the VR helmet , allowing the player to feel the smells of the chilling characters of South Park: The Fractured But Whole . Of course, this was a joke. But think about the smell-based gameplay that you can create in stealth games: finding enemies by the smell of fire, cigarettes, vehicles. Or vice versa - concealing the smell of a player’s character when he is being hunted.

Conclusion

Summing up, I would say that camouflage techniques work with different principles related to many human feelings , and not just vision. They began to develop as a military discipline from the end of the 19th century, but animals from ancient times used them to defend or attack.

Camouflage techniques are used in video games to emphasize stealth gameplay . However, some principles, such as smell, are still difficult to convey as a gameplay mechanism.

In addition, designers can voluntarily ignore the principles of camouflage to provide the player with additional feedback in the game of any genre. I recommend watching the video by Clement Melendez (Clément Melendez) to understand how this feedback is effectively used in FEAR 2.


Scientists are close to a breakthrough in camouflage techniques - the creation of mimicry devices . But, as I said earlier, this mechanism has existed in video games for a long time and must always be compensated by balance. In addition, I am confident that VR equipment can provide stealth gameplay with new features and provide a deeper gaming experience. What do you think about it? What other examples of original gameplay can you recall?

Food for thought:

• The evolution of uniform colors in the US Army.
• A list of the top 25 stealth PC games for Rock Paper Shotgun.
  Necessary recommendations for success in the PVP of the Dark Zone The Division.