Welcome to SpaceShifter’s 6th development devlog!

We’re here to shed some light on our journey through creating a lighting system for our game as well as some of the struggles of post-processing in VR, stay tuned!


First try at illumination

Now that our meshes were setup and textured (see the last Log for the progress) we had to start creating a lighting environment that would help us reach that final touch we wanted our game to end up with at this stage. Thus began the learning process for Unity Engine’s lights and camera effects alike.

Point Lights 2Initial LightMaps without effects

Lightmaps or point lights?

After experimenting around, we came to the conclusion that the use of lightmaps would be the most adequate for a VR environment, seeing as the pre-loaded feature was heaps lighter than having to render every single light in the scene. The following images show the initial lightmaps created:

Second attempt at LightMaps

Last LightMap try

However some of the puzzles required light manipulation, so we ended up adding some point lights to the scene so that we could have the effects without taking up too much memory and overheating the device. The result was the following before applying the post-processing effects and layers:

Point Lights Testing


The world of post-processing in VR

When it comes to game graphics, post-processing can either make or break a game’s aesthetic, as the plethora of visual effects available can make one lose track of what the realaim is. However due to the limitations in compatibility with Unity Engine and the Oculus Quest 2, we mostly applied ambient occlusion effect to our central camera t as well as some enhancements for the colours and lights.

Post Processing Layers Test

The result for now

This is the final look of the current vertical slice, still not at its full potential as the process of trial and error continues, but eons away in improvement from the original blocky lighting that made up the scenery of SpaceShifter a few weeks ago, and finally showcasing the “simple, cold and alone” vibe we were going for inside the lab and within the different dimensions:

The Office With All Effects

The Other Dimension


Next up: Our first gameplay trailer! Stay tuned!

We’re releasing a trailer on the next log! We worked hard on it and are stoked to show it to you guys! The support has helped us keep moving forward. See you soon!


Find us elsewhere:

Twitter account: TheJoes7

Instagram account: the.joes.co

Source: Indie DB