These are all pretty simple, requiring you to count the number of some object from your surroundings and do some simple arithmetic, but they stop you peeking ahead, and provide just enough of a barrier to entry that you won’t rely on the clues. Lumi, the main character, carries a manual with her that gives clues to how to solve your current predicament, although there is a catch: the book is getting on for a thousand pages, so to find the relevant entry you’ll need to use the contents page, which is encoded with numerical puzzles. If there ever is a puzzle that stumps you then don’t worry, the game features a rather neat contextual help system. While the difficulty curve does seem to take a random dip towards simplicity at points, this is generally when you’ve got a simple puzzle that’s part of a larger chain of puzzles, justifying the ease with which its completed. No, like the best puzzle titles Lumino City requires you to use your brain to progress, with well thought out puzzles that range in difficulty, and technological level, from cracking a padlock to programming a computer with punch cards. While some puzzles do require you to find an object, they’re always nearby, and they’re only a part of the larger puzzle. The upside of this is that you’re never forced to revisit an NPC for the tenth time now that you have whatever random item they desire, or to collect objects to mash together into some obscure solution to a puzzle. Instead the path through the game is very linear, and only once do you sort of return to an earlier area, and even then it’s only for about thirty seconds. There isn’t, for example, any real exploration mechanic, which could be rather nice given the effort that’s gone into crafting this world. This is rather fortunate as there’s not really much else to the game beyond its puzzles. Puzzles are at the core of the gameplay in the same way a sausage is at the core of a hot dog – there’s some others bits there but they’re not what you’re here for. However, due to the sizes of the models, any soft lighting still had to be controlled and ‘moulded’ so as to avoid a boring, flat result.Ah yes, the puzzles. It was exciting exploring the different textures and materials in each model, some required hard shafts of dramatic lighting whilst others lent themselves to soft lighting. Each scene required a unique look and feel whilst being sympathetic to the overall established theme and style. The intricacy of the model combined with the proximity of the camera to the model made lighting incredibly critical.The model interiors were filmed with a static camera and were taken as stills in most cases. The focal length was therefore fixed and a single lighting scheme had to work for all angles. The main filming was done with a motion control rig, which allowed crucial camera positions to be memorised and moves to be repeated. The game allows the user to explore a vast cardboard city which meant filming countless setups and camera moves to follow all possible journeys. This including lighting, rigging and filming all the live action elements. Zest were responsible for the cinematography on ‘Lumino City’, a point and click adventure game produced by State Of Play Games. In every case, there were demands on certain key areas that had to be highlighted, or perhaps deliberately cast in shadow to add mystery! However, due to the sizes of the models, any soft lighting still had to be controlled and ‘moulded’ so as to avoid a boring, flat result.
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