Mirrors / Reflective surfaces in video games

[dr_st]

The Build 3D engine had mirrors. Duke Nukem 3D used it on a number of occasions (usually in bathrooms). I don't remember the other games (Shadow Warrior, Blood, Redneck Rampage) so well as I have not played them extensively.

[retr0gamer]

Most mirrors in games, including Build engine games, are just a mirrored room with a character that follows the movements of your character. It wasn't until ray tracing that we got proper mirrors. I think some other games do proper mirrors. Unreal and No One Lives Forever had mirrors that tanked performance so I think they might have been an actual mirror effect.

[Bumpyroad]

[lurker]

Gauntlet: Dark Legacy has some, but they’re nonfunctional.

[ommadawnyawn2]

www.giantbomb.com/functional-mirrors/3015-4618/games/

I wanna say CV: Bloodlines or SCIV had them too, for early-ish 2D examples.

[Deleted]

I'm a little confused by this topic since it seems the opening post has been deleted. I guess it's just covering various uses of mirrors in games from the title. In that case Celeste is a really nice example of use of a mirror - no fancy tech going on of course, but thematically. Celeste is a video game about mental health/mental illness and anxiety is a recurring theme built into the gameplay. When the protagonist Madeline comes across a mirror in it she see's her reflection; however it is not as we see her on the surface. The mirror reflects the parts of herself that Madeline does not want to accept; her anxieties etc. That Madeline looks in the mirror and doesn't like what she sees looking back is a really relatable aspect of her story and her journey is one of self acceptance. It makes for a very simple yet effective scene.

[retr0gamer]

I was playing McDonald's Treasure Land the other week and it did the whole walking past a mirror and your reflection turns into a monster thing. I think a few CV games did it like the X68000 version.

[dr_st]

Sept 3, 2021 1:03:12 GMT -5 excelsior said:

I'm a little confused by this topic since it seems the opening post has been deleted.

Yes, it was. Strange, as it was a good one.

[Woody Alien]

Sept 3, 2021 4:37:17 GMT -5 retr0gamer said:

I was playing McDonald's Treasure Land the other week and it did the whole walking past a mirror and your reflection turns into a monster thing. I think a few CV games did it like the X68000 version.

Other games that did that, from the top of my head, were the first Splatterhouse with the Rick doppelganger and Melfand Stories that I played recently, with the shapeshifter thing living in the mirror hall in the castle near the end of the game.

Then there's Castlevania Dawn of Sorrow that has the boss Paranoia who's some sort of demonic jester that lives in mirrors:

Also I remember Solomon's Key and those goddamn mirrors endlessly releasing the enemies...

By the way, why did the first post was removed? What's the point? Especially since the author is an old member of the forum who didn't post anything in years... What is going on?

[dieubussy]

Sorry guys, I mistakenly deleted the original post whilst attempting to remove the thread due to my belief that it wasn't adjusted to this forum or what participants would be interested in.

I was essentially asking for examples of games where mirror or mirror-like surfaces play a role in either establishing the game's visual identity, displays extraordinary amount of attention to detail or effort from creators to achieve said effect, or is integrated with the gameplay itself.



Any suggestions are very welcome.

[Deleted]

Sept 4, 2021 10:44:12 GMT -5 dieubussy said:

Sorry guys, I mistakenly deleted the original post whilst attempting to remove the thread due to my belief that it wasn't adjusted to this forum or what participants would be interested in.

I will second what our resident Dr says that I think your thread is an interesting one. It certainly isn't a question I've seen asked before. I understand that it can be frustrating when a thread you have put effort into doesn't seem to gain replies very quickly, but this forum has only a relatively small userbase and therefore slow responses are common. In my experience there are usually some thoughtful responses though, so it is worth waiting a couple of days for those to come in.

BTW I don't recognise every game in your image. Are you able to put some names (and perhaps detail some of the more interesting uses) to the visual?

To make mention of something that hasn't been said yet, there is use of mirrors in some racing games for 'rear view mirrors'. I'm afraid I'm not a tech guy to explain how it works - I would assume that there's a need to render a separate view of the game world. What I find sets these apart is the fact that the mirror has to be able to move, rather than keep an image of a stationary room. I'm sure there are many more examples, but the image here is from Forza Horizon 4.

[dieubussy]

Well, I've come up with an expanded list as I kept thinking more and more about this.

I'm mostly focusing on actual mirrors, but I'm also including glass/water surfaces here as well - anything that reflects some form of image of the main character for some purpose, either aesthetic or functional.
I am not particularly interested in this being "in-engine" reflections, I'm just looking for something that creates a visual impact one way or the other.

I purposefully left out a few I've come across as I think they are not as aesthetically interesting as others (such as the Castlevania mirrors, namely the Aria of Sorrow one and the Rocket Knight Adventures level where the water level rises to show the sprite's reflection). I know Darkseed II has a hall of mirrors segment but the effect is not that well achieved overall. The 7th Guest has a magic mirror but it works more like a screen, Alone in the Dark The New Nightmare is similar also in that way.

I should also be able to include Celeste as soon as I have a few others to add and still match the grid format.



The games list is as follows: Snatcher, Prince of Persia, Les Voyageurs du Temps, Dune, Cosmology of Kyoto, Clock Tower, The Dark Eye, D, Duke Nukem 3D, Realms of the Haunting, Sanitarium, Shenmue, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Liberty, Metroid Prime, Silent Hill 3, Max Payne 2:The Fall of Max Payne, Forbidden Siren Prologue Website Flash Game, Breakdown, Call of Cthulhu: Dark Corners of the Earth, Rule of Rose, The Darkness, Red Seeds Profile, Heavy Rain, Inside, Virginia, Detroit: Become Human, Draugen, Control, Mosaic, The Last of us 2, Mundaun

[Bumpyroad]

[dieubussy]

I just keep adding more and more games.

Strange how you remember all of these things once you start asking yourself the question over a period of days.

With thanks to Excelsior for pointing Celeste out - I barely played the game.



This is where the list is at right now:
Snatcher, Prince of Persia, Les Voyageurs du Temps, Dune, Alice Interactive Museum, Cosmology of Kyoto, Clock Tower, The Dark Eye, D, Duke Nukem 3D, Nights Into Dreams, Realms of the Haunting, Sanitarium, Shenmue, Silent Hill 2, Metal Gear Solid 2, Metroid Prime, Silent Hill 3, Max Payne, Forbidden Siren (Website Flash Game), Breakdown, Doom 3, Call of Cthulhu Dark Corners of the Earth, Rule of Rose, Prey, The Darkness, Mirror's Edge, Red Seeds Profile, Heavy Rain, Inside, Mirror's Edge Catalyst, Virginia, The Observer, Black Mirror, Celeste, Detroit, Draugen, Control, Mosaic, The Last of us 2, Mundaun, The Medium

[Deleted]

I found a few more:

Luigi's Mansion



Mother 3


Rayman 3 (couldn't find a good image of this unfortunately)



STAY



Uncharted 4