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TRANSCRIPT
Developing Visual Narrative: Designing Structural Composition Principles to
Guide Player’s Attention in Adventure Games
A Thesis
Submitted to the Faculty
of
Drexel University
by
Glenn Joseph Winters
in partial fulfillment of the
requirements for the degree
of
Master of Science in Digital Media
2013
c© Copyright 2013Glenn Joseph Winters.
This work is licensed under the terms of the Creative CommonsAttribution-ShareAlike license. The license is available at http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/2.0/.
ii
Dedications
This thesis is dedicated to my mom and dad, Becky and Don. Without your constant
support, I would not have made it as far as I have. Thank you for always teaching me
“There is a great big beautiful tomorrow, just a dream away”
iii
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my thesis adviser Dr. Jichen Zhu, for all the support and construc-
tive feedback you have provided during this journey. Your passion for game research has
provided me with a new outlook on video games. I would also like to thank my commit-
tee members, Frank deSantis, and Garth DeAngelis for your contributions and providing
insights both from an architectural and gaming industry perspective. All of your feedback
and guidance have been invaluable towards this research project.
Thank you to the Digital Media faculty who provided me with multiple new creative
outlets by showcasing your passion for teaching within the classroom. Additional thanks
goes to my fellow graduate students: Nate Lapinski, Girish Balakrishnan, Kevin Gross,
and Yujie Zhu for all the constant feedback and support you have given me during our time
at Drexel. The amount I have learned from you all during our various projects cannot be
repaid. I would not have grown creatively without the constant support of the Digital Media
student body and alumni. Thank you for the countless hours you have spent helping me
grow as an artist.
Finally, special thanks go to good friends Matt Haas and Jason Graves for always being
open to conversations about game design and theory. The endless amount of support and
general discussion has made this thesis project possible.
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Table of Contents
List of Tables . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vi
List of Figures . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . vii
Abstract . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . viii
1. Introduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
2. Related Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1 Applying Film Visual Narrative principles to Game Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
2.1.1 Composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
2.1.2 Space . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
2.1.3 Staging . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
2.1.4 Shape . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.2 Game Design Patterns . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
2.3 Attention Not Immersion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
2.4 Theme Park Visual Narrative Relationship to Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
3. Principles of Visual Narrative in Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
3.1 What is Visual Narrative in Games? . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
3.2 Five Structural Visual Narrative Principles . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
3.2.1 Contrasting Shape Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
3.2.2 Framed Structure Principle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
3.2.3 Directional Line Principle. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
3.2.4 Shifting Elevation Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
3.2.5 Structural Exaggeration Principle . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
4. Empirical Study . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.1 User Study Design . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
4.2 Results . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
4.2.1 Statistical Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32
v
4.2.2 Post Interview Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 39
4.2.3 External to the Game Influence Analysis. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
4.2.4 Self Analysis . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 43
5. Conclusion & Future Work . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
A. Case Study Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 46
Bibliography . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
vi
List of Tables
4.1 Zone Principle Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 274.3 Map A Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344.4 Map B Statistics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344.2 Zone Principle Locations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 344.5 Map A Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 374.6 Map B Responses . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 38
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List of Figures
1.1 Image from Journey . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 32.1 Image from Heavy Rain . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 62.2 Image from Bioshock Fort Frolic . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82.3 Journey composition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 112.4 View of Space Mountain at Walt Disney World . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 123.1 Breakdown of Narrative in Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143.2 Breakdown of Structural Visuals in Games . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 163.3 White outlines the contrasting shapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173.4 White outline surrounds the framed structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183.5 White directs the line through repetition . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 203.6 White line directs the path of elevation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 213.7 White outlines the exaggerated structure. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 234.1 Map A Overhead Zones Part 1 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264.2 Map B Overhead Zones Part 1. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264.3 Map A Overhead Zones Part 2 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264.4 Map B Overhead Zones Part 2. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 264.5 Map A and Map B - principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284.6 Map A - Principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284.7 Map B - Principle is not present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 284.8 Map A - Principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.9 Map B - Principle is not present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 294.10 Map A - Principle is not present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.11 Map B - Principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.12 Map A - Principle is not present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.13 Map B - Principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 304.14 Map A and Map B - principle is present . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 314.15 Map A Part 1 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354.16 Map B Part 1 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 354.17 Map A Part 2 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 364.18 Map B Part 2 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 36
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AbstractDeveloping Visual Narrative: Designing Structural Composition Principles to Guide
Player’s Attention in Adventure Games
Glenn Joseph WintersAdvisor: Jichen Zhu, Ph.D.
Committee: Frank DeSantis, and Garth DeAngelis,
Computer game design lacks a language for visual narrative principles, in ways simi-
lar to those in architecture, film, and theme park design. In this thesis, we develop visual
narrative methods in which spatial composition principles enhance goal direction attention
within the overarching level structure of computer adventure games. We present our work
on defining goal-directed attention structure composition patterns as a subset of visual nar-
rative principles within 3D adventure games. Based on our observation of goal-directed
attention game design patterns in existing 3D adventure games, we attempt to define a lan-
guage that game designers can utilize to prototype levels more efficiently and apply them
to a testing scenario.
1
1. Introduction
Exploring visual narrative structures as a means to provide desired experiences in games
is not a new concept. Theorists assert that early games such as Tetris have a basic narrative
structure. Interactive designer Janet Murray states that the game is about winning and
losing, casting the player as the opponent-battling or environment-battling hero. Minimally,
games want to tap the emotional residue of previous narrative experiences [24]. Events,
characters, and patterned action will further define the quality of the narrative rather than
the experience [27]. Narrative and gameplay mechanics are two of the most prominent
forms of expression that can be found in a modern video game [29].
Jenkins declares how narrative enters on two levels, in terms of broadly defined goals
or conflicts and on the level of localized incidents [33]. Game designers struggle with a
balancing act by trying to determine how much plot will create a compelling framework and
how much freedom players can enjoy at a local level without derailing the larger narrative
trajectory [33]. As inexperienced storytellers, designers often fall back on mechanical
exposition through cut scenes, much as early filmmakers were sometimes overly reliant
on intertitles rather than learning the skills of visual story telling [33]. Computer games
have evolved beyond just abstract gameplay and into generalized entertainment medium
that offers imagery, audio, and text of any kind [29]. In recent years research has led to an
increased interest in exploring narrative principles through visual means [1]. Therefore, to
understand this medium, it is important to study the effectiveness and define visual narrative
principles in computer games.
This thesis explores the principles of structural composition as a subset of visual nar-
rative in games and how each can influence attention driven goals in 3D adventure games.
We observe game patterns between popular 3D adventure games Uncharted 3 [8], Dear
Esther [32], and Journey[31]. From those, we conclude on five principles and grey box
2
them within two level designs for an empirical study to determine if they produce effective
results. It is our belief that by defining structural construction game principles we will be-
gin the formalization of visual narrative principles and provide an understanding of how to
direct player’s attention in 3D adventure games. By sculpting these concepts the designer
can support design choices in the grey boxing phase that will guide a player through visual
cues but give the sense that they are making the decisions.
Contrary to games, film is a medium that has established visual narrative principles. For
example, Jaws uses visuals to gain the audiences attention when the shark is approaching
based on the visual exposition which is established through music cues and camera angles
at the beginning of the film [5]. Furthermore, the director is able to adjust attention simply
by contrasting the visual exposition with the visual conflict. This is based on the concepts
of contrast or affinity, which states the greater the contrast in a visual component, the
more the visual intensity or dynamic increases. Where as, the greater the affinity in a
visual component, the more the visual intensity or dynamic decreases . Henry Jenkins
states that there is a tremendous amount that game designers and film theorists can learn
through making meaningful comparisons with each others methods [33]. Block agrees that
components of film visual narrative principles can be used in any video game and game
players will react to the visual contrasts and affinities.
Although in games, designers must look at how a player traverses the space to tell
a story and direct the players attention. Game developer Ken Levine asserts the world
is the best narrator and believes that within a games level is where story should actually
be told [26]. Zimmerman insists that the game space is the field of play where players
will explore, compete and cooperate as they travel through the designers game [27]. As
a result, designers should model the possibilities of space as early as possible and invest
time up front to understand how that game would work within their game environment
[34]. In most games, designers are challenged to change a players emotion every 15 - 20
3
Figure 1.1: Image from Journey
minutes and divide gameplay moments while drawing attention to the players next goal.
This method also creates active things for the player to do during gameplay. Therefore, its
important to determine how to stage the visual complexity of these events during the grey
boxing phase or initial level layout. Grey boxing a level in 3D space allows us to determine
shapes, scale and size relationships to basic elements. Game designer Jesse Schell discusses
the value of aesthetics and how good artwork can do wondrous things for a game. It can
draw the player into a game area she may pass over [28]. This can be seen in Figure 1.1
from the popular Playstation 3 game Journey by ThatGameCompany. Different from many
other computer games, Journey provides no textual description of the story or goals. Thus
to convey the story, it relies heavily on visuals and interactions with the environment to
direct the player towards her next goal. In other words, the environment and the resulting
visual narrative are crucial narrative elements in addition to the more common storytelling
components in the game.
Schell further points out how visual design can effect where the player will look. Walt
Disney used a similar method to navigate guests throughout Disneyland Resort by hiring
members of the film production team to design the lands of the park. The stories from the
films were a driving force in order to have guests pulled into a transparent environment
[14]. Game designers dont simply tell stories; they design worlds and sculpt spaces similar
4
to the design of the Disney theme parks [33]. Game designer Jason Roher declares that
games give designers the constant challenge on how to keep players attention throughout
the dozens of hours of gameplay [17]. High-end graphics can only accomplish this for
short periods of time. Designers need to learn how to hold and direct attention to parts of
an environment during their experience. Having a clear goal motivates the player to act and
gives us a clear direction of what to do.
In the past, video games have relied on obvious visual and audio cues to direct players
attention towards certain goals within a game’s level such as a weapons targeting device
in a combat situation to lead a player forward. Milam defines this as a path target pattern
which orients the players movement towards visible targets in the level [23]. When a goal
is attached to a specific task it gives us an energizing push and a sense of purpose [20].
Exploring goals allows the player to discover different areas at her own pace [26]. Design-
ers are constructing experiences utilizing structural compositions to provide opportunities
to direct a players attention for personal exploration rather than a literal guidance towards
her goals. These techniques have not been defined like the standard cues to help formalize
the level design process and allow for efficient level construction. Therefore, this thesis
sought out how structural compositions affect attention driven decisions in 3D adventure
games. Each principle concluded with effective results and provided a foundation for future
discussions about observing and defining visual narrative in games.
This thesis is organized as follows: Chapter 2. We provide analytical framework on
previous work that discusses attention driven narrative patterns, film influences and theme
park influences in games; Chapter 3. We cross analyze game design patterns from current
adventure games; Chapter 4. an empirical study from these patterns and tested in a grey
box environment to determine if patterns can be used to efficiently prototype levels and;
Chapter 5. we conclude on our work and discuss future directions
5
2. Related Work
Game scholar, Jose Zagal discusses that understanding games can be defined as having
the ability to explain games by deconstructing them and understanding their components,
how they interact, and facilitate certain experiences in players [35]. Zagal states Knowl-
edge Building as a concept where ideas that are valuable to a community are continually
produced and improved. The central notions of knowledge building is that knowledge is
not static and given but can be improved over time. Understanding can also be gauged
by exploring the evolution and change of that discourse. Common practices are observing
game design patterns which rely general descriptions of particular areas of game play with-
out using quantitative measures [4]. Research that utilize these methods for visual narrative
concepts has received little attention but growing communities of designers are starting to
observe the space by observing game patterns, adapting theme park and film principles to
the game space.
2.1 Applying Film Visual Narrative principles to Game Design
Applying film principles to games is not a new concept and has been utilized in many
ways in the form of cut scenes or active gameplay. Different from our work, most princi-
ples take control of the players camera or provide literal guidance in order to achieve the
principles effectiveness. Game director David Cage asserts, people demand strong char-
acterization in games as demonstrated by film and literature. He challenges game design
concepts used by game creators for over 30 years and supports adapting certain narrative
structures of film within a games setting. He discusses how in film, the narrative supports
the action rather than separating the two like in a standard classic game design process [7].
Game designers normal narrative game structure differs from film by having to take into
6
account action mixed with standard cut scene [7]. That is something that is slowly changing
to be more active by incorporating game play with cinematics like the Uncharted series.
Jenkins wants people to consider what ways the structuring of game space can facilitate
different kinds of narrative experiences [33]. For the purpose of this project we take into
account principles that support defining structural composition such as composition, space,
staging, and shape.
2.1.1 Composition
David Cage’s game, Heavy Rain [9], tries to challenge the typical cut scene structures
by borrowing practices from the film industry and giving the illusion of freedom to the
player. In this game, the player’s actions are playing the story and not watching a cut
scene. For example, at one point the main character of the game is put through a trial of
cutting off one of his fingers to get information on his son’s kidnapper. Instead of relying
on a cut scene, the player is given the emotional choice of what to do. The player can
ignore the countdown of the clock and risk everything or go forward with cutting off the
finger. Players are given control movements in order to achieve this goal. The player is
more connected by these experiences since these actions are consequential and will affect
the game’s outcome [7]. The designers are sculpting a virtual space that supports the overall
Figure 2.1: Image from Heavy Rain
7
structure of the narrative. In Figure 2.1, the camera placement is adjusted to help guide the
visuals similar to film’s rule’s of thirds. The rules of third is a guideline that proposes an
image should be imagined as divided into nine equal parts by two equally placed horizontal
lines and two equally-spaced vertical lines, and that the important composition elements
should be placed along these lines [25]. At this point the designer locks the camera in the
ideal location but the player still has some camera freedom allowing the viewer to create
their experience. By adding more foreground and background objects we can increase the
tempo of the visual rhythm due to the placement of objects [5].
Hitchcock used techniques of cinematic framing to stage a scene in which game de-
signers can learn from. He has a style in which he considers where characters and objects
are placed within a frame and how other elements attract attention [13]. Designers can use
a similar Hitchcock technique like foreshadowing to excite the player about the activities
and dangers ahead. For example, Bioshock[11] uses this with staging their environments
with various poster designs. The player may not understand the significance of the posters
but they are foreshadowing future adventures [26].
2.1.2 Space
Space incorporates factors such as depth queues, deep space, and perspective all ac-
cumulate to support the characteristics of the screen. Cinematographers use techniques to
direct attention to the object of greatest interest. Techniques such as size and closeness of
an object, the sharpness of focus, spatial relationships between people, framing and how an
objects can be drawn towards objects in motion [6]. This allows the designer to keep the
attention on objects that relate to greatest dramatic significance. Designers use vanishing
points and lines of perspective to guide the player along by drawing the audience’s atten-
tion to certain areas. This can either be done through one, two or three point perspective
viewpoints. By having more vanishing points we can create more illusion of depth. Game
8
designer, Luke McMillain discusses how greater the player’s line of sight, the more they
will feel empowered and the easier a particular scenario may become. The confined spaces
and use of flashlight in Doom 3 are an excellent example of how the mood is tense due to
the limited line of sight offered by tight, constricted corridors. The player’s line of sight
will increase depending on the camera position, frustum and perspective whilst occluding
objects will limit the line of site [21].
2.1.3 Staging
Size variations in level geometry should be used in a way in which the player can
observe contrasts in their environment [22]. By providing a sense of awe designers can
create something bigger than us. Psychologists say it’s the single most overwhelming and
gratifying positive emotion and inspires us to do well [20]. Stage management was very
important to Bioshock. Lead level designer Bill Garnder stated that when you’re building
a space like Fort Frolic you have a lot of different ideas that come into a designer’s head.
You have to have the introduction into the space and establish what Fort Frolic is about.
Following that, the designer needs to draw the player into the quest and make sure the
gameplay is interesting every time you turn [15]. Therefore, supporting the shape of the
picture is the tone and color. This can be observed in Figure 2.2.
Figure 2.2: Image from Bioshock Fort Frolic
9
2.1.4 Shape
Shape is a component that is one of the strongest visual techniques in game design.
Silhouette design is a very powerful way of designing characters, props, and environments
[10]. It’s a great way to make designs have strong shape and memorable visual appeal to
stand out from the rest. Having an environment silhouetted allows the designer to focus
on the form and visual appeal of the object. Like in film, with the combination of line and
shape, designers can stage movement carefully or evaluate certain pictures. Block discusses
how certain emotions occur when a line is straight vs. curved. A straight line is direct, and
aggressive where as a curved line is more passive and organic. These shapes help create an
emotional mood [5].
2.2 Game Design Patterns
Essentially, game designers are architects creating meaningful and powerful spaces
similar to film. Although, in games the virtual world is free of constraints; it offers de-
signers a universe where anything is possible [28]. In some instances, designers limit the
freedom of what the player can achieve to add to a more controlled experience. These tech-
niques allow designers to continue to sculpt a space for both the designer and the player.
The spatial features of a game have a strong impact on creating the narrative space of pos-
sibilities. The organization of spatial features in a game is critical to the design of a game’s
narrative space of possibilities[27].
Similar to our work, researchers are starting to observe the game space by analyzing
games rather than adapting principles from other mediums such as theme parks and film.
Milam and El Nasr focus on one of the fundamental building blocks of the narrative in
games: goals [23]. The player is constantly making decisions when engaged in a story-
line which should work in tangent with the games visual narrative. Goals not only help
players judge their progress but also guide the significance of their actions [27]. They
10
continue to introduce concepts regarding design patterns that guide a players movement
in 3D games. This is accomplished by interviewing designers and analyzing four games:
Bioshock, F.E.A.R: Persueus Mandate, LOST: Via Domus, and Medal of Honor 2: Heroes.
More specifically these patterns focus on the game mechanic elements to draw the player’s
attention throughout the space.
Different from our work, their pattern results focus on literal visual guidance. For
example, the path target pattern orients and directs the players movement towards visible
targets in level such as a targeting device. The path movement pattern is one that can be
with or without resistance or explicit environmental barriers. For example, a path resistance
could be a barrier such as a locked door or a forced detour. Our work takes into account
these patterns and takes into consideration how they could be complementary to spatial
composition principles due to the interactions the player must have with her environment.
Bjrk et al. discuss several hundred of game design patterns but lack focus on specific
level design construction terminology. Patterns are generalized by: the form of using the
pattern, consequences, and relations. For example, immersion patterns are briefly discussed
as games require players’ attention and as such can make players focus on gameplay to the
extent that they feel immersed in the games. Furthermore, they discuss one of the uses
of this pattern as spatial immersion. This is a result of extensive maneuvering in the game
world in real-time games. Although he discusses this concept he negates discussing specific
effects of varying compositions patterns to understand what draws players’ attention to
areas of a level’s construction [4]. He continues about how immersion is one of the most
difficult patterns to instantiate in game design. The consequence is that immersion can
easily be lost as soon as its gained. Our work defines principles to understand the specifics
of attention driven patterns vs. immersive qualities.
11
Figure 2.3: Journey composition
2.3 Attention Not Immersion
In his 2012 GDC talk, Richard Lemarchand discusses the power of attention over im-
mersion. Lemarchand discusses that designer’s focus more on the topic of immersion vs.
talking about what the player is choosing to pay attention to on the screen. He discusses
how people focusing on the same image for a long time eventually become distracted or
impatient. Therefore switching to another activity, especially one that is low stress can
restore the player’s interest in her goals. He relates this too attention restoration theory,
which asserts that people can concentrate better after spending time in nature or even look-
ing at scenes of nature. For example, in the Uncharted franchise designers would spaces
out intense periods of combat with less intensive exploration. Players of games have the
the freedom to choose what to pay attention to before taking an action [17].
He discusses the “attention design” concept adopted by ThatGameCompany while de-
veloping Journey. He specifically talks about the compositions developed for when the
player enters the space that can be seen in Figure 2.3. The player is dropped into a game
space and is isolated around her environment. She is presented with a short-term goal with
12
Figure 2.4: View of Space Mountain at Walt Disney World
a single shape at the top of the hill. As she climbs to the top of the short-term goal the
camera composes a long term goal of the mountain that can be observed in the distance.
These type of goals are similar to what theme park designers utilize to draw a guest towards
the location of different areas of the parks design.
2.4 Theme Park Visual Narrative Relationship to Games
Theme park design has a few standard practices that relate to designers can sculpt en-
vironments. Senior Show Designer for Walt Disney Imagineering Don Caron has argued
that game designers can learn a great deal by studying techniques of “environment story-
telling” which Disney employs in designing amusement park attractions [33]. Similar to
games, theme park design is a 3D storytelling art that places guests or the player in the story
of the environment and in some cases become a linear experience. Environmental story-
telling creates the preconditions for an immersive narrative experience in several different
ways. Disney Imagineers, who design these spaces, are concerned about how to move
guests from place to place. As designers, Imagineers created spaces that take place in care-
13
fully structured environments, allowing the guests to see and hear in new ways. Ultimately
Imagineers give the guests a place to play [14].
Designers from game developer Naughty Dog have already adopted some of the Imag-
ineers philosophies by giving the player a weaning point. This is a term that Imagineers
have coined to give guests a way to navigate their way within the theme park by having a
structure sit just above the horizon line. For example, Figure 2.4 shows the top of Space
Mountain sitting just above the horizon and gives the guest a goal to head towards To-
morrowland, where it resides. Paths towards the weaning point are usually curved around
obstructions but we are always able to see the main objective [16].
Techniques like this were used when building the Indiana Jones adventure at the Dis-
neyland Resort. The queue line leading up to the ride is a specifically structured path that
tells the story of a jungle into ruins. Graphics such as maps are posted on the walls to show
off false directions and suspense builds due to the visual contrast of the rest of the park.
This structure confuses the perception of the actual length of the trip into the rides main
attraction due to the way the que line is constructed [18]. The sculptural direction carries a
story that unfolds in space and time as the guest moves on throughout the que line. Similar
to this, game designers can sculpt epic visual moments and allow players to describe their
most memorable, gratifying game experiences [20].
In summary, design principles are being adapted into games from other mediums such
as film and theme park design. Several researchers are starting to observe the game space
and cross-analyzing game design patterns to formulate results on the affects certain in-
stances have on games. Research has been formalized on the certain mechanical design
aspects but lacks focus the specific principles that guide the geometry construction within
the 2D game space. Therefore, it’s important for designers to understand the relationships
of how spatial construction can affect player’s attention within the design process.
14
3. Principles of Visual Narrative in Games
Narrative in games enters in the form of both visuals and content. Figure 3.1 showcases
how these categories can be broken down into to subsections. First being the visuals, which
involve design concepts such as structural, light, camera, color, etc. Separately, the content
can be broken down into standard narrative structures such as the exposition, climax, and
resolution. For the purpose of this thesis we will be mainly focusing on the visual aspects
of narrative in games. Visual narrative in games affects various aspects of game design
but is ultimately constructed within the games environment. The environment constrains
the goal and will guide the players movements through physical properties. It communi-
cates boundaries and reinforces and shapes the players identity while providing a narrative
context [34]. Game companies divide the construction of this environment differently but
every game needs management, designers, programmers and artists. Game designer Bob
Bates breaks this down further into categories such as programmers, VFX artists, environ-
ment lighters, character riggers, character animators, level designers, concept artists and
more [2].
Figure 3.1: Breakdown of Narrative in Games
15
Furthermore, Bates states that artists now affect every aspect of game design, which
can range from the user interface to the representation of the game world on the screen.
Creating art has become increasingly complex through the years for game designers. Along
side the artists, programmers need to work within technical limitations of the game engine
to produce visuals running in real-time. Bates further discusses how artists need to not
only work on creating believable images but also an understanding of the limitations of the
target platform. Ninety percent of the feedback in a game is visual.
3.1 What is Visual Narrative in Games?
Film producer Bruce Block, discusses how every picture is comprised of story, visuals,
and sounds [5]. The three communicate the meaning of the picture to the viewer. If under-
stood, a designer can control their impact and have the viewer become emotionally invested
in what they are viewing. Therefore, visual narrative in games can be broken down into
similar components such as space, line, shape, tone, color, movement, and rhythm which
all accumulate to story and visual structure. Several factors come into account, which in-
fluence a players decision-making process on what to choose to go towards next. Game
designer Chris Solarski states that with the gentle push of a player’s thumb we can now
interact with these visual worlds [30]. Contrary to other mediums, a game’s visual nar-
rative must be constructed in a 3D space while considering player’s agency. Therefore
designers influence the story and the way the player’s navigation methods. A key challenge
in computer-based interactive narrative is the conflict between user agency and authorial
control of the story qualities [36].
Game designer Steve Gaynor states, “In games that don’t utilize a ton of cut scenes,
visual communication is done via the environment. A lot of similar concepts are used
from film such as framing, emphasis, etc. but in games the visual language lives in three-
dimensional space around the player. Things like continuing to ascend or descend means
16
Figure 3.2: Breakdown of Structural Visuals in Games
you’re going the right way, or cresting a hill or turning a corner to reveal a surprising vista
serve similar purposes. The best cases are subtle enough that the player isn’t conscious of
how they’re being directed to understand the space in the intended way [12].” Therefore,
by understanding the concepts the designer can craft certain paths but also give the player
the illusion of full control.
3.2 Five Structural Visual Narrative Principles
For the purpose of this project we will be focusing on structural composition principles.
More specifically how does shape, space, and form relate to one another and create atten-
tion to certain areas of a level. The following are five principles that were derived from
cross analyzing play sessions and observing game design patterns between popular 3D ad-
venture games Uncharted 3, Dear Esther, and Journey. These principles do not necessarily
stand-alone and can work in tangent with each other to create a stronger statement. By
utilizing these principles the designer can shift the players attention by taking into consid-
eration of her surroundings.
17
Figure 3.3: White outlines the contrasting shapes
3.2.1 Contrasting Shape Principle
Definition: A silhouette contrasts with the adjacent environments overall shape struc-
ture often the picturesque versus the rigid line. Through the use of such contrast, designers
can employ silhouette to emphasize/de-emphasize certain processional goals. This Princi-
ple focuses attention by the figural quality of the silhouette shape and also by affecting the
18
environmental boundary around the shape.
Examples: a) Journey - In Figure 3.3.1, the angular structure contrasts its organic sur-
roundings to draw players attention towards certain locations within the Desert sequence;
b) Uncharted 3 - In Figure 3.3.2, the player is directed to the top of a building in the Citadel
sequence due to its contrasting curve from the horizontal plane created on its top level and;
c) Dear Esther - In Figure 3.3.3, the player is directed towards a building that protrudes
from the side of a mountain during the beach side moment of The Beacon chapter and
bringing focus to various pictorial elements of the narrative.
Figure 3.4: White outline surrounds the framed structure
19
3.2.2 Framed Structure Principle
Definition: A frame may occlude foreground information, focusing attention on a
midground or background viewpoint. More simply, a framing device may simply enframe
a view without occlusion suggesting an inside and outside to this figure. Dominant vertical
elements may define a subset of the horizontal plane. Similarly, horizontal elements can
be used to enframe a vertical plane. This principle focuses attention by heightening the
legibility of the subset view.
Examples: a) Journey - In Figure 3.4.1, the player approached strategically placed struc-
tures during the Water Caves sequence that bring focus to collectibles and also a path to
the player next goal; b) Uncharted 3 - In Figure 3.4.2, designers utilized windows and arch
ways in Greatness from Small Beginnings level to bring focus to specific path goals such
as stairs and important narrative elements and; c) Dear Esther - In Figure 3.4.3, the player
approached an abandoned shipyard filled with open containers during The Lighthouse se-
quence. Upon exiting these containers, there is a specific framed compositions that shows
the player next goal.
20
Figure 3.5: White directs the line through repetition
3.2.3 Directional Line Principle
Definition: A patterning of repetitive lines and/or edges defines a visual, actual and/or
metaphoric pathway(s) linking foreground, midground, and background through foreshort-
ening. The principle focuses attention by defining an implied perspective view thought the
diminishing size of repetitive patterning.
Examples: a) Journey - In Figure 3.5.1, the player is directed along a path from the repeti-
tious placement of bridge like structures to showcase the end goal of The Bridge sequence;
b) Uncharted 3 - In Figure 3.5.2, the player traversed through the Historical Research chap-
21
ter on strategically placed awning that blend in with the side of the buildings to guide the
player in a chase sequence and; c) Dear Esther - In Figure 3.5.3, the player has subtle
carved out paths surrounded by organic rock shapes as she traversed through the mountains
landscapes during The Lighthouse sequence.
Figure 3.6: White line directs the path of elevation
22
3.2.4 Shifting Elevation Principle
Definition: A spatial relationship between ground plane and line of sight. The pro-
cessional sequence is characterized as below, in line, or above an implied horizontal often
with diagonal or parallel relationships of succeeding ground planes. The principle focuses
attention by manipulating the relationship of the ground plane in relation to foreground,
mid-ground and background elements.
Examples: ) Journey - In Figure 3.6.1, designer’s directed players towards the various
goal locations by the shifting the elevation between the fore, mid, and background during
the Descent sequence; ) Uncharted 3 - In Figure 3.6.2, designer’s shifted the elevation of
the level during the Mirage of the Desert sequence which focuses on no action elements
but requires player navigating form one mirage to the next by navigating through elevated
desert planes and; ) Dear Esther - In Figure 3.6.3, designer’s structured path ways within
the Cave sequence and direct players towards the next location based on the contrast in
elevation from her previous path.
23
Figure 3.7: White outlines the exaggerated structure
3.2.5 Structural Exaggeration Principle
Definition: Exaggerated structures contrast their surrounding to showcase emphasis
and direct the players attention towards her next goal. A spatial relationship between
boundaries, edges and centers understood primarily as an interruption of the legibility/continuity
of either a horizontal or vertical plane. This principle results in implied axes of symmetry
and/or asymmetry about dominant horizontals or verticals and uses visual weight, position,
balance and depth to determine focus. The pattern creates attention on the area by breaking
the horizontal plane created when structures are similar in scale in Y coordinates. This can
24
be either used to create the end goal or a subset of goals within the designer’s path.
Examples: a) Journey - In Figure 3.7.1, the player is directed towards her goal from the
exaggerated size of the entrance of the cave that contrast the surrounding environments as
she travels up during The Mountain sequence; b) Uncharted 3 - In Figure 3.7.2, players
are presented with the Chateau building several times early on in the Chateau sequence
to bring focus to it’s importance by constructing it above the horizon line and contrasting
it’s height from the surrounding forest and; c) Dear Esther - In Figure 3.7.3, the player is
directed towards the phone tower during certain points of her play through. This element
is given prominence due to being structurally taller than its surrounding and its placement
as one of the furthest locations on the level.
25
4. Empirical Study
To this point we have discussed our theoretical backing and related work that lead
us to define structural composition principles in 3D adventure games. Similar to previous
approaches we cross-analyzed popular 3d adventure games to determine common structural
designs that support attention driven goals. Based on our observations we developed a user
study to analyze the defined structural composition principles, the effectiveness of each and
answer the following research questions:
1. Do our choices of structural composition principles influence players attention and
guide them to certain goals within a level?
2. Can principles stand on their own or are they in need of assistance by other literal
guidance patterns such as those from Milam and El Nasr to influence players naviga-
tion?
4.1 User Study Design
Our user study was targeted toward individuals between the ages of 18-35 with a min-
imum of 40 participants. Limited information was provided to the player to avoid influ-
encing her decision making process. Player’s were prefaced with the following: “This is a
navigation experiment. You will be presented with path options throughout the level. There
is no right or wrong way to go. Please choose what feels most natural to you and once you
choose that direction please continue to move forward. There will be a post interview
process following your play through.”
Participants were randomly selected to test one of two variations of the constructed
level. A standard first person perspective navigation controller similar to the one in Dear
Esther was used as a control scheme. Each map constructed resembled an adventure game
26
style layout to evoke the sense of exploration. Minimal visual enhancements were con-
structed to increase the players interest levels between pattern locations such as ambient
occlusion light maps, colored shading, non-attention driven lighting and set dressing ob-
jects. Initial levels were designed with 2d sketches and later moved into a 3D grey boxing
environment within Autodesk Maya. Grey boxing involves creating basic geometry shape,
which lacks detail such as textures and shading. The geometry is created in a way to allow
for easy iteration and alteration of the levels layout. Artists are able to use the grey box
environment as a basis for placement of final 3D models. This provided a platform for the
investigator to iterate informal user testing to determine the effectiveness and overall length
of the study.
Figure 4.1: Map A Overhead Zones Part 1 Figure 4.2: Map B Overhead Zones Part 1
Figure 4.3: Map A Overhead Zones Part 2 Figure 4.4: Map B Overhead Zones Part 2
27
Table 4.1: Zone Principle Locations
Zone Principle Map A Map B
1 Contrasting Shape Present Present
2 Framed Structure Not Present Present
3 Elevation Present Not Present
4 Exaggeration Not Present Present
5 Directional Line Not Present Present
6 Goal Present Present
The study was organized further within two separate levels. Each contained six zones,
which evaluated if the principles hypotheses had any influence on the user’s decision mak-
ing process. Figure 4.1 and 4.3 showcases the six specific zones and how it contrasts Figure
4.2 and 4.3. Two levels allowed for variation and observation on how users interacted dif-
ferently in each zone within the environment. It was important to constrict the players view
when approaching each principle in order to have a non-biased decision making process.
Therefore, the viewing frustum was limited as the player approached the principles testing
zone. In between zones we created small areas where player’s can minimally explore to
avoid players feeling over constricted which we define as visual breathing points.
In some instances, the principles influence may not be present in the zone to test the
effectiveness of their hypotheses. For example, a framed structure is presented in Figure
4.2 and not in Figure 4.1 because it is our belief that the structure will draw attention to
certain path goals within the map. Table 4.1 details which zones had patterns present or not
present within the levels construction. The following figures detail out each zone in which
the green arrow is the designer’s intended path vs. the red arrow which is the designers
28
non-intended path. These zones are detailed as follows:
Figure 4.5: Map A and Map B - principle is present
1)Zone 1 - Contrasting Shape - This zone allowed us to compare organic shaped vs rigid
shaped structures and observe what player’s gravitate towards. Player’s are presented with
the same option within both Map A and Map B. In Figure 4.5 one door frame is curvature
shaped similar to the entrance to a cave where as the other is more linear like a standard
door way. It was the goal of this zone to observe if the player would recognize and gravitate
towards organic shaped vs rigid shaped entrance.
Figure 4.6: Map A - Principle is present Figure 4.7: Map B - Principle is not present
29
2)Zone 2 - Framed Structure - This zone allowed us to determine if a framed structure
can guide the player towards a specific goal upon exit. In Map A player’s are presented
with no archway which can be seen in Figure 4.6. Where as Map B contained an archway
that initially points the player towards the right while occluding the left which can be seen
in Figure 4.7. Upon exiting the archway the player is able to see both options and is able to
choose her direction. It was the goal for the player to gravitate towards the right hand side
of the map upon exiting.
Figure 4.8: Map A - Principle is present Figure 4.9: Map B - Principle is not present
3)Zone 3 - Shifting Elevation - This zone determined if a shift in elevation will direct
the player interest level towards an intended path. In Map A player’s are presented with an
elevated set of stairs to the left which can be observed on the left side of Figure 4.8. Where
as in Map B both directions display similar elevation to the current path the player was
previously traversing. This observation can be seen on the right hand side of Figure 4.9. It
was the goal of this zone to see if the elevated stairs presented on the left would navigate
the players direction.
30
Figure 4.10: Map A - Principle is not present Figure 4.11: Map B - Principle is present
4)Zone 4-Structural Exaggeration - The following zone allowed us to determine if an
exaggerated structure provided more interest to a player based on scale. In Map A a flat
horizontal plane is created when both buildings are similar in scale. This can be seen on
the left hand side of Figure 4.10. Where as in Map B the horizontal plane is broken by the
right building being taller than its counterpart which can be observed on the right hand side
of Figure 4.11. It was the goal of this zone to observe if the player chose an exaggerated
structure over one similar in size when placed side by side.
Figure 4.12: Map A - Principle is not present Figure 4.13: Map B - Principle is present
31
5)Zone 5-Directional Line - The following zone determined if a series of similar struc-
tures in a repeatable pattern would guide a player towards her next goal. Player’s were
presented with the option of going left or right of the elevated shape in the open ”sand
dune” area of the map. In Map A structures are placed in a repeatable curvature line to
guide a player down a specific path which can be seen on the left hand side of Figure 4.12.
Where as Map B contains no structures which can be seen on the right hand side of Figure
4.13. It was the goal of this zone to have the players be drawn towards the right hand side
of the map based on the placement of the structures and follow a specific path.
Figure 4.14: Map A and Map B - principle is present
6)Zone 6-End Goal - The following zone determined if the user becomes familiar with
the end goal at the beginning of the level. One structure is immediately visible at the
beginning of the map vs. one that is side by side at the end of the map. Both structures
are the same in Map A and Map B. At the beginning the player is able to see a pyramid
structure but as she enters the open ”sand dune” area she is presented with the tower object
which can be seen in Figure 4.14. These two objects were shaped differently in order for
the viewer to have a distinct choice at the end and not think of them as similar goals. It was
the goal of this zone to see if players would remember the pyramid shape from her entrance
32
into the space and choose it at completion.
4.2 Results
As mentioned earlier players would approach each zone and make her decision on what
path she would like to take. The investigator notated each decision during the play through
of the grey box environment. From these decisions, the investigator was able to interview
each player and discuss their decision making process. Player’s sessions were tracked uti-
lizing heat mapping technology and a screen capture software in order to visually observe
her experience during the post interview process. 3D heat maps allow for a more robust
interpretation of data and avoid any errors when testing areas of the map that may be higher
or lower than a steady Y value. This also gave us a visual representation of what areas of
the map may be underutilized for future iterations of the testing procedures. From these
results, we categorized each map into a table where 1 represented that the player did nav-
igate towards the designers intended path where as 0 was not the designers intended path.
We were then able to utilize both the statistical data and post-interview questionnaire to
support the results of our empirical study.
4.2.1 Statistical Analysis
We were able to formulate some basic demographic information but unfortunately we
were not able to see any common trends between demographics and our results. Between
both maps the players age ranged from 18 - 48 with the average age being 21. Players were
asked how many hours each played video games weekly ranging from under 1 hour to 20
+ hours per week. The average between both maps played 2-5 hours per week.
Table 4.3 details that Zone 1 had 55% of player’s taking the intended path vs Table 4.4
where 65% chose to go towards the non intended path. The variety in these results may be
due to what we discuss in Section 4.2.3. Furthermore in Table 4.4 displayed that Zone was
33
5% stronger than Table 4.4 when a framed structure is present in the level. Zone 3 had the
strongest statistical response with 90% of users in Table 4.3 going in the intended direction.
Where as in Table 4.4 had 75% of users going towards the right hand side when a view of
elevation was not present, which was expected.
Zone 4 showed similar results in both Table 4.3 and Table 4.4 which we discuss further
in section 4.2.2. Statistically Zone 5 proved influential as it can be seen in Table 4.3 on page
34 with a 55% response going towards the right hand side when entering the zone. Where
as in Table 4.4 80% of users were not influenced to go towards the right at all. Finally in
Zone 6, both Table 34 and Table 34 statistics showed that most player’s chose to go towards
the tower vs the pyramid shape.
Unfortunately, Figure 4.15 and Figure 4.16 illustrate that users explored every corner of
the map. Data becomes clustered when users are not prevented from back tracking which
is not necessarily a bad action. The investigator utilized the post interview responses to
resolve any questions about the zones with overlapping data. We were able to observe
large amounts of dense data for the elevation principles influence in Zone 3. Data are
much stronger in Figure 4.18 within this Zone than 4.16. Figure 4.17 does however help
investigators visualize the influence of structures as driving attention in Zone 5. Where as
in Figure 4.18 showed minimal data going towards the right hand side of the map.
34
Table 4.3: Map A Statistics
Zone 1 2 3 4 5 6
Intended 55% 55% 90% 70% 55% 55%Not Intended 45% 45% 10% 30% 45% 45%
Table 4.4: Map B Statistics
Zone 1 2 3 4 5 6
Intended 35% 60% 25% 70% 15% 35%Not Intended 65% 40% 75% 30% 80% 60%
Table 4.2: Zone Principle Locations
Zone Principle Map A Map B
1 Contrasting Shape Present Present
2 Framed Structure Not Present Present
3 Elevation Present Not Present
4 Exaggeration Not Present Present
5 Directional Line Not Present Present
6 Goal Present Present
35
Figure 4.15: Map A Part 1 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path
Figure 4.16: Map B Part 1 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path
36
Figure 4.17: Map A Part 2 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path
Figure 4.18: Map B Part 2 Heat Map - Red Line is Intended Path
37
Table 4.5: Map A Responses
User Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 601 0 0 1 1 0 002 1 1 1 1 0 103 0 0 1 1 0 004 0 1 1 1 1 005 1 1 1 0 1 106 0 1 1 1 1 107 1 0 0 1 0 108 0 0 0 1 1 109 0 0 1 0 0 110 1 1 1 1 1 011 1 0 1 0 0 112 1 0 1 1 1 113 1 1 1 0 1 014 0 1 1 1 0 115 1 0 1 1 1 116 0 1 1 1 0 017 0 0 1 1 1 018 1 0 1 0 1 019 1 1 1 1 1 020 1 0 1 0 0 1
Male 16 Female 41 = Yes / 0 = No
38
Table 4.6: Map B Responses
User Zone 1 Zone 2 Zone 3 Zone 4 Zone 5 Zone 602 0 0 0 0 0 003 0 1 1 0 N/A N/A04 0 1 0 0 0 005 0 0 1 1 0 006 0 1 0 1 1 007 0 1 0 1 0 008 1 0 0 1 0 009 1 1 1 0 1 110 0 0 0 1 0 011 1 1 0 0 0 012 0 1 1 0 0 113 0 0 0 1 0 014 0 1 0 1 0 115 1 1 0 1 0 016 1 0 0 1 0 017 1 1 1 1 0 118 0 1 0 1 0 019 0 1 0 1 0 120 0 0 0 1 1 121 1 0 0 1 0 1
Male 18 Female 21 = Yes / 0 = No
39
4.2.2 Post Interview Analysis
To this point we were able to observe a statistical analysis that formalized the hard
intended vs. intended decision-making process. Moving forward we were able to support
or clarify those results based on the post-interview held immediately following the play
through. Zone 1 provided interesting results revolving around not only the shape of the
entrance but also participants habits. One of the biggest results was that users who chose
the organic shape door specifically mentioned that the shape was more interesting than the
standard entrance doorway. User 007 and 010 of map A related the organic shaped entrance
to the terms ”exploration and adventurous.” Several users mentioned that they chose the
rigid door over the organic shape entrance due to clarity of depth in one hallway vs. the
other. In map B, user 004 specifically mentioned that they observed more ”viewable depth”
in the right hand side vs. the left. In some instances it was considered an instinct decision
to choose the right over the left due to it being the first path the user saw as they navigated
down the hallway. Interestingly, early on user 004 in Map B discussed that he is right
predominant and felt that he mainly gravitates towards the right when making his choices.
We discuss this further in section 4.2.3. In map B, user 019 mentioned that the straight
edges caught his attention more than the curvature shaped presented to the left. Although,
one is presently not stronger than the other, we are able to recognize a pattern that organic
shapes are specifically being described more interesting where as the rigid doorway being
chosen due to it being on the right side.
No users specifically stated that the framed structure in Zone 2 guided them towards the
right hand goal. One of the biggest influences was the pillar and fire escapes that players
were presented with on the right hand side as they panned upward when making their
decisions. User 008 of map B mentioned that upon exiting the frame structure he initially
gravitated towards the left but changed his decision as soon as he saw the pole structure
to his right. User 006 in map A mentioned that the fire escapes at the beginning of the
40
map caught his attention and that being the significant reason for choosing the right hand
side vs. the left. Once again, several users mentioned that they generally gravitate towards
the right hand side when making navigation decisions. In map A, user 008 explored the
left side due to it being “smaller in size” and felt that the ladders made the right feel more
expansive. We still were able to see stronger results of players gravitating towards the right
hand side of the map when a frame structure was present. Alternatively, in further testing
scenarios it would be interesting to restructure the framed element with the desire point
within the frame and as the user exits the frame structure she is presented with a similar
desire point on the left hand side.
An intriguing observation from Zone 3 arose during the testing phase of the elevation
principle. As the player approached the L shaped hallway she would try to immediately
go right despite it being a small alcove. This is once again a reoccurring pattern that we
discuss in Section 4.2.3. Furthermore, Zone 3 proved to be the most successful scenario.
The elevation was not present for users in map B and in 75% of cases users continued down
their normal right hand decision-making process. In map B, user 011 talked about how he
didn’t go left because nothing seemed to influence his decision to go in that direction.
In map A, user 009 specifically mentioned that he saw the stairs and usually wants to go
higher when playing. Similarly, user 002 felt that the stairs would lead him to a place where
he could see everything. Furthermore, user 012 specifically mentions that the stairs drew
interest vs. his other option, which had a similar floor plane he was presently on. User
013 mentions that the right hand side would most likely be more flat and the left would
allow him to go upwards. Finally, user 017 states that the right hand side felt like he was
on the same level where as going up was someplace different. From these results we are
able to determine that elevation was an influence to motivate and draw players attention in
a certain direction.
Surprisingly, both cases for Zone 4 provided the same results regarding the exaggeration
41
principle. Although several observations were made from the results of the participants in
map B. Out of all 40 testing members, 45% of the users had no specific reason why the
chose the right over the left but 20% specifically mention that they chose the right direction
vs. the left due to it being larger than the other building. In map A, use 007 mentioned
that due to it being the same size he went with the closer option. User 016 in map A
specifically mentioned that he thought they were both the same size and it was a coin flip.
We decided to take this opportunity to ask the user if anything would have influenced his
decision if he were presented with another options. The user responded that he would have
gone to a much taller building over a smaller one. Previous to this pattern in map B, the
intended path was towards the left. In a few cases, players mentioned that there choice was
influenced based on their what direction they chose previously. For example, one being
that they decided to go left because they had been constantly going right up until this point
and vice versa. Therefore, we can conclude that players are noticing exaggerated structures
as a point of focus. In the future it would be beneficial to swap the exaggerated structure to
the left hand said which is the contrary to participants standard directional choice.
It was clear that the repeated lined structures added to the right hand side of the map
influenced 55% of the users in that direction for Zone 5. Users in map A, specifically
mentioned that there intentions of going right was decided by the curiosity of what may
be placed in structures. One user explained that he likes to follow things in the distance
and found the tunnels interesting. User 015 brought up that normally the user is rewarded
if they spend the time to explore. Continuing on, User 006 discussed that the ring created
from the placement of the boxes was very intriguing and felt it would eventually lead him
back to the tower. Two users in map B felt that by turning right it would loop back and
gravitated in that direction because they were concerned they would miss something. In
map B, most of the 80% statistical results discussed that the main reason they went left is
that nothing drew their attention to the right of the map. As soon as they saw the tower
42
structures in the distance they ended up going in that direction.
Finally, players in most cases gravitated towards the tower structure vs. the pyramid
structure in Zone 6 when testing if the player remembered the goal from the beginning of
the game. Player’s responded that the reason they chose the pyramid over the tower was
due to the fact that it was a more interesting shape. Where as, the tower was mainly chosen
due to it being the furthest location in the players path. No player’s mentioned that they
remembered seeing the pyramid at the beginning of their play through. A stronger testing
scenario for future work would cause the player to see the pyramid structure several times
early on in the map before being presented with the option at the end. It will be important
to the testing scenario that other locations are not hindered by this set up.
4.2.3 External to the Game Influence Analysis
During the user testing several factors arose that would influence further iterations of
the testing scenario. The most interesting was the how certain players brought up the fact
they normally choose to go towards the right when making there directional decisions.
The investigator informally asked the participants if they were predominately right or left
handed. Unfortunately, the right-handed testers did outweigh the left-handed player’s to
form conclusive data. Two testers specifically notated that they normally follow the hand
on the wall rule, which is commonly used for maze algorithms. Interestingly left hand
predominate user mentioned it as the left hand on the wall rule vs. the right hand users
referring to it as the right. Furthermore, one user mentioned he enters a room in games
similar to his military training, which is normally done by scanning the room from left to
right. It will be important to consider these factors in future iterations even though our
study can not provide data to support these concerns.
43
4.2.4 Self Analysis
It is important that designers recognize that most players inadvertently choose to go
right when organizing zones in the future. Designer’s can take this into consideration early
on in the development process and make sure that the guided path is varied throughout the
design of the level. Consideration also should be taken as to what the designers intended
previous path was and possibly alternate it with her next intention. When constructing
future levels one must consider the steady flow of constantly making one direction is equal
with the other. It proved valuable to present both options equally to the player. Minor
adjustments should be made so that the depths of entrances are presented equally.
44
5. Conclusion & Future Work
In this thesis we have presented and evaluated an approach to define structural composi-
tion principles as a subset of visual narrative to guide goal driven attention in 3D computer
games. The breakdown of our approach is: define structural composition principles by
cross analyzing patterns in popular 3d adventure games, design a level to test the effec-
tiveness of our principles, and then utilize the results to test the effectiveness of structural
principles for visual narrative in games.
The study does confirm our hypotheses: structural composition patterns can inuence
the players attention to certain areas of a level. Furthermore, it pushes for the discussion
on how certain principles can stand on their own or if their need support of others to make
a stronger attention driven statement.
The empirical study provided us with data about future work. On a low level it would
be beneficial to run this testing scenario through other iterations by swapping the desired
paths in each zone and determine if the structures are still effective. Small mistakes such
as the depth of the hallway made a larger impact than expected on the player’s decision-
making process. Its important to take into consideration how the player views the end of a
hallway just as much as the entrance to that hallway. Furthermore, it would be beneficial to
take into consideration more external decision making factors such as cultural influences.
As already mention, Milam and El Nasr work proved to be beneficial and we feel that
combining their patterns with our results may provide stronger results on defining what
visual narrative means to 3d computer adventure games. For example, by combining the
directional line principle with collection pattern may result in an opaque decision in the
players direction towards her next goal.
On a higher level, a more procedural approach would provide a more detailed analysis.
These principles essentially are variables for a level that is procedurally generated and
45
provide more variation for user testing scenarios. By doing this, the investigator can have
quick iteration times and test a larger amount of subjects and level variations to further
define the effectiveness of the patterns. As a whole, visual narrative in games is as extensive
as other mediums such as film and theme park design. Areas of specific interest are how
lighting and camera design influence players decisions. By defining these other variables
designers can understand the effectiveness of how to draw the player towards her goal
without taking complete control of her experience.
On broader scale, game design can become more of a procedural approach, which
would allow for more variation in game play styles. Game designers, artists and program-
mers can work together to create systems that will dynamically change the environment
and possibly adapt to the habits of the players game play style. This would allow for a
more robust system that would drive storytelling within the 3D space. Though, in order
to accomplish this, games must be studied as its own medium for creators to understand
the effectiveness of design principles such as structural composition, have on the player’s
attention towards her goals. Therefore, it may not be effective to try to adapt film principles
into games but try to understand how those style of principles effect the player during game
play.
Games as a medium have matured into a form of expression that provides opportu-
nities for players to encounter new experiences. We discuss this further in Appendix A.
where we break down Journey and discuss how the visuals support the narrative context
but also provided an opportunity for the player to create her own story. ThatGameCom-
pany created a structure that would allow players to enter open minded and build her own
narrative alongside the underlying story. They challenged themselves to do this visually
and it was accomplished by taking into account how the visual narrative is constructed and
supports the overall classic Monomyth narrative pattern. This thesis presents the first step
in understanding these variables and treat games as their own medium
46
Appendix A. Case Study Journey
A close study of ThatGameCompany’s Journey analyzes elements that showcase how
structural composition methods work to support the games narrative structure and goals.
The overarching narrative structure of Journey follows classic Monomyth Pattern of a heros
journey. The hero begins with a call for an adventure that will include challenges, rebirth,
transformation, and atonement. Helpers and mentors assist him along his quest and ulti-
mately lead him back to the start of the adventure. In this full cycle of the heros journey,
the Journey player learns about the story of the rise and fall of a civilization. As mentioned
above, thanks to the games open-ended structure and characterization, the player is able to
interpret the finer details of the heros tale on her own.
In Understanding Comics [19], Scott McCloud argued that when images of cartoon
characters become more abstract, it is easier for the readers to identify themselves with
the characters. In other words, the language of abstraction leads to greater universality.
The characters in Journey, like its overarching narrative, are purposefully designed to be
abstract for similar effect. As the player progresses through each stage of the heros journey,
she can draw on her own background and complete her own version of the story through
the faceless characters and the open-ended pictograms.
Unlike many other instances of a heros journey story where text or spoken words are
used to communicate the end goal, Journey communicates its story and the emotional tale
by intertwining the abstract visual narrative of the players experience with the implied story
arcs. By visual narrative, I mean how visual composition within level design communicates
the goals that are intertwined with the games narrative arc structure.
For example, Journeys ancestral narrative is implied through pictograms, a form of writ-
ing that uses representational, pictorial drawings and is the basis for hieroglyphic writings.
These pictograms depict the beginning of time and the birth of a civilization. A natural
47
energy source comes from the sky in the form of a shooting star and creates life, also refer-
encing the beginning of the player experience. This is the birth of animals and vegetation
and ultimately leads to the birth of the first red robe travelers. They are given the gift of
another energy source in the form of cloth that is used to start building their architectural
structures. While this occurs the travelers ancestors focus less on natural energy and focus
more on urbanization. Natural energy sources such as plants and wildlife slowly disappear
as buildings overshadow nature.
Because of this, energy becomes sparse and panic ensues until no other energy sources
remain. Rock like creatures are used to gather the remaining energy sources in a war
between the travelers. Ultimately, this leads to the demise of the traveler species and the
civilization begins to fall. The important architecture structures begin to crumble and sand
covers this once thriving civilization. The natural energy source once again starts to emit
from the earth and drifts over the tombs of the travelers. Ultimately, it gives birth in the
form of a shooting start, the player.
This story is fully unveiled before the players final climb towards the top of the moun-
tain. This is the moment when the player also comes to the realization that she has traveled
through all these different scenarios displayed in the pictograms but in their fallen environ-
mental state. These visuals serve as the backbone of the players story and describe what
she must learn before she reaches the atonement arc of the Monomyth pattern. Therefore,
its important to discuss how the player views her story through each sequence.
The player is introduced to the tombs of the past in an open desert and begins her call
to adventure. The sequence is followed by architectural structures that contain remaining
scarf like energy creatures trapped within the fallen structures that once were the main focus
of her ancestors. These creatures provide support to the player and give a sense of comfort
throughout the rest of her journey. She continues her quest and discovers the beauty of
the once thriving civilization by observing and interacting with protruding architectural
48
structures. The player begins the descent into the tunnels during the threshold arc of the
Monomyth pattern and meets the rock like creatures. These were once considered war
machines but now act as guardians of the past and are the only element throughout the
game that can hurt the player. Eventually the player slowly rises back to the surface and
encounters her ancestors one last time.
As mentioned earlier, ancestors display the heros history at the end of the sequences
and act as a mentor for the player. However the ancestor reveals to the player that her story
is a continuation of the ancestors history and foreshadows what is to come. This is the
moment of revelation and notifies the player of her death in order to achieve atonement.
The player makes one last struggle towards the top of mountain as she witnesses the death
of her red robed traveler. The ancestors meet the player one last time and rocket her towards
atonement by giving her their ultimate energy source. It also serves as a moment of peace
and rest before her ultimate return to where she began. This results in the player returning
to the beginning of her journey in the spirit of a shooting star.
Journeys visual narrative structure of story, visuals, and soundtrack work in conjunction
with the travelers history and speak to the player. Key elements are important in working
in conjunction with players story in order to provide a sense of emotion and exploration.
They are color, light, structural composition, and visual pacing.
The use of color serves as a huge factor in the way images relate to the narrative and
immediately conveys an emotional tone. The narrative quality of color sequences and the
emotions they evoke work in parallel with the storys key dramatic moments. Lighting
methods enhancing the color value, which add to the players sense of awe and astonish-
ment. For example, during the narratives threshold crossing the player begins her descent
into the tunnels, which results in one of the most beautiful parts of the game due to the way
light interacts with the structural composition and creates a warm color palette. This palate
slowly declines into a shade of dark blue as the player gets closer towards the end of the
49
sequence. This conveys the time shift from daytime to the night, but also causes the players
emotions to change from a sense of comfort to a sense of cautiousness. This correlation of
story and emotion corresponds with the challenge arc of the Monomyth pattern in order to
reach revelation.
As the player learns more about the red robed travelers heritage she becomes more chal-
lenged by the environment and its structural composition. Structural composition relates
to how buildings are constructed, laid out and serve as the incentive for the players goals.
For instance, throughout the desert, buildings are sparsely laid out in order to show the
desertedness of the fallen city. Hidden in the corners are structures that showcase bonus
pictograms that deepen Journeys narrative. The environment becomes dense as the player
moves through each sequence. This creates several different emotions due to its interaction
with color values. Its important to note how structural composition (i.e., level design) is
used as a goal driven device due to the lack of spoken word. For example, the player starts
in an open desert and makes an initial climb up a sand dune. As the player reaches the crest
of the dune she is able to see the summit in the distance. Due to its prominent placement
just above the horizon line, the player can sense its narrative importance, even though she
may not realize immediately it is the final destination of the story.
In Journey visual pacing is created by combining several visual narrative elements. It
functions by affecting not only the players attention within a level, but also how it causes
a player to slow down or speed up. A perfect example comes after the players revelation
when she approaches the mountain during her final transformation. Wind pushes the player
down the mountain if she does not stand behind strategically placed goals shaped similar
to the tombs at the beginning of the game. This enforces the storys final struggle and the
challenges that the player needs to take before the revelation arc of her story. The player is
able to feel this due to the way she interacts with the environment. Contrasting this, is the
visual pacing as the player begins her return to where the journey started after the state of
50
atonement. At this point the player returns to a comfort level familiar to that at the begin-
ning of the game. Players are free roaming and engulfed in a bright atmosphere that cause
no visual restrictions on how fast or slow they can proceed throughout the environment.
Ultimately, the player is able to take one last walk into the summit and once again become
a shooting star to restart the storys cycle.
Finally, along with these two styles of storytelling, Journey allows the player to create
stories written by her game play experience. This is the result of what Chris Bell, designer
of Journey discusses in his 2012 GDC talk Designing for Friendship. By engaging in the
experience with other players and sharing a wide range of emotions, a narrative is created
[3]. This can be attributed to the combination of story structure, visual narrative elements,
and how the players communicate.
Players are able to develop these bonds by having a simple language mentioned above.
During a recent play through, I was exploring the environment to locate certain collectibles
in order to achieve white robe status achievement. My fellow traveler had already achieved
this status and realized my intentions based on the actions I was making within the envi-
ronment, drawing attention to certain areas through the use of singing. From that point my
companion was able to lead me to specific areas of the map and I was able to collect the
final pieces. If I fell behind, the player would wait for me and vice versa. Its a unique way
for the player to create a friendship story alongside your heros quest and cross the finish
line together.
52
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