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Title:
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Wayfinding in Open World Games
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Creator:
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Venkatachalam, Subramanian
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Subject:
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Thesis (M.F.A.) -- Interactive Design and Game Development
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Subject:
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Savannah College of Art and Design -- Department of Interactive Design and Game Development
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Rights:
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Copyright is retained by the authors or artists of items in this collection, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.
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Abstract:
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"This thesis examines ways to improve one's sense of direction in order to navigate open-world games. Instead, the thesis looks at how in-level wayfinding cues in video games could be used to make more interesting and fun games. It looks at how modern open-world games lead players to their destinations. Many games today use visual clues and obstructive user interface elements to help players find their way through game worlds. However, this may cause the players to rely more on navigational aids and reduce their spatial knowledge and enjoyment of the game. This research aims to close an information gap in video game wayfinding by explaining how important in-level cues are, pointing out cues that already exist, and exploring new potential cues. Urban design and architectural ideas were used to develop new wayfinding hypotheses. Then, these ideas were turned into clues for wayfinding in game and put to use in playable game scenarios. The research participants' game experiences showed that they had done a lot of different things well and that it might be possible to improve the wayfinding in games." --Abstract
Keywords: wayfinding, mental images, sense of direction, navigation, spatial knowledge, cognitive mapping, level design, open world games
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Publisher:
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Savannah, Georgia : Savannah College of Art and Design
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Date:
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2022-11
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Format:
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2 online resources: 1 PDF (Thesis, 57 pages, color illustrations) + 1 mp4 film (Studio component, approximately 4 min., color)
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