Research : Environment design for player mental well-being

 


GDC Research : Narrative Design, Spatial Design and learning through exploring (Experiential learning theory) 


 Today I have mostly been.. watching GDC Lectures :) 

I enjoyed having a browse on YouTube looking at lectures from GDC on VR, Narrative and Environment Design looking at Narrative in TEL Healthcare as ‘informed by games theory’.. while eating some mcvities digestive biscuits and drinking tea.. A perfect Sunday well spent. 

I am picking up the threads from the game-based apps I developed in my MA Creative App Development - Falmouth University, to focus on how to design spaces to support Narrative (Cinematography) VR Development, moving on to Narrative Design for VR and then finally looking at general principles in designing Narrative for games.

I have made a few notes from the video, so I can form my own set of basic principles that I can use as a guide when designing a VR Narrative Experience.  I will need to add research on Narrative in TEL Healthcare and Mobile learning Theory (Including experiential learning) to my list but I hope that this guide will at least get me started in creating a prototype that could be tested against other modes of TEL Healthcare delivery. 




Environment Design as Spatial Cinematography : Theory and Practice 

‘Although we can’t control the camera we can create the environment that the player moves through’


Key Points 

2D Screen : compositions on a flat screen 


Movement : Saliency and Affordances 

1. Saliency : Controlling where the player is looking (and the camera is looking) - attention (gaze)

1.a Bottom up Saliency - contrast of colour/size/shape/orientation/texture/movement 

Mode - Passive/relaxed mode except when looking at meaningful images i/e looking at doors/signs/windows 

1.b Top Down Saliency - meaning human face/humans/task or goal object/safety

Mode - Task/Goal orientated mode 


2. Affordance : Controlling where the player is going (and the camera is going) 

2.a Object Affordance - doors/chairs/cars/planks/fences afford an action (can be misleading) signifiers can be used but can break the 4th wall (Don Norman)

2.b Surface Affordances - Tate Modern (Digital Reproduction to test longest sight line - largest surface area).

2.c Complex Affordances - game player explores for a reward i.e treasure chest - alleyway but in real life we take the largest area 

2.d Spatial Affordance - prospect (view) and refuge (safety) 

2.e Wayfinding Elements (5) - landmarks, districts, paths/rivers/road, lines and boundaries, nodes (crossroads etc) moments of choice - Mental mapping (Barbara Tversky) affects where the player will go. 


Time 

Could be controlled by camera and editing in film but in video games we can set up how a space to how we want it to be experienced over time 

Rhythm - faster (intense moment) slower (relaxed) 

Repetition - repeating elements e.g column layout - players can become numb/tense or bored. Vary 

Control - Transitions can be controlled by stylistic transitions (Disneyland’s lampposts and handrails) 


References: 

Architecture Form, Space and Order by Francis DK 

(How to transition between spaces) 



Escaping the Holodeck Storytelling and Convergence in VR and AR 

Playing as the hero of the Narrative (How would this translate to medical practitioner or patient journeys). 

Empowerment as the player/avatar - people they want to be, wish fulfilment. Special powers etc. 

Immersion is an old concept and happens when the reader/player is immersed totally in the narrative. 

Flat screen Games and different to VR - creating a possibility in the environment around the space AR/VR 

The player is their own protagonist. ‘Are you a wizard or not?’ … encouraged users to engage. 

AR - geolocated games could be classed as AR games (Ingress) 


Working with environmental storytellers:  in VR there is a lot going on for the player and so the environment gives weight to the story in a non textual/verbal way. The idea is to tell the player what they need to hear through the scene, without words as this is a win for storytelling. The more left in the players imagination, the better. A set is created similar to mise on scene. The processing of language is slower than visual observation and so is a better way to communicate Narrative… 



Narrative Sorcery: Coherent Storytelling in an Open World 

Structuring Narrative in Sorcery - authored branching Narrative and open world ‘free exploration’ games (quests and authored ‘open feel’ Narrative structures). Linear, branching, circular, Narrative structures, encounters etc. 


Heaven’s Vault : Creating a Dynamic Detective Story 

‘Playable stories with high player freedom’ with a limited game dynamics as possible. 

Shouldn’t feel that the player is tapping through options… 

Episodic Structure : Self contained encounters plus continuity 

Single continuous plot (still uses episodes) not so much encounters, and a move from text based into a 3D game world to explore. 


Narrative adventure game type thing with high player freedom 

What does he mean by ‘freedom’ is it agency ? 

What is the player thinking? What should be asking ourselves ? 


FREEDOM 

What am I supposed to do next ? (Monkey Island) 

What can I do now ? (The Witcher) 

Yikes what have I done ? (Dishonour/Thief) 


YIKES WHAT HAVE I DONE ? 

Decisions that [Appear to] change the game state

Always a way forward - no getting stuck 

No empty spaces; no dead air


We are trying to make the player exist in that moment as making ‘free’ choices. 

E.g The Last Express (1997) 

Lots of fail states and replay bottlenecks. 

E.g The Blade Runner (1997) Adventure Game 

Player always has a good reason to be there d don’t need to go back. removes dead air. 


Have you recently learned.. 

then you might like to go… 

You might want to learn about… 

Do you know.. 

non-linear flow arises from the system (like shuffling only relevant cards in a pack).


Issues: Repetitive, tedious and error-prone (don’t say this if you are in the dark, or stubbed your toe etc.. 

Hierarchical ‘scopes’ (Buckets) :

Moment Bucket: reactions and dialogue 

Room Bucket : Actions, Triggers, commentary

Episode Bucket : Deductions and Exit Conditions - say the same thing wherever in the world and makes sense

Game Bucket: reflection and synthesis -  


Openworld of locations 

Player uses a location to visit to continue the story 

Reaching a location initiates an episode there 

Locations can only be chosen if there’s a reason to go 


The nature of order in Game Narrative 



 Christopher Wolfgang Alexander - space-mind 

The Timeless Way of Building - The way that wisest way to look at space is with our hearts

Pattern Language - sim City and sims influenced by Christopher Alexander 

The phenomenon  of life 

The process of creating life 

A vision of a living world 

The luminous ground 


15 patterns that creates centres - Living things, atoms molecules, star systems etc.. 







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