Player Decisions

For this week I decided to create a first person level design where players would have to make several decisions throughout the level, with there being two paths to take at each decision. My aim is to try and get an understanding of how different variables affect a players decisions within a game environment.

The several different variables I wanted to test were,

Lighting

Seeing how lighting affects a players decision within a game environment, will they choose a darker path or will they choose to go straight for the light pathway. The aim is to see whether a player assume the light path is safer or will they choose to explore the darker pathway

Height

Will a player decide to take a lower path or a high pathway, with both doorways being blocked you can't see through so players will have an unbiased choice to make. I assume most players will take the high route because having the high ground in a game can give you an advantage and help you see your surroundings.

Colours

Colour can affect a players decision in a game so i want to see what colour a player will be attracted to, green or red. Again the doors are blacked out so that the player will have an unbiased choice and i can see what colour the player would prefer to walk through.

Dangers

For the next decision the player will come across two doorways blacked out again, one with red spikes in front of it and one with nothing in front of it. I want to see if the player will assume one is dangerous and choose the safe route or whether they will test it to see if the spikes affect them.

Guidance

In the next decision there is only one doorway with a green line leading the player through to the next decision, but there are separate pathways leading off from the main green line. The aim of this is to see whether or not the player will stick to the line or deviate off the path and explore the other doorways.

Rewards

The next decision the player comes across is the reward decision, the player has to make the choice between a more difficult route and gaining a reward or the safe route but not being able to have the reward. I want to see if players will take the risk without having any assurance that the object is even a reward.

Obstacle

For the final decision the players will have to make they will need to either solve a puzzle to open a locked door or take the long route around to get to the same door. For this decision i want to see whether or not a player will try to solve the puzzle or if they become too frustrated just take the long route out. The player has to use the blocks to build up to the button, which is difficult to do but is doable.

I am going to create a feedback form and get people to play through the level and then get them to explain what made them make certain decisions throughout the level. Hopefully this will give me a better understanding of what was influencing the players choices when it came to each decision they had to make.