Playstation 2 Terrain Rendering Utilizing the Vector Units
By: Arturo Caballero
Supervisor: Wouter Van Oortmerssen
Masters of Interactive Technology degree conferred March 23, 2007
Thesis / Project completed: March 21, 2007

Have current games become so realistic that a level designer’s greatest asset is human psychology and knowing why humans do what they do? As games become more realistic, how players move around in the game world no longer represents how players have traditionally moved around in the virtual world, but rather represents how humans interact with the real world. The theory behind this project is as follows: Level designers can use real-world psychological research to predict more effectively how players react in virtual environments. This study tests the effectiveness of some common level design techniques and some psychology-derived techniques. The information gathered helps level designers chose the techniques that work most effectively.

This thesis study tested twelve of the possible design elements level designers use to influence the player in a video game environment. The elements tested ranged from lighting to architecture to sound and movement, generally with one or two variations tested within each category. Researchers of this study learn, not only from successful areas, but also from unsuccessful areas, especially those with common results. Overall, the study was moderately successful. In some of the rooms, individual participants took the unintended player path. However, participants in some sub-categories, such as males and females, or gamers and non-gamers, consistently chose the same path, intended or unintended.

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