Evoking Urgency through Level Design
By: Hunter Wright
Supervisor: Myque Ouellette
Masters of Interactive Technology degree conferred June 19, 2009
Thesis / Project completed: June 19, 2009

As a level designer, designing a level to create a specific emotion is a valuable skill, and is applicable to almost any genre of game. This project studied methods to evoke a sense of urgency in the player, and what causes them to move through an area the fastest. This thesis focuses on the effect that game entities have on this sense of urgency. Through play testing, it examines the effects of a number of entity-based design techniques.

To test this thesis a Half-Life 2: Episode 2 map combined with a pre-play and post-play survey analyzed the player’s reaction to various design techniques. The map asks the player to reach a rebel controlled radio tower before the Combine overtake it. Three variations of the map test the effectiveness of a single urgency evoking entity. The first variant has the player chasing after a squad of Combine soldiers, effectively creating a race to the finish line. The second variant has a friendly non-player character urging the player on, in an attempt to pull the player along faster. The final map has a large vehicle that relentlessly pursues the player, pushing them towards the end of the map.

This topic is important because using design techniques to affect player’s emotional state is an important skill for a designer. Emotional state can be a key tool in designing a single player experience, and inexpensive to implement in a game, as it requires only a little extra planning, and not necessarily any new art or code assets. After analysis of multiple play sessions, the data suggest that a direct interaction with immediate implied consequences produces the consequential effect of urgency within the player.

Download entire thesis (.pdf)