Do Players Explore Off the Critical Path when given Specific Linear Objectives?

Do Players Explore Off the Critical Path when given Specific Linear Objectives?

Supervisor: Michael McCoy

Master of Interactive Technology degree conferred December 15, 2009

Thesis / Project completed December 15, 2009 

Most games have a critical path, or a direct path that leads the player directly to the game or objective’s conclusion.  Many games also include non-critical paths, which serve to enhance the game by giving the player special rewards and new experiences.  This thesis looks at non-critical paths, and their importance in relation to specific linear objectives.  A Level Designer’s task lies not only in creating an environment that supplements the primary objective, but also in creating a believable area that exists beyond the critical path.  A specific type of gamer called the explorer specifically enjoys these non-critical paths.  Many games capitalize on this play-style, while others ignore it entirely. 

This thesis sought to learn which design method players prefer overall, and to what degree.  To that end, this thesis created a project to test gamer habits.  The project provided players with a specific objective, while allowing them to explore many smaller, optional areas.  This thesis hypothesized that players spend twice as much time exploring as they do following the objective, and that they discover at least 50% of the optional areas.  The results of this study showed that gamers do enjoy exploring beyond the critical path, although the nature of the testing may have tarnished the accuracy of the results.

Although many testers claimed to highly enjoy exploration, on average they discovered less than 50% of the areas, and spent nearly equal amounts of time exploring as they did completing the primary objective.  Many testers expressed that they would be more inclined to explore if they could use their own characters in their own homes, instead of in a testing environment.