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Isaiah Hastings
Level Design
The Level as a DM : Fostering Autonomy Through Dynamic Quest Design
This thesis project centers on analyzing techniques for fostering player autonomy , as in the contexts of tabletop role-playing games , and applying those techniques to digital contexts . The artifact is a quest and dungeon designed for The Elder Scrolls V : Skyrim , in which the player is tasked with retrieving an artifact from a dwarven ruin . The level utilizes extensive dynamic scripting to allow for a wide range of player approaches and to present an experience that appears to be tailored to any given combination of choices and paths .
The project took approximately ten months . Over the course of the project , I improved my ability to script gameplay sequences and learned techniques for designing quests that allow for player creativity without expanding dramatically in scope . These best practices can be beneficial to the video game industry in that players tend to respond favorably to games that allow for autonomy , and as such , levels designed according to this set of best practices are likely to be successful .
Autonomy is one of three key motivators in Self-Determination Theory , and applications of these motivators to level design can result in levels that are more engaging for players . As such , I selected this thesis in order to discover techniques for promoting autonomy through quest design .
46 LEVEL DESIGN