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Jacob Wheeler
Level Design
Directed Focus Study : Accessing Player Emotion with a Non-Playable Character Follower
Inspired by God of War , this project aimed to incite emotions within the player to establish buy-in for the mission : rescue Manny ’ s dog from raiders and return him safely . My idea was to create attachment between the player and the dog , cause the player to feel empathetic for the dog ’ s wellbeing , and craft moments of uncertainty and distress over the dog ’ s unknown whereabouts .
I created attachment through NPC ( Non-Playable Character ) interactions , environmental storytelling , and the dog ’ s natural ability to assist the player in combat . As the dog engages with enemies , he audibly and visibly expresses pain , which causes empathetic player responses . To create moments of nervousness , I scripted the dog as a player-follower , but then scripted a few moments where an unknown destination would suddenly catch the dog ’ s attention
and cause him to chase the “ scent ” without warning . Each destination allows the player to discover more about the dog ’ s family and the loss his family had already experienced .
Scripting an NPC follower and accessing player emotion were two major design goals for this project , and they strengthened my skills in scripting and mission design . This project also reminded me how important it is to test your work often and timebox tasks . Other design goals for this level included using framing , contrasting paths , and landmarks to guide the player , as well as designing a linear mission with a defined player path while making the player feel as though they were exploring a big open-world environment in the wilderness . To make the world feel vast , I implemented distinct biomes , branching paths , and points of interest for the player to explore .
76 LEVEL DESIGN