Exploring the Relationship Between Architectural Accuracy and Gameplay Flow and Its Impact on Player Immersion
Daniel LEON
Level Design
Exploring the Relationship Between Architectural Accuracy and Gameplay Flow and Its Impact on Player Immersion
The goal of my thesis was to explore the relationship between architectural accuracy and gameplay flow and to evaluate the relationship’ s impact on player immersion. To accomplish this goal, I created two video game levels including a control level and a test, or“ warped” level. The control level focused on architectural accuracy and was built in reference to a Houston-based hospital blueprint. The test level focused on sacrificing architectural accuracy in favor of improved gameplay. This process included utilizing level design techniques such as flow, sightlines, and combat pacing.
When constructing a game level, designers must consider how spaces integrate with each other and whether those spaces are believable. If a game level is not built with a degree of believability or realism, then players will have a hard time navigating spaces and contextually associating each space’ s identity or purpose.
Over the course of 11 months, I built two single-player custom artifact levels, titled“ Operation Conjoined,” for Half-Life 2. In the levels, the player( Gordon Freeman) is tasked with shutting down the Combine’ s operations inside an abandoned hospital. I established a methodology that outlines the steps required to find and measure an architectural blueprint, use that blueprint to construct a virtual level, and make strategic gameplay changes to a duplicate of the level. To test my hypothesis, I recruited 14 playtesters to playtest both levels and asked them corresponding survey questions.
Overall, I gained insights into the important sides of level building— specifically level aesthetics, architectural accuracy, and gameplay— and how those qualities affect the player’ s immersion.
34 LEVEL DESIGN