An Exploration Of Procedural Methods In Game Level Design, Hector Salinas

Computer Science and Computer Engineering Undergraduate Honors Theses

Video games offer players immersive experiences within intricately crafted worlds, and the integration of procedural methods in game level designs extends this potential by introducing dynamic, algorithmically generated content that could stand on par with handcrafted environments. This research highlights the potential to provide players with engaging experiences through procedural level generation, while potentially reducing development time for game developers.

Through a focused exploration on two-dimensional cave generation techniques, this paper aims to provide efficient solutions tailored to this specific environment. This exploration encompasses several procedural generation methods, including Midpoint Displacement, Random Walk, Cellular Automata, Perlin Worms, and Binary Space …

The Phygital Design Process: Using Emerging Technologies To Create A Phygital Fashion Brand Rooted In Nostalgia, Madeline M. Mcdaniel

Creativity and Change Leadership Graduate Student Master's Projects

This Master's Project is a comprehensive exploration of the intersection of digital fashion design, nostalgia, and sustainable practices. Its primary objective is to create 'project CYBERBAE,' a phygital fashion collection that draws inspiration from early 2000s video game characters, trends, and aesthetics. The project utilizes advanced digital tools like Clo3D to demonstrate a comprehensive digital fashion design process that emphasizes inclusivity and sustainability. It also pioneers the development of a 3D virtual world, providing users with an immersive environment to interact with and experience digital fashion. This virtual space serves as a platform for a community of fashion, technology, and …

Diegetic Sonification For Low Vision Gamers, Jhané Dawes

Master's Theses

There are not many games designed for all players that provide accommodations for low vision users. This means that low vision users may not get to engage with the gaming community in the same way as their sighted peers. In this thesis, I explore how diegetic sonification can be used as a tool to support these low vision gamers in the typical gaming environment. I asked low vision players to engage with a prototype game level with two diegetic sonification techniques applied, without the use of their corrective lenses. I found that participants had more enjoyment and experienced less difficulty …

Emergent Narrative In Tabletop Role-Playing Games: An Application Of Concepts, Padraig Mumper

Honors Projects

This project examines tabletop role-playing games using concepts from narratology and ludology including emergent narrative and Roger Caillois’ categories of games by applying these concepts in the creation of an adventure zine for the game MÖRK BORG. The existing literature on emergent narrative primarily focuses on video games and Avant Garde texts but tabletop role-playing games provide a novel opportunity to explore emergent narrative in new ways. The dynamic of a collaborative game with multiple players and a gamemaster provides additional challenges for designers due to variance in interpretation of the game events and the lack of a digital program …

Best Practices: Enhancing Narrative Communication Through Environmental Shifts, Xinyu Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

The purpose of this research is to integrate traditional storytelling methods with environmental shifts to test the effectiveness in enhancing player immersion and narrative communication. The researcher created a custom single-player level in Fallout 4, which tasks players with investigating a case and finding out the truth of the quest’s narrative with the help of environmental shifts. The researcher collected data on the effectiveness of their researched, environmental shift best practices by observing testers’ playtests and their subsequent understanding of the story.

Best Practices For Teaching Shifting Gameplay Styles, Matthew Grabowski

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores four different methods (Golden Path, Punishers & Reinforcers, Teaching in Threes, and Forced Teaching) for teaching players how to engage with shifting gameplay styles within video games using Nico Fridja’s Valence Theory [1]. Using the Far Cry 5 Arcade Editor, the researcher created a single-player video game level in which all four teaching methods were tested in tandem with one another. The goal of creating this level was to evaluate the validity of the teaching methods and their ability to shift gameplay valences, specifically between stealth-focused gameplay and push-forward firefight combat gameplay.

Best Practices: Modulating Tension Using Contrast Lighting, Jaye Marie Williams

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

The goal of this thesis is to determine the best practices for modulating tension in a level through the use of contrast lighting. To test their theories, the researcher used variations of high and low contrast lighting when creating the artifact to elicit responses to tension from the player.

Using Multi-Staged Puzzles To Improve Backtracking In Level Design, Yufei Tian

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This study explores the potential best practices in using multi-staged puzzles, which involve backtracking, in video games. The researcher focused on enhancing the players’ experiences by applying elements of the flow theory to an artifact level in Dying Light 2. Playtesters’ feedback suggested that best practices in multi-staged backtracking puzzles improve flow state entry and increase enjoyment.

Utilizing Valence Theory To Influence Player Navigation In First-Person Shooter Multiplayer Maps, Yousha Qu

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This research explored tactical & visual valences, different valence weights and the transformation of valences under different circumstances in first-person shooter multiplayer maps, then incorporated them into a level artifact, utilizing the valences to influence player navigation.

Using Push And Pull Principles To Improve Non-Linear Level Navigation, Aiwen Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis studies the Player’s habits of navigation when they are in an open-world environment. It incorporates assumptions of best practices utilizing the Push and Pull level design theory that guides the Player in a free-flowing, exploratory environment and utilizes these practices in an open-world level in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim.

Best Practices: Implementing Dense Level Design Through Reuse Of Space, Shuo Zhang

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This research explores the correlation between Dense Level Design and the Reuse of Space in video games. It provides assumptions about best practices for implementing Reuse of Space to attain Dense Level Design. To evaluate these best practices, an artifact level is developed for Dying Light 2: Stay Human. The practices are evaluated through an analysis of survey results.

Using Graph Theory To Create A 3d Miniscaped, Non-Linear Level, Donghua Li

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This study focuses on how to use the Graph Theory and the Dominion Theory to design a three-dimensional (3D) non-linear, miniscaped level layout in a video game. Using these theories, the researcher aimed to aid players in navigating non-linear levels (which are notoriously difficult to traverse). Consequently, the researcher created a methodology outlining the best practices for constructing a level using Graph Theory and Dominion Theory. The researcher constructed a game level in The Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim to explore the effectiveness of this methodology. Testers played the level and provided feedback regarding their experiences. The researcher analyzed this data …

Best Practices: Using Semiotics In Environmental Storytelling, Conger He

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis explores an aspect of environmental storytelling known as “semiotics.” Semiotics conveys information and relevant interconnections to an individual through visual representations. There are diverse types of semiotic elements, including symbols, icons, and indexes. The researcher examined the use of semiotics in video games and derived seven best practices for conveying story beats and relaying aspects of a video game’s narrative. The researcher implemented these semiotic-related practices into a custom Fallout 4 level, gathered testers to play the level, and asked the testers to give their opinions on the experience. The researcher analysed the tester’s feedback to conclude whether …

Prospect And Refuge: Modulating Level Pacing Through Spatial Composition, Yifan Li

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis examines the concepts of Prospect space and Refuge space in video games and their influences on game pace. Based on the assumption that a Prospect space increases pacing while a Refuge space decreases pacing, the researcher created a custom level artifact (using both space types) to achieve an ideal pacing curve. By analysing playtesters’ experiences, the researcher was able to examine the influence of Prospect and Refuge space on pacing and formulate a set of best practices to help game designers modulate pacing through spatial composition.

Best Practices: Encouraging The Modality Between Melee And Ranged Combat Styles, Austyn Wiles

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis aims to determine what gameplay factors encourage and discourage players from switching between melee and ranged playstyles while in combat scenarios. The practices for the artifact were found in action-focused video games and then incorporated into a standalone level in a Dying Light mod.

Using Spatial Composition To Influence Player Tension, Canny Yuan

Level Design Theses and Dissertations

This thesis focuses on how space and level geometry in a video game influence a person’s tension. The researcher explored a few potential best practices, which a level designer might utilize when employing spatial composition in video games. By modifying a space's density, size, and openness, a designer can effectively increase or decrease the player’s spatial tension. To explore the effectiveness of the best practices and the related spatial methodology, the researcher recruited playtesters to play the thesis artifact, a customized game level in Dying Light called, “A Way Out.” The researcher then analyzed the heart rates and experiences of …

Spirits Of The King, Ali Al-Ani

College of Computing and Digital Media Dissertations

Spirits of the King (SotK) is a 1v1 card game where players use essential resources to conjure spirits from a shared pool to defeat their opponent. Players must make strategic sacrifices to keep themselves from danger or to threaten their opponent, ultimately revealing how much they are willing to risk for victory. The themes, mechanics, and material design of SotK are very heavily inspired by information found in Aleister Crowley’s The Lesser Key of Solomon.

Navigating Through Narratives: The Development Of Opening Cinematics, Jacob Q. Stewart

Undergraduate Honors Theses

This project demonstrates opening cinematic design from conceptualization to final composition. Using Unreal Engine 5, I created an opening cutscene using Unreal’s sequencer editor to film and edit my shots. This document presents the steps I took to create my sequence from the writing process to the final layout. Starting as a written story, I worked my way to the final project by creating a mock scene and storyboarding. After this, I built my scene using assets from the Unreal marketplace and lit my scene with HDRI and dynamic lighting. I encountered many new programs such as Cascade and Mixamo …

Impactful Interactivity Within Video Games, Luke Robert Maeser

Theses

Despite half a century of existence and dedicated academic programs educating next generations of game developers, conclusive evidence does not exist as to if video games are beneficial to learning or costly. Examining the notion of benefit versus cost, it is important to assess the value of video games when leveraged as tools for learning as traditional educational methodologies are not infallible. This paper explores how video games can generate psychological responses; and therefore, one must conclude learning has occurred. The following is encompassed: meaningful interactivity within video games (regarding narrative and gameplay), video games as educational tools, video game …

Collaborative Storytelling In The Parable Task: The Dramaturg As Game Designer In Pervasive Performance, Percival Hornak

Masters Theses

Proceeding from a framing of theater as collaborative storytelling, I argue for defining role-playing games as a kind of performance and for their value in structuring experiential and participatory theater. Building on the impulse at the heart of experiential and immersive theater to place the audience within the world of the performance and center their experience, I explore what it means for theater artists to cede control over how audiences make meaning of their work in favor of letting narrative emerge from the participation of the audience during the performance event. I propose a framework called pervasive performance that merges …

Historical Narrative In The Music Of Sid Meier’S Civilization Vi, Alec Larner

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Sid Meier’s Civilization VI is a 2016 strategy video game in which the player leads a historical civilization from 4000 BC to the present. The Civilization series is the subject of much scholarly writing, especially its representation of history and non- Western cultures. My work builds on Karen Cook’s research (2014) on the technological progress and American hegemonic identity signaled by Civilization IV’s soundtrack. I argue that the music in Civilization VI contributes to a Eurocentric teleological progress narrative of history inherent in the structure of the game: the idea that history is a story of inevitable and positive …

Barbershop Brand Redesign, Fady Tawfik

Graphic Communication

My friend Julz has been a barber for 6 years and I recognized the opportunity to assist him in rebranding his barber business. I faced challenges such as finding a brand identity that aligned with the business owner’s preferences while effectively representing the business to the target audience. Despite encountering some delays in completing initial deliverables, such as logo design and brand guidelines, these challenges were essential to ensure thorough research and crafting of a compelling brand strategy. The project encompassed redesigning the website, creating an enticing logo and brand identity, developing a cohesive color palette, and selecting appropriate typefaces. …

Creating Project Contrast: A Video Game Exploring Consciousness And Qualia, Pierce Papke

Honors Projects

Project Contrast is a video game that explores how the unique traits inherent to video games might engage reflective player responses to qualitative experience. Project Contrast does this through suspension of disbelief, avatar projection, presence, player agency in storytelling, visual perception, functional gameplay, and art. Considering the difficulty in researching qualitative experience due to its subjectivity and circular explanations, I created Project Contrast not to analyze qualia, though that was my original hope. I instead created Project Contrast as an avenue for player self-reflection and learning about qualitative experience. While video games might be just code and art on a …

Digitizing The American West: Analyzing Rhetoric In Red Dead Redemption 2, Amalia Mcevoy

Seton Hall University Dissertations and Theses (ETDs)

High-budget, long-form storytelling games offer dozens of hours of content for audiences to explore and learn from. Although far different from sitting and reading a book, there is a distinct connection to be made between how literature is experienced and how audiences can experience a narrative-heavy video game. Based on this connection, there are bridges to be built between video games and literature, understanding how one field can benefit from the other as well as how one field can be informed by the other. An analysis of the video game Red Dead Redemption 2 using reader response theory can illustrate …

Eco-Interoception: What Plants, Fungi And Protista Have Taught My Body, Sara Riley Dotterer

Art Theses and Dissertations

To me, ecology is the relational, full-body awareness that I am made up of and deeply connected to everything around me; and for better or worse, this is reciprocal. I form ecotones, an ecological transitional zone between two ecosystems, with the world around me. I use this ecotonal lens to blur binaries and dissolve boundaries between me and the world “outside my body.” During my Masters of Fine Arts at Southern Methodist University, I have continuously explored and represented the lives of various more-than-human species outside of my body, including plants, fungi and protista through an ecotonal lens. Although these …

Monster Planet Bounty Hunter, Arthur Santoro

MFA in Illustration & Visual Culture

In this paper I will be discussing my personal interest in games and art as well as my experience and process working on my original board game: Monster Planet Bounty Hunter. I will also discuss my visual influences, how I approach making games and why I think games are an important form of art.

The Emotions Behind The Screen, Eli Gray Nations

Honor Scholar Theses

This thesis revolves around the narrative form of Dungeons and Dragons, that the players have true free will, which allows for the highest level of storytelling. By reaching this level, the players are able to freely tackle issues in their life and surrounding them, like testing out negative parts of their personality and finding community during events like the COVID pandemic. This, combined with the recent scandal from DnD’s publisher Wizards of the Coast poses this question: what exactly is DnD, therapy, art, community, or just a game? This thesis hopes to lead the reader to answer this question in …

Mfa Master Project, Owen Pierce

Electronic Theses, Projects, and Dissertations

I am a storyteller.

I just happen to paint, draw and sculpt my stories more often than I write them. Thematically, I gravitate towards stories that speak about ecological and humanitarian concerns. Fantasy illustration is where I can create with the greatest freedom and indulge my love of crafting stories, and also as a form of escapism. As the author

Ursula K. Le Guin quotes, “If the direction of escape is towards freedom, what then is ‘escapism’ an accusation of?” Long running series of programs, films and books attest to this desire to be engaged at a deeper, more meaningful …

Viewer Interactions In Animation, Megan Smith

Master of Fine Arts in Digital Media Culminating Experience

The art of animation can be viewed in a multitude of ways. Passive viewing, in which an audience is merely observing the acting and are unable to alter the animation in any way, such as watching a TV show or movie. Interactive camera viewings, such as Augmented Reality and Virtual Reality, in which the viewer can manipulate the content visually in the same way you observe the world, by moving the camera around in a digital space. Interaction-dependent viewing describes animations such as video games, where the player has full control of the character’s actions and the timing of those …

Designing And Creating A Prototype Board Game, Kurtis Woodward

Undergraduate Honors Theses

Abstract

The goal of this project was to create a fantasy style board game prototype that is playable and enjoyable for people new to fantasy tabletop gaming. I assembled a group of 4-5 regular tabletop board game players to play test the game as well as a second group of 4-5 family members and friends to play test who aren't regular board game players. We began with a general base game that evolved with each playtest from feedback given by the playtesters. After about 18-20 play tests, I settled on game mechanics and moved on to creating the assets of …