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Dungeon Crawling for Science! Game Surveying

During the experiment design phase, I have been chosen to conduct Game Surveying in order to find an appropriate play space for our experiment. I will be exploring dungeons in Skyrim to find the perfect setting for our VR/ controller experiment.

Intended Play Experience Goals:

A scary/ horror-like dungeon which is likely to elicit heightened psychophysiological responses

Which will allow us to collect impactful data across the three play conditions

Has effective use of jump scares, suspense, gore, blood and monsters 

A ‘horror’ experience must be chosen appropriately to ensure participants are not humored or too frightened by the gameplay. Scary enough that we are able to get good data but not too scary as to deter participants from being involved through the full length of the study.

Is linear

To ensure that every participant experiences the same sequence of events for comparative data analysis.

Plays the same between VR and original game versions

To ensure that every participant experiences the same gameplay between conditions for comparative data analysis.

In addition to exploring Skyrim dungeons that already exist in the game I will also be searching for ‘scary dungeon’ mods (user-made). The main game focus of Skyrim is role-playing and exploration while our goal is to elicit Horror. By searching for user-made scary dungeons I hope to find an experience which is more tailored eliciting fear in its players.

I will also explore the possibilities of including mods which alter the play experience as a whole. Changes to lightning, effects, monster models etc may help to create a more impactful experience. 

Predictions

From personal experience with this game I know ‘horror’ mods and dungeon levels do exist. I expect I will be able to find mods which suit our needs for players which have never played Skyrim before. I do have concerns that we will be unable to source participants who have played Skyrim before as their potential ‘horror’ responses will be compromised by their embedded expectations and familiarly with the game.

This expect this will require us to setup a participant collection survey (and appropriate sourcing methods) which allow us to find people who will not have preconceptions about ‘Skyrim as Horror’ to our experiment.

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21/09/2018 Blog Recap

With the submission date for the blog finally here I felt it necessary to recap on the experience of our ‘Horror in VR’ project.

What started as a Experiment-based Scientific Study has now become a Horror Game Development Project:

First we had trouble finding a game which suited our experiment conditions so we had to limit the breadth of our study.

Then we struggled to settle on a game which would provide a compelling horror experience for our experiment.

Then our ethics for the experiment were denied which forced us to re-evaluate how to continue the project.

Our solution was to utilize our experiment design to inform the development of a Horror Game Artefact with functionality for games research.

I have become truly inspired by our new project direction. The innovative challenge of developing a game which is tailor made to suit the needs of games research to test VR versus traditional display is an exciting prospect. 

I believe I have greatly contributed to the research of our experiment design and used that knowledge to inform the design of a Horror Game with novel mechanics and an immersive environment which will set the scene for progressive games research and experiments. 

By the end of semester I intend to use this project to position our team as a studio which is capable of developing game experiences like this for research institutions. On multiple occasions our mentors have attested to the severe limitations and procedural difficulties of games research. Our Horror game should stand as a proof of concept for how to utilize experiment-based game development to improve the process of data collection and widen the ability of researchers to advance the field of games research. 

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Developing a Play Experience

Draft Build Gameplay (19/09/18)

Travelling through the environment:

Switching Phone as Screen/ Torch Mechanic

Mentor Feedback & Moving Forward

We showed the current build to mentors and received some great feedback about where we need to focus our attention and design decisions as we continue with development.

First and foremost we need to get the VR, motion control and controller functionality setup with the game so we can begin to test the feel of it within VR. There were some concerns about motion sickness with VR so the sooner we are able to assess and optimize the game for VR the better. One solution to reduce motion sickness is to develop plugins for the VR version which create ‘vignetting’ of the player’s vision when they jump/ turn their head.

It is also vital that we begin work on the supporting documentation/ guidebook which will complement our Horror Game Artefact. This will explain to researchers how to effectively use the game for game-based experiments and propose a methodology for study (based of our original experiment design).

Both the team and the mentors were pleased with how the lighting is looking in the game. The players vision is completely obscured by the phone light when its facing them. In conjunction with the limited light length of the phone as a torch, the scene is set for us to create a horrorful experience!

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Designing a Draft Level Layout & Assessing Progress

My first task as level designer was to create a draft level to test our environment and phone mechanics.

This involved:

Scene blocking a basic linear sewer layout with modular assets

Creating immersive environment lighting with ‘Post-Processing’ and manipulate light values to near complete darkness.

Setting up a basic FPS controller to test movement throughout the level.

Adding geometry and colliders to prevent glitching through the environment.

Adding water system to the scene to test light interactions and fulfill the intended look of the sewer environment.

Draft Level Layout (from above):

Environment (with brightened lighting to show assets):

Scene Lighting:

Reflection:

Overall I was quite pleased with how quickly the team was able to put together a draft version of the game for us to test mechanics and assets with appropriate lighting. I attribute this success to the usefulness of the modular sewer asset kit and the immersive upgrade the ‘Post-Processing’ provides to a horror-style environment.

Our next task will be to create a finalized level layout and implement some/ all of our game events with a game beginning and ending so we can start testing how impactful the experience is. To do this we will need to develop a comprehensive asset list ASAP.

Alongside our game development, Doug is creating User Interface and scripting systems for our intended users (games researchers) to toggle with various aspects of the game. It is key that we keep Doug in the loop of game design/ development as the experimenter features he creates will inform our design, just as our design will inform his researcher features. 

I also want to flag early that sound will be key to creating a horror experience. Jordan has been tasked with sourcing sounds which are appropriate to our game events. Ambient sounds for the sewer setting will also be needed for creating immersion within the environment. 

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Game Events & Level Layout Workshop

Reid, Jordan and I blocked out a basic sequence of game events which will allow us to create a basic level layout for the game and develop an asset list to suit our game experience.

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Asset Sourcing for Horror Sewer Environment

Found a great unity store asset for creating a modular sewer system. To create an impactful horror experience we want to develop a realistic environment so utilising existing photo-realistic assets seems like a great method for fast-tracking our development. It will allow me to set up a functional, linear experience without all the leg work of modelling and texturing experiment and research to suit a horror aesthetic. 

Much work still needs to be done to get the environment set up suited to our design requirements. 

We should consider developing an asset list as the GDD comes together.

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Final Game Idea: Phone in-hand Stalking Game

Justification:

This game idea stood out as a compelling horror experience well within our development scope (5 weeks). A simple linear experience where the player must find their way out of a sewer provides great opportunities to provide a ‘horrorful’ environment. This in conjunction with a phone-as-torch and communication device will allow us to effectively test naturalness factors with motion controls vs controller/ keyboard.

Concept:

After falling down into the sewers, the player finds them self in a dark network of pipes with a very weak phone signal. To navigate to the exit, their phone can be used as either a map or light source, but never both. However, the player isn’t alone.

Genre:

Horror/thriller style game to create an impactful psychophysiological response for research purposes, in addition to entertainment.

Game Flow Summary:

Finishing the game should take between 5 to 10 minutes, aiming towards 5 minutes.

The player starts off at a junction of sewer pipes, just under an open manhole. They’re equipped with a smartphone and can utilise it for either navigation or a light right away. A sign reads “Caution: Keep noise to a minimum.” An alert appears on their phone with a notification noise, immediately followed by an ambiguous noise in the distance. This should provide players with enough to make the connections between the sign, noise and whatever is reacting to the noise. However, the player never sees the stalker, leaving it up to their imagination.

Having no other option, the player must progress through the sewers towards an exit. The phone’s screen assists them with a general direction to head towards. However, to more successfully navigate the pipes, they can also turn the phone screen around to dimly light up the way ahead.

Throughout various sections of the game, the player will encounter trigger events of either tension build ups or jump scares (outlined in the ‘Tension & Jump scares’ section). These events are intended to assist or elicit psychophysiological responses.

[horrorinvrprojectnickmccart-blog]

Untitled Horror Game Brainstorming

Genre:

Horror

Lighting

Jumpscares

Suspense (anticipation and expectation)

Supernatural Themes

Stalking

Fear of the unknown

Ideas:

One square room

Corridor - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tVylTfkDP5c

Elevator - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AweqAVLNid0

Mod a game

Use Garry’s Mod/ Source Engine

Use Skyrim Nexus

Hand cut off limits controller usability - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CJwyjWpP4XA

Rollercoaster on rails (check out movie rides)

Consider in-game scares to correlate with time

One scare each minute which can be easily measured (heart rate taken 2 seconds after each scare each minute)

Garbage Compactor

Walls closing in

Use controllers/ hands to push wall away

Phone in hand stalking game

Use phone as light or radar

Get notifications which attract monster

Jumpscare when you turn phone back

Challenges:

Good Sound

Limit on Asset Creation (consider sourcing enviroments)

Mentor Suggestions:

Alter Presence of monster

Similar game - backpack in Zombi-U

Found the phone - solve the mystery

Game - The Woods

Research for mechanical ideas

Light manipulation mechanics

Avoid Death - use time to recover or other…

Death makes it hard to control the linear progression of the experiment/ play session