b2.1 dph68 "yes i can" - labyrinth report
TRANSCRIPT
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Bram de Vogel / B2.1 / s114960 / Coach: A.G.G.E. Nmeth
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The contents of this report describe Laby-
rinth, a psychological serious game I made
within the specifications of DPH68 Yes I
Can. It is a first-person PC game with the
main focus on exploration and platforming.
The game tries to aid the player in breaking
a depressive thinking pattern commonly as-
sociated with (mild) depressions.
This report contains three main sections,
detailing vision, concept and research (1),
product specifications (2) as well as the cur-
rent state of the product and evaluation (3).
Most of the articles are written with the
emphasis on the introcution and conclusion
or summary, where the core of the article
can be grasped. More elaborate details can
be found in the parts in between them.
A bibliograpy of some of the works I stud-
ied, as well as an appendix containing a user
test setup can be found at the end of the
document.
/ A B S T R A C T
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Project description derived from Playful Inter-
actions project descriptions semester 1 2012-
2013.
/ D E S C R I P T I O N
Digital games have the potential to offer us
interesting what-if scenarios. Within the
safe confines of the fantasy world we can
enact different roles and try out different ac-
tions to attain a goal. As the player identifies
with the avatar and internalizes his or her
motivations, the game becomes conducive to
instill attitudinal change. Here, you will try to
use this potentially beneficial characteristic
of games to engender positive emancipation.
In this project you will have to design and
create a computer game that helps a player
cope with societal or peer pressures. The
idea is to improve a players feeling of self-
worth, so that a person from an underprivi-
leged group playing your game will subse-
quently have the confidence to do a certain
task in real life or be an active member of
society. Think, for instance, of a game to
help teenagers cope with bullying, addicts
with their addiction, homosexual people to
be who they really are, or underachieving
students to gain the confidence that studying
hard will help them to attain a diploma.
The game will be developed for digital
screens, i.e. computers or mobile devices.
Students can use an existing platform like
Gamemaker, but also use software like
Blender or Flash, or even the level editor of
an existing game. The aim of the project is to
connect interesting gameplay to meaningful
content.
/ D E S I G N C H A L L E N G E S / R E -S E A R C H Q U E S T I O N S
The research challenge will be to discern
what confidence actually entails, and to find
out what the underlying psychological mech-
anisms are that build up or undermine con-
fidence and feelings of self-worth. There-
fore you will learn about concepts related
to self-perception, self-determination and
motivation to play games. Moreover, you will
need to translate this into compelling game
design mechanisms and levels. Engendering
a desired experience through the form, mo-
dality and progression of elements a player
encounters.
Very little is known scientifically on how
P r o j e c t D P H 6 8 Y E S I C A N
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Labyrinth is a genre-defying game that aims
to let the player break through a depressive
thinking pattern. The game tries to empower
the player by overcoming abstracted chal-
lenges related to the real world. The confi-
dence gained by triumphing in the game and
the reflection at the end may give the playerthe push to have a more positive outlook and
break out of a depressive thinking pattern.
In the game, the player travels through his
subconscious in a story grounded on Dante
Alighieris La Divina Commedia.
The players subconscious has long been
the players refuge when he wanted to es-
cape from his troubles in the real world.
However, one day, the players mind can no
longer bear the piled-up inner problems of
the player. The subconscious now challeng-
es the player to face his demons and get his
things sorted out.
Labyrinth may be a genre-defying game.
It combines platform elements with game
parts where no gameplay elements appear to
be present at first, resulting in a remarkable
game experience. The game features mod-
ernist and minimalist, abstract architectural
landscapes representing the players sub-
conscious.
The game has been developed to a certain
phase for distribution on Windows using the
award-winning Unreal Engine, the same en-
gine that powers most of todays world AAA
titles. It is suitable for play with mouse and
keyboard as well with the Xbox 360 Control-
ler for Windows.
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After I had begun extensive research on
known psychological issues, I began to focus
after a while on depression. Most individuals
have suffered from one or more depressions
during their lifetime, varying in severity. Af-
ter realizing the widespread occurrence of
this issue, to me it seemed a wonderful op-
portunity to try and create a game that would
help people suffering from this condition.
After diving in even more on the subject, I
stumbled upon some interesting articles that
suggested an interesting cause for some of
the less severe depressions; ourselves. Or,
better said, our mindset, the way we think.
We seem to hold more power over our own
mental state than we think. Combating de-
pressive thinking by regaining control over
your way of thinking and empowering your-
self may help some persons to fight their
own way out of depression.
/ O U R P E R C E P T I O N O F D E -P R E S S I O N
Lets first focus on what depression is,
something that appears to be actually quite
hard to say. Most of us think to know what
it is and what its like, yet at the same time
we find it hard to properly define it. In fact,
this appears to be very much correct. Highly
differing types of depression exist, such as
mood disorder, depression or simply de-
spair, as well as the major mental disor-
der. Each of these three different conditions
branches out into different directions, based
on cause, severity, biochemical factors
etc. Because there is such a difference be-
tween the multiple depression types, differ-
ent patients may require completely different
treatments or approaches for their condition.
Severe patients may only be helped through
the use of medicine and qualified experts,
whereas others find relief within the em-
brace of their friends and loved ones. It is,
however, interesting to note that a number
of the cases may not require (hospital) psy-
chiatrists or the products of pharmaceutical
companies. Do we always need these strong
solutions, also considering the not inconsid-
erate amount of adverse reactions some of
the antidepressive products may cause? Is
it necessary to automatically grab the bottle
of pills? Or, more interesting, to what degree
may people be depressed when they say they
are depressed?
It seems that in our western society we
talk more easily and readily about depression
with people within our social circles, such
as our friends, coworkers, family (Burton
2012). As a result, we may be more likely to
interpret our stress and anxiety as depres-
sion, and may seek diagnosis or help faster.
Groups with vested interest such as phar-
maceutical companies and mental health ex-
perts promote the idea that an eternal state
of mind of happiness and joy is a natural
mental state; human distress, however, is
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labeled a mental disorder. We may seem to
forget that for the most part these moments
of distress are relatively mild and short-lived
and can be interpreted in the context of our
life circumstances, human nature or the hu-
man condition.
On the other hand, Burton describes an
incident surrounding pregnant Punjabi wom-
en, from the regions of Pakistan and India,
who had recently migrated to the UK. Afterthey had given birth, they were baffled when
asked by a health visitor if they felt depressed
after the events. Not only had they never
considered the possibility that giving birth
could be anything but a joyous event, they did
not even have a word to translate the con-
cept of depression into Punjabi. Apparently,
depression as we think to know it does not
exist in these mothers home region, or may
there be interpreted in an entirely different
way. However, sociocultural cognitive and
behavioral patterns are acquired by learning
them after birth and are not hard-coded into
our genes, nor in other parts of our body. It
thus seems that some (gradations of) psy-
chological conditions may evolve only in the
context and patterns of certain societies or
social environments; they may only evolve
within a certain mindset. This has some radi-
cal implications, the most important one be-
ing that our mindset, the way we think, can
be responsible for a mental condition such
as depression.
/ T H E V I C I O U S C Y C L E O FD E P R E S S I V E T H I N K I N G
When we consider the relation between the
way we think and depression, we may see
new opportunities arise to help us free our-
selves from some of our psychological con-
ditions. We humans are capable of changing
our thinking patterns and our point of view on
situations; therefore, we are capable to influ-
ence our mood or a depression. It is there-
fore important to consider how you think
and interpret events, for your mindset may
either help you to get out of a depression,
or may drag you into one; depressive think-
ing (Knaus, Defeating Depressive Thinking
2012). Of course, this applies only to those
persons who are mostly going through a
period of distress that has more to do with
regards to their current personal (life) con-
text, than those patients who have suffered
severe emotional trauma or experience de-
pression out of biological origin etc. These
persons require professional aid; however,
the first group suffering mostly from more
ordinary moments of distress may actually
have a good chance of relieving themselves
from their condition by changing their nega-
tive mindset.
Depressive thinking may be a major fac-
tor in depressions. However, before I go into
more detail on ways that may help combating
depressive thinking, it is important to consid-
er what it is exactly. When you think depres-
sively, you layer needless mental miseries
onto a (already) painful mood. For example,
you may interpret your situation differently,
more negative than otherwise; you may feel
that you are powerless to do anything against
the depression youre in; you may exaggerate
and overgeneralize or hold irrational beliefs
about the depression that youre in. Or, like
Shakespeare so eloquently wrote in Hamlet,
Act 2, Scene 2; [...] for there is nothing ei-
ther good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to
me it is a prison.
It is important for people in a distressed
mood to understand and accept depressive
thinking as a usual factor in their depression.
It is even more important that these people
understand that they still hold the ability to
override their negative mindset. Once they
realize they have this negative outlook, they
may begin to object to the distorted view in
which they may see the world; they may start
thinking clearly again. Once they do, they
may be more likely to shorten the intensity
and the duration of the depression.
A depressed person usually has several
types of cognitive signatures related to thepersons depression. There are hopeless-
ness signatures, e.g. I will never stop feel-
ing this way and there are worthlessness
signatures such as Im no good at all. These
negative thoughts can weigh down on a per-
son. In this state, believing you cant cope
with your depression and believing that you
cant escape it, means that you are mislead-
ing yourself and you are actually prolonging
the depression. It is important to understand
that you are capable of ending your own de-
pression; you are in control.
/ T H I N G S T H A T H E L P
There are several techniques to become
aware of your depressive thinking pattern
and how to defuse it.
Notice your negativity. Be aware of what
you say or think and how negative it can be.
Identification of your negativity is essential
to change.
Identify the purpose of your pessimism. Is it
because you think you can always do things
better? (perfectionism) Do you not want to
get hurt?
Depressive thinking is a vicious cycle . If you
think you cant get out of the depression, you
wont. One might say the night is darkest be-
fore dawn; it is important to realize there is
always a way out, that you will not be stuck
in this situation forever.
You are in control of depressive thinking.
You can choose to defuse the cognitive sig-
natures of depression. Again, identification
of these cognitive signatures is key.
You cant change the past, but you can
change the present. Every step will help to
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break out of the vicious cycle. Learning from
past mistakes is a good thing, but it is impor-
tant not to get stuck in reminding yourself of
every misstep youve ever made.
By acting as if you could cope, you may find
yourself coping. Even if you dont honestly
feel like you can escape from your situation,
try to act like you can. You may compare it to
Search for positive aspects of situations.
Even when moments seem grim, it is im-
portant to try and see multiple sides of the
equation. Almost nothing in life is completely
black and white, as shades of grey can be
found almost anywhere. When you realize
the positive sides of things, you may begin to
focus on these opportunities and find solu-
tions.
(Przeworski 2012) (Knaus, Defeating De-
pressive Thinking 2012) (Knaus, Combating
Depression 2012) (Knaus, Emotions and De-
pression 2012)
It is also important to take care of other
aspects in your life. Although you are in con-
trol of your thinking pattern and you can take
steps to defuse depressive thinking, there
are more factors at play. Body and mind are
in connection with each other. The old Latin
proverb mens sana in corpore sane still ap-
plies; a healthy mind in a healthy body. Take
good care of yourself. A good nights sleep
and a proper sleeping pattern as well as
physical exercise go a long way to making
you feel better every day. Its also important
to consider not just yourself, but your social
environment, too. Taking the initiative to re-
solve relationship issues can help to get a lof
of stress off your back. Plenty of social inter-
action is also recommended to feeling more
appreciated and energized to take on life.
/ A L W A Y S L O O K O N T H EB R I G H T S I D E O F L I F E
As a final note, a depression may not always
have to be something evil. There are several
feelings and sensations with multiple mean-
ings attached to them. We can feel physical
pain to warn us that we are in danger, hurt-
ing ourselves or place ourselves at risk of
injury. Although pain generally generates
negative feedback, the benefits of its pre-
ventive working far outweigh the stress it
initially generates. When we see depression
in that way as well, as a mental pain, then
maybe the depressive position has evolved
to protect us from distressing, damaging or
futile situations. The solitude of the adoption
of the depressive position lets us take a step
back and see the bigger picture, by giving us
the time to think and feel about ourselves. We
may begin to re-evaluate ourselves, prioritize
our needs and develop a realistic plan to ful-
fill those needs. It may thus become a period
of rediscovering your identity, who we really
are, and through that give deeper meaning to
our lives. (Burton 2012) However, in order to
do so, it is important to start thinking clearly to see this
positive side of depression.
When we look at all what we have discussed so far,
it appears there is a major chance that a depression
can be influenced by your mindset, partly because of
your sociocultural background and your everyday so-
cial environment. The depressive thinking pattern that
may emerge out of these and personal circumstances,
is a vicious cycle that can keep you locked in a depres-
sion. It is important, however, to realize that you arestill in control of your thoughts and that you have the
power to break out of this pattern. Through doing so,
you may find relief and in the process even gain more;
finding moments of reflection and getting to know more
about yourself. In our eternal pursuit of happiness, it
might be a good time to start believing again in our own
strengths and capabilities.
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The main goal of Labyrinth is to help players
break the cycle of depressive thinking through
various methods, mainly the identification of
their negative mindset and by empowering
them. By doing so they might overcome their
depression. Can such a thinking pattern be
changed by a game? I personally believe that
change of the state of mind should and can only
come from the individual himself, instead of
someone or something else. Instead, the game
should be the players stepping stone, to guide
him in the right d irection. The player must re-
discover his own mental strength, that he has
the ability to break out of the depression.
/ I N C E P T I O N : I M P L A N T I N GI D E A S
I believe that a good way to inspire a change
in cognitive and subsequent behavioral pat-
terns is featured in the movie Inception
(Nolan 2010). This movie, inspired by lucid
dreaming, is set inside the subconscious of
people. It is based for a large part on the way
actions on the subconscious level influence
the conscious level. In the film, the concept
of inception is described as the implantation
of an idea or thought into a persons mind
while their mind is subconscious. Instead of
trying to reason with the person himself, the
characters reason with the persons subcon-
scious representation; a method that, in the
movie, proves to be successful. The subcon-
scious mind has been reasoned with, given
an idea, and without the involved person
knowing it, this idea is then passed onto his
conscious level. Here the idea grows more
concrete, and actions can be made in the line
of the original idea, without the actor fully
aware of the abstract, true motivation of his
actions.
I would like to apply the same principle in
my game. Instead of directly engaging the
player on the conscious level, I want to en-gage his subconscious. I want to plant a seed
in their mind that grows slowly, like a plant,
and finally comes to fruition. I want to give
them the idea, the feeling, that they may be
able to overcome their depression with their
own strength; I want to give them a sense
of power and hint to the mental toolset they
have at their disposal to beat their condition.
/ C A T H A R S I S : E M O T I O N A LR E L E A S E A N D P U R I F I C A T I O N
The player must believe he is able to cope
with and overcome his problems that may be
causing the depression. I want to do that by
abstracting into the game those things that
depress people in the real world. Although
confronting people with the negativity they
already experience in their daily world seems
counterproductive, in the end I hope the play-
er gains more. Through this confrontational
experience I want to let the player experi-
ence the state of mind called catharsis. Ca-
tharsis is a term that has been around since
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the Ancient Greeks, and the exact meaning
of the term has been debated ever since.
According to Aristotle, a catharsis is when
the human soul is purged of its excessive
passions, whereas the more recent psycho-
analytic theory describes it as an emotional
release, linked to a need to release uncon-
scious conflicts. (Keesey 1978) Generally, it
seems to indicate a state after which you feel
renewed, ready to move on and meet new
challenges. One way of achieving catharsis
is by putting the player through the process
of expressing some of the original emotions
of depression; sadness, anxiety, anger etc.
This method appears to be working accord-
ing to a recent study, where youngsters who
were confronted with violent images experi-
enced a decrease in hostility. Through their
confrontation with violence, they became
less violent. (Ferguson and Rueda 2010) I
hope to achieve the same effect with depres-
sion. I want to let the player experience these
emotions in the game.
/ L A D I V I N A C O M M E D I A :H E L L O F A S T O R Y
In the 14th century, the Italian writer Dante
Alighieri wrote what would become the mas-
terpiece of his work: La Divina Commedia,
or the Divine Comedy. In this work, Dante
travels through the hereafter; Inferno (Hell),
Purgatorio (Purgatory) and finally arriving in
Paradiso (Paradise). He travels through the
blackest pits of hell, confronts the seven sins
in Purgatory and finally reaches Paradise.
The story has many underlying messages, of
which one is an allegory for the journey of
the soul to come closer to God.
In my game, I wish for the player to expe-
rience a likewise travel. He does not travel
closer to God, however, but trvaels closer to
himself. The game will take place inside the
mind, the subconscious of the player. He willtravel through his dark thoughts inside the
Abyss, embark on the Voyage to overcome
his problems and reach the Summit, where
the player comes to terms with himself and
reflects on his play through.
However, I realized that the original story
arc of La Divina Commedia may not be per-
fectly suited towards the (video game) au-
dience. I decided to adapt the story accord-
ing to more modern storytelling techniques,
with clever use of rising and falling action
throughout the entire story;
1. The player first enjoys a seemingly
positive journey,
2. Is thrown back,
3. Finds his way back up and
4. Near the end crashes down one more
time,
5. After which he finally manages to beat
the game.
Although this may seem a rather clich
way of storytelling, the technique is tried-
and-true. Genre-defying, highly innovative
games such as Journey feature the same
basic story arc as Hollywood blockbusters.
And, through clever pacing and surprising
environments and gameplay, they succeed in
their storytelling to date. (Harper 2012)
In the game, the player will take control of
an unnamed person, presumably the playerhimself, who always seeks refuge inside
his own mind to escape from the real world.
However, this time, his alternate reality, his
own mind, refuses to let him reside in his
dream world and do nothing with his real
problems; since the piling up of problems
causes even more stress and depression.
The player at first wont notice that his dream
world has changed that much (1). However,
after a while he falls down into the Abyss, a
dark and dreary place where he is confronted
by the negative thoughts of the darker cor-
ners of his mind (2). By solving challenges
and confrontations in this environment, the
player finds his way up again (3) and contin-
ues his path towards the Summit. However,
just before the end, he is thrown back one
last time, in a blacker pit than ever (4) before
finally escaping and rising up to the Summit
in rapid flight (5). The player, floating high
above the Earth on the Summit, now has the
choice to take the jump off the platform to
show hes ready to face the real world once
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again, or enter the door on the platform to in-
dicate hes not done yet and wants or needs
to replay the game. With the emotions related
to depression finally conquered, I hope a ca-
tharsis will ensue.
/ L A B Y R I N T H : J O U R N E YT H R O U G H T H E M I N D
Labyrinth is a journey of confronting and
conquering your fears, coming to termswith yourself and building up confidence to
conquer your demons and ultimately your
depression outside of the virtual realm.
Through the experience and expression
of emotions you encounter throughout the
game and releasing them, I hope a cathar-
sis will ensue. Afterwards, there should be a
moment of self-reflection, in which you take
the time to reflect on what you have done;
how it matters to you, to your daily life and
how you now perceive your situation. It is
at this point that I hope the inception will
begin to come to fruition. Throughout the
game, you have confronted and overcome
encounters of abstracted problems of the
real world. You were able to cope with and
overcome the (abstracted) problems in the
game and build up confidence along the way.
If you were able to find ways to deal with the
abstracted problems, then why not with the
problems in the real world? That is the idea I
want to plant in the players mind.
With depressive thinking, you think that
you cannot do things (good), or that the situ-
ation will never improve; you may have had
a negative outlook on life. However, empow-
ered by the success achieved in the games
challenges, that you have the power to do so,
you stop the pattern of depressive thinking.
By breaking away from that mindset, you
may be able to finally climb out of your de-
pression by yourself. And that is the purpose
of my game.
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The story of Labyrinth is partially based on
Dante Alighieris La Divina Commedia, in-
fused with the modern arc of storytelling. I
have envisioned five main episodes or chap-
ters within the game. They tell the story of an
unnamed man, presumable the player, who
tries to find refuge within his own mind when
he perceives the world he lives in as too de-
pressive. However, after so many visits, his
mind cant take it anymore and decides to
challenge him, force him to undertake ac-
tions and face his demons. I have numbered
the chapters to match the five stages of the
storytelling arc.
0 . S T A S I S
Labyrinth takes place inside the mind of the
player. In the very beginning of the game the
player finds himself in a vague, desolate liv-
ing room. Its a dreary night, with only the
blank faces of newsanchors to keep him
company whilst they deliver to his living
room their daily report on agony and vio-
lence throughout the world. Its the world the
player tries to escape from. He falls asleep
and enters the surreal world that is his sub-
conscious, his own sanctuary and refuge.
1 . P A S S A G E
The player finds himself in the in-between
world between the real world and his sub-
conscious; a bridge world, one might say.
Its completely empty, besides the giant gate
that draws him toward the deeper parts of
his mind.
When he enters the gate, he does not en-
ter the world he used to visit. Instead of the
green fields and blue skies he used to find
when he arrived, he finds himself trapped
within a surreal construction. It seems that
the world has changed. He encounters the
first challenges; it feels as if the world wants
to test him.
Finally he makes his way out to see the
sun setting above the ocean. He finds a plat-
form that he activates and appears to be ele-
vated into the clouds at first, but after he has
risen several meters, the platform collapses
and the player falls into the dark shaft that
lay underneath the platform.
2 . A B Y S S ( I N F E R N O )
At the bottom of the shaft, the player finds
himself trapped in The Abyss. This dark place
holds his negative thoughts, experiences and
memories. Its tunnel-like construction is cold
and constructed of unforgiving concrete,
providing only glimpses of outside light andhope that may be found elsewhere. The play-
er finds himself with only one option to get
out; to undertake the journey past all nega-
tive things residing inside his psyche, to visit
his own personal hell. The gravity seems to
pull harder to objects in this environment
and the walls seem to close in on you when
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you walk, sometimes presenting grotesque,
twisted environments and weird light and
shadow plays as the player progresses.
The player reaches the Acheron, a dark,
long highway of platforms and blocks speed-
ing throughout the dark ravines and depths
of the Abyss. The player embarks on the
high-velocity high-tension ride, to eventually
reach the City of Dis. Enormous monoliths
and constructions of cubes formed together,the size of black skyscrapers, present an al-
most urban-metropolis-like labyrinth. There
are broad yet lifeless block boulevards in
between the impersonal blocks and hateful
voices whisper like winds in between the
narrow gaps of blind alleyways. The play-
er has entered the labyrinth of depressive
thinking. Will he find a way out, or will he
remain stuck forever in this limbo, trapped
in his dark, frightening thoughts and fears?
Finally, empowering thoughts enlighten the
route to exit the City of Dis and the player
manages to escape the Abyss.
The depressing environment of the Abyss
has been separated from the other areas of
the players subconscious. When the playerhas recovered from the bright light when he
exited the Abyss, he finds that he will have
to traverse a deep ravine to reach the lands
across. There is no bridge across the gap-
ing hole and without any guidance, the play-
er will have to overcome his fear and take a
step into the unknown. As soon as he steps
over the edge of the cliff, he finds that he is
not plunging into the black depths of the ra-
vine. Instead, a surface has appeared under
his feet and platforms emerge from the deep
to help him get across. Gravity has let go its
tight grip on the player, who finds he is ca-
pable of jumping further than before, some-
times even floating for a brief time.
3 . J O U R N E Y ( P U R G A T O R I O )
At the other side, a large mountain is visible
in the distance, with a bright light emanat-
ing from its summit, inviting the player to
progress. The player progresses upwards
and encounters reassuring voices and more
positive experiences.
4 . B L A C K O U T
The closer the player gets to the top, the
harder it seems to progress further. Ex-
haustion of the journey begins to take its
toll, and the player is thrown into the black-
est depths of the Abyss, in complete dark-
ness. The player is lost, and finds himself
stranded in the dark of an obsidian desert.
However, a light shines through the dark and
lets the player rise through the deep while
it crumbles and falls to pieces underneath
his ascent. The player floats up to the world
above and shoots through to the summit of
the mountain.
5 . S U M M I T ( P A R A D I S O )
At the summit, the player finds himself in be-
tween the clouds, with fantastic, light objects
slowly yet joyously floating, as though grav-
ity has no longer effect on them. The game
asks the player if he is ready to face the
world and take a leap of faith into the world
below. The player may also choose to enter
the gate behind him and embark upon the
journey once more if he doesnt feel ready.
If the player chooses to face the world and
step off the platform, he falls down, straight
through the skies, until the screen fades out
to white, with only the sound of the wind
shooting by the player. The credits roll as a
sunrise illuminates the sky, after which eve-
rything fades out.
0 . G E N E S I S
If the player waits long enough, when the
music ends, he sees the vague surroundings
of his living room appear before him again.
Night has passed and made way for the ra-
diant light of the rising sun, illuminating the
apartment in a golden glow. Game over.
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Like movies, games feature emotional
scenes involving death, loss or love. How-
ever, when the fragile strings kick in with G-
major chords to emphasize the drama, these
sequences often fail to emotionally connect
to the viewer or the gamer. You understand
that it is a sad moment, but may find it hard
to honestly care about the unfolding events
and the characters involved. What is go-
ing on? Why dont you feel the appropriate
emotional response the producer intended to
provoke? Labyrinth, especially, has to deal
with this issue. The player has to undergo
the process of expressing his or her original
emotions to undergo the intended catharsis.
If the multi-million dollar entertainment in-
dustry still doesnt seem to have the answer
to make as many production emotionally in-
tense, why would I?
/ S P A T I A L A W A R E N E S S A N DP R E S E N C E
An oft-discussed aspect of videogames
closely related to emotional connection is
immersion. Immersion can be described in
various ways, yet I believe that one of the
most fitting ways to describe it is as spatial
awareness and presence; when the player
perceives the sensation of being spatially lo-
cated in the environment presented to them.
You dont feel like you are sitting on a chair
on your attic or the couch, but instead reside
in the world the action and drama present
on your television or monitor. This moment,
when all your senses are immersed in this
new virtual universe and the real world has
been left behind, is the moment that you may
become emotionally involved in the world
you now inhabit. There are some games that
people describe as being very impressive,
whereas people do not feel this way when
they play other games. This does not neces-
sarily have to be bad, as non-immersive ti-
tles can still be hugely fun to play. However,
I believe that eventual success of Labyrinth
depends largely on the amount of immersion
the player experiences.
Madigan describes a simplified ver-
sion of Wirth et al.s theory on spatial
presence.
Players form a representation in their
minds of the space or world with
which the game is presenting them.
Players begin to favor the media-
based space (i.e. the game world)
as their point of reference for where
they are (or to put it in psychological
jargon, their primary ego reference
frame)
H o w c a n a v i d e o g a m e i m m e r s e a n d e m o t i o n a l l y c o n n e c t t o
t h e p l a y e r ?
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Profit!
(Madigan 2010)
In the beginning the player forms a mental
model of the world he is presented, based on
the various clues discovered in the environ-
ment and the assumptions about the (behav-
ior of the) world based on those clues. When
the player has created this mental model, he
has to decide (consciously or subconscious-
ly) if he feels like he is in the imaginary world
or the real one. This process can be really
quick or slowly over time, and the player may
even continuously journey between the two
worlds.
Madigan then goes on to describe two dif-
ferent game concepts that lead individually
to immersion in video games. First, there are
the games that generate a rich mental model
of the environment and secondly, the games
that create consistency between all objects
and characters in the environment. The first
game concept delivers a virtual world that
has been meticulously modeled to include
as many as possible aspects we encounter
in our daily lives. This is the most thorough,
labor-intensive approach of the two. Devel-
opers will go as far to confirm almost any
logical assumption you have come to expect
from the world. Birds may fly overhead in
the sky, but they may also shriek, decide to
touch down on the ground or ascend into the
dynamic clouds covering the digital skies.
The environment is cognitively demanding
as it holds many sources of (potential) in-
formation. This also means that your mind
will be constantly engaged in analyzing and
observing the environment, mental powers
that otherwise may have been used to spot
irregularities and anomalies in the virtual
world. Holding it all together is a strong nar-
rative, pushing the game concept forward
and maintaining the interest of the player in
the world he inhabits. This concept of the
rich mental model of the game environment
is too extensive and ambitious to achieve by
myself. Therefore, I intend to use the game
model related to consistency. I will not im-
plement any incongruous visual clues in
the game world. These are elements that
you would not expect in (dream) life, such
as head-up displays, tutorial numbers or life
bars. I do not wish to use any of these as-
pects, as they take you out of the experience.
The other important factor is related to the
presentation of the game world. It should be
a fluid, cohesive environment, without any
obstructions or sudden stops such as load-
ing screens. With loading screens, the game
world disappears for a few seconds or even
minutes and immediately breaks the immer-
sion and the player cant feel immersed in
something that isnt there.
However, none of these aspects can guar-
antee immersion. This is something very
personal; some people may see the digital
environment with skeptical, critical eyes
and may find it hard to lose themselves in it.
Other people, however, really want to try to
be inside the game world and suspend their
bias quickly. To further aid the immersion, I
want to create an environment unlike players
have seen before in games. An environment
that they may not immediately relate to, but
that contains clues of its identity. I hope that
these moments of wonder or surprise help
captivate and therefore aid the immersion of
the players while they try to understand what
they see on the screen.
/ S E R E N I T Y
Many AAA game titles from the major pub-
lishers and developers feature one action-
packed sequence after another. This can be
the fast platforming characteristic for Nin-
tendos legendary Super Mario franchise,
Call of Dutys fast-paced, frantic gunfights or
the thrill when you overtake an opponents
car at breakneck speeds in Gran Turismo.
These are often rather satisfying actions,
delivering continuous adrenaline kicks as
you make split-second reactions to emerge
victorious out of the on-screen carnage.
These actions require constant physical
player input and focus to control the play-
ers avatar action. However, this means that
there is no brain processing power left to
think, reflect or just enjoy the environments
you cross. If you think about most memora-
ble game sequences, what were they? Was
it finding yourself in the next shooting alley,
that other on-rails car chase or the buildings
you blew up? Or could the most silent parts
of the game actually be more interesting?
The Uncharted video game series by
Naughty Dogs is one of the most acclaimed
series of the current generation consoles.
Besides the, admittedly, grand and monu-
mental set pieces, gratifying gunplay and
jaw-dropping graphics, those aspects of thegame that I remember most fondly are the
parts where I just had to explore. I walked
through ancient tombs and ruins of ancient
civilizations and, once, found myself strand-
ed in the desert. Crashed and without trans-
port, all by myself, with only the scorching
heat emanating from the endless sand dunes
under the cloudless, bright blue sky. Sudden-
ly, I had no enemies to fight, no clear direc-
tion as to where to go now and struggled to
climb up and down the bright orange dunes
of the desert. The days turned into night, fata
morganas appeared and vanished in the pul-
sating thick, warm air. It was at that point
that I noticed I was no longer worrying about
protagonist Nathan Drake, but was thinking
Jeez, how am I going to get myself out of
here? The more distant perspective of the
huge gunfights, with which I could not iden-
tify myself, had been replaced by complete
immersion where I felt like I was actually in
the game.
The epitome of some games is not their
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epic story, set pieces nor the well-written
interaction between lead characters. Some-
times, what it takes is but the serene calm
and loneliness of a sequence devoid of the
usual gameplay, action and drama. That feel-
ing is exactly the one I wish players to ex-
perience on their play through of Labyrinth.
/ E X P E R I E N C I N G G A M E P L A YM E C H A N I C S : D E F Y I N G G R A V -
I T Y
Although story progression as well as char-
acter and emotional development are already
indicated within the game by the five main
chapters, I also want the player to experience
this progression by changing basic gameplay
mechanics. Labyrinth is a game that fea-
tures the exploration and navigation of the
environment as its core gameplay elements.
These are rather simple gameplay mechan-
ics, yet I hope to invoke a strong emotional
response in many ways, of which one is the
feeling of movement within the virtual world.
Navigating the environment in Labyrinth
requires only a simple set of input: direc-
tional / movement keys, player camera con-trol as well as a jump action. These inputs
translate into the virtual world via predefined
parameters. These parameters control the
speed at which the player character is able
to make a change in movement and camera
position (inertia / reaction speed), but also
how high and long the player can jump, in-
cluding the gravitational pull on the player
(buoyancy). By changing these parameters,
it becomes possible to change the experi-
ence of the player.
What emotional response do different set-
tings of core gameplay parameters invoke?
If the player finds himself immersed in the
game world, he may relate the type of move-
ment to real-world conditions. For example,
if the character may only move slowly, isquickly exhausted and the camera can only
be moved slowly, the player may feel as if he
is incredibly heavy, that there is some burden
resting on him. However, when movement is
unrealistically sped up and enormous jumps
can be made, the player may feel as if he has
been gifted supernatural powers; he may
feel more capable than he ever was before.
By changing core gameplay controls, we can
change the entire experience of the player.
The differences parameter tweaks can
make for the complete experience can be
found in many current games. As an exam-
ple, we may compare two games of the same
genre: first-person shooters. Lets take a look
at Killzone 2. In this game, the player findshimself as a soldier of an invasion that goes
terribly wrong. The entire planet is hostile
and even its ecosystem seems threatening,
with its bugs and ever-dark and rusty brown
skies. All the while, friendly forces are taking
heavy losses and the player character loses
friends himself. We may conclude that this
game has a serious tone, is about loss and
the heavy burden that rests upon the shoul-
ders of the games protagonist. These ele-
ments are reflected in the gameplay, which
feels very heavy; your assault rifle swings
slowly when you aim from left to right, the
weapon recoil vigorously kicks against your
characters shoulder and the entire display
shakes slowly and violently when you run,
all to induce the experience of a soldier with
both heavy physical and emotional load.
Now, lets shift to another end of the spec-
trum and compare Killzone 2 and its mechan-
ics with the popular Call of Duty game series.
This series has found its success mostly in
its innovative multiplayer and generally fast
gameplay. The player takes on the role of
mostly anonymous or shallow soldiers and
races across the globe and firefights like a
supernatural super soldier. You find yourself
in situations ranging from nuclear missile
silos and collapsing skyscrapers with the
only thing really holding everything together
being the overwhelming amount of fire and
explosions. This game is about quick, action-
packed sequences that focuses more on the
aesthetic and joy of destruction than story
or character progression. This is reflected
in the gunplay by the flawless motion when
moving your weapon from left to right, the
incredibly fast reloading and the light impact
explosions and weapon recoil appear to have
on the character. Call of Duty and Killzone
2 are two games within the same genre,
but with a different concept, and as a re-
sult, different gameplay. Killzone 2 focuses
on heavy, more mature issues which cor-
responds with a heavy feeling of weapon
handling and movement. Call of Duty is about
fast, action-packed sequences, which inte-
grates with gameplay mechanics that feel
more arcade-y, and generally, just really fast.
The tweaking of parameters of basic game-
play elements can create an experience that
enhances and fits better with a game con-
cept.
One major part of the d ifferences between
the two games I mentioned was the differ-
ence between light and heavy. Killzone 2
with its heavy gameplay gives the player a
feeling that he is competent, but has to take
into account this speed handicap; the player
feels powerful, yet vulnerable at the same
time. Call of Duty, with its lightning quick
response, gives the player a more omnipo-
tent feeling; when you can perform combat
actions this fast, there neednt be much to
worry about. Heavy and light gameplay in-
fluence the feeling of competency and capa-
bility the player has; or rather, the perception
of weight and gravity does.
When we apply the concept of gravity in
relation to competency and capability to Lab-
yrinth, many opportunities arise. I can link
the amount of gravity and jump buoyancy to
the different stages in the game, to express
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one of Labyrinths underlying messages in
a rather literal sense: get rid of your men-
tal burden, empower yourself and enlighten
your state of mind.
Our real-world bodies are compressed
with fat, muscles, sinews and organs. They
are easy prey for the gravity that pins them to
the ground, unable to escape its pull for more
than half a second. However, in a game we
are not just put into an avatar, but into a newexperience of weight. The game may allow
us to live our escapist fantasies of flight, lev-
itation and zero gravity. Mankind has always
dreamt of leaving the soil we walk on. We
dream of Heaven, a place in the skies where
we float alongside God, with winged angels
capable of flight. When we use drugs we ref-
erence to the experience as getting high and
when we dont feel good we feel down. In
fact, depressed can also mean close to the
ground, put down. Is it a coincidence that Hell
is often someplace deep beneath the ground,
as gravitys terminal station? When we fall
down we may hurt ourselves, yet when we
look from a higher place, we may see things
from a new perspective. In their pursuit of
wisdom and enlightenment, the monks in the
Himalaya built their monasteries high in the
mountains, so they could see far into the dis-
tance and see the clouds moving through the
valleys below them.
Related to gravity is its inherent
downward movement, whereas the escape
of gravity and enlightenment may be more
related to upward movement. This vertical
progress, combined with the gravity settings,
can be implemented into Labyrinth in the fol-
lowing ways;
1. Passage: normal gravity.
2. Abyss: heavy gravity. Jumping lifts
you only a bit off the ground and your
airtime is short. Mostly downward
movement, descending stairs and hills,
falling down shafts and tunnels. Tall,
narrow structures to make the player
feel he is at the bottom.
3. Journey: increasingly lighter gravity,
longer jumps to make the player feel
he is continually progressing further.
Open environment.
4. Blackout: jumping capability is com-
pletely gone; the player is pinned to
the ground.
5. Summit: Very light gravity to no grav-
ity at all.
Labyrinth tries to offer to the player an
immersive game experience in all aspects.
Storywise, the player is led to a catharsis,
with the gameplay elements evolving along-
side the storyline. The gravity of the world
and the gameplay controls adapt to each
chapters setting, emotional message and at-
mosphere. The players perception changes
with the different response in gameplay, so
that he may better feel and experience each
different level. Overall, the player will find
himself in a serene, dreamlike world that
encourages exploration and engages the
players mind and imagination with minimal
game actions and controls. In this game, less
gameplay may be more.
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The impact of Labyrinth depends for a large
part on the emotional response the game
provokes with the player. This depends on
multiple factors, of which one of the most
important is immersion. I try to achieve im-
mersion by offering a consistent game world,
without incongruous visual cues and by en-
gaging the players mind. This means that the
player has to be able to connect to the en-
vironment and be able to give meaning to it
himself. In Labyrinth, the player experiences
a journey through the subconscious, where
he encounters situations that may seem like
abstracted versions of reality.
In the game, the player experiences a
journey through his own subconscious. The
subconscious is something that we arent
even fully aware of, which makes it at the
same time difficult as well as easier to visu-
alize it. Difficult, because there is no gener-
ally accepted and thus recognizable visuali-
zation; yet it makes the process easier, too,
because it allows for a wider degree of ar-
tistic freedom. We can see the subconscious
as a dream world, in which nothing is real
and structures are constantly changing and
bending the reality. A great example of a
game that manages to pull this off is the re-
cent DmC: Devil May Cry game. In this game,
the player constantly shifts between the
real world and Limbo, its perverted, trans-
formed reflection. However, this approach
requires many custom 3D-models to be de-
signed; something that is simply not possible
with my means and given time. Also, its en-
vironments are usually designed as staging
areas for fighting waves of enemies, which
does not suit my gameplay at all.
However, in the subconscious I intend to
implement abstracted versions of reality. It
is in that abstracted way that I wish to con-
tinue.
The human mind can be imagined and vis-
ualized in many ways. I have decided to rep-
resent it as an architectural landscape, with
different environments representing differ-
ent parts of the (state of) mind of a person.
The player has to be able to connect with the
environment and give meaning to it in order
to lose himself in the game. Therefore, I have
decided to keep the style as minimal as pos-
sible. I have deliberately chosen not to try and
mimick our real world. I believe that when
we are shown a picture that tries to come
as close to reality as possible, we start look-
ing for artifacts and small things that identify
that picture as being artificial. Because there
is nothing for the player to imagine (parts of)
the world he is shown, the mind uses thispower instead to define the environment
as fake, resulting in a loss of immersion.
Instead, I want to create an almost surreal
environment, devoid of those elements that
we see in our everyday lives. By creating
such a deliberate artificial environment, the
player is thrown off balance, may want to ex-
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plore and immerse himself in this world that
he has never seen before. I do not wish to
portray all the familiar elements we encoun-
ter in our daily lives; furniture, recognizable
structures and buildings, people, plants etc.
Instead, I want to merely suggest their exist-
ence in the game world by providing sound,
color and other elements we normally link to
these entities. By providing all proof of these
things being there, but there are not visible,
we may try to imagine them being there.
When we try to imagine those items being
there, we may lose ourselves in the environ-
ment, even though it is purely virtual. I want
to make use of this paradox; when a surreal
world is seen as more real and vivid than a
realistic world.
The Modernist movements and architects
of the 20th century deliver a perfect blend
of minimalism, abstract and usability for
the architectural, surreal landscapes I wish
to create. The villas of le Corbusier between
1923 and 1934; the Bauhaus masters Walter
Gropius and Mies van der Rohe; the works
of Richard Neutra and their contemporary
counterparts, in more particular the Japa-
nese architect Tadao Ando.
Their view on aesthetics, where beauty
is derived from the structure of the building
and the bare construction materials, their of-
ten rectangular shapes (and use of prefabs)
offer not only a very characteristic style and
more abstract surroundings, but are also
easier to create in 3D software. By using only
a limited color palette and material selec-
tion, comprising mainly bare walls, concrete,
steel and glass, I will have to spend less time
on creating the environments. Instead, I will
be able to focus more on the ambiance and
mood of the environments through post-pro-
cessing effects such as god rays, fog, depth
of field, color grading and light and shadow
compositions.
Some games have already taken this ap-
proach, with good results. Fine examples
are Assassins Creed: Revelations (AC:R) and
Mirrors Edge. AC:R contains several chap-
ters in which the protagonist moves through
his own personal history, or the history of
project 16. Concrete, cyber elements and the
mixture of geometric structures with nature
to create surreal landscapes are used to
great effect to achieve the feeling that you
are in a computer program inside your head.
Mirrors Edge takes place in a dystopian fu-
ture where the protagonist moves through
a future, all-white city with some brightly-
colored elements. In downloadable content
released for the game, the world is further
abstracted into only geometric shapes with-
out any texture or element that relates to the
real world. In both games, this approach led
to a special kind of immersion experienced
by the player.
To create the best immersive environment
that represents the subconscious the player
travels through, I will create abstract archi-
tectural landscapes inspired by the 20th cen-
tury Modernism. I believe this approach best
fits my concept and is also easier to create
with my current skills in 3D software and the
timeframe we have for this project.
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M O O D B O A R D S
I created several moodboards to enhance my vi-
sion for Labyrinth. They also provided with me
with a reference for the eventual level designs.
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1 . 1 . N U M B E R O F L O C A T I O NS
In Labyrinth the player will travel through
three different stages, inspired by Dante
Alighieris journey through the underworld.
In Dantes Divina Commedia, these three
worlds are Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.
I would like to recreate my interpretation of
these three worlds as well in the context of
the game.
In total, there will be six locations, one per
story chapter.
1. Stasis
2. Passage
3. Abyss
4. Journey
5. Blackout
6. Summit
1 . 3 N U M B E R O F N P C S
The game will not feature NPCs that can be
interacted with.
1 . 4 N U M B E R O F W E A P O N S &T O O L S
The game will not feature weapons, nor
tools. The only thing the player really has to
do is navigating his environment. (Less isMore Gameplay)
1 . G a m e o v e r v i e w : P r o j e c t S c o p e
2 .1 G A M E P L A Y
Game progression
The game progresses in a linear fashion.
When the player has come to the end of a
level, he is transported to the next level.
Objectives
The objective of the game is to give the play-
er the idea that has the power and capability
to overcome a depressive thinking pattern.
The player will overcome challenges and
puzzles represented abstracted situations of
his daily life.
The game will progress in linear structure,
where the player will have to reach the end
of a level in order to progress to the next one.
2 . 2 M E C H A N I C S
What are the rules for the game, both implicit
and explicit. This is the model of the universe
the game works under. Think of it as a simu-
lation of a world, how do all the pieces in-
teract?
Physics
Labyrinth places players inside their own
mind. In this dreamlike world, not all the laws
of physics have to apply, although I think it
is important to have players inside a world
with ordinary physics for the better part of
the game; if the game becomes too unreal-
istic it might affect the level of immersion
they feel.
In the game, I may play with gravity (high,low and zero gravity, or changes of the direc-
tion of the gravity) and walking against walls
to create interesting gameplay scenarios.
Movement
General movement
In the first-person perspective, the player
2 G a m e p l a y a n d M e c h a n i c s
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has the freedom to walk, look around, jump
and run.
Other movement
The player may jump onto platforms, float
around or fly in zero gravity situations. These
are simply controlled by the game engine. I
may implement swimmable water volumes.
The player may also move on moving objects.
These objects can be elevators or platforms.
Objects
Picking up objects
There wont be an inventory the player can
carry around in the game.
Moving objects
Some objects can move after triggering an
event; other objects can move when the
player touches the object.
Act ion s
Switches and buttons
Throughout the game, the player will enter
environments with challenges that will re-
quire player interaction to overcome thesechallenges. The player may have to move
to and stand in defined areas to trigger an
event.
Picking up, carrying and dropping
I do not see the need to relevance of this
function in the current game and have there-
fore left it out.
Talking
Labyrinth will not feature conversations.
However, there will be certain points in the
game when a voice-over will deliver spoken
text in the form of a monologue to drive the
story forward. Some environments will also
have ambient dialogue, i.e. whispers, laugh-
ter, chatter etc. without revealing the origin
of the sounds.
Reading
There will be moments in the game when
(shards of) text are shown. However, there
wont be large amounts of text present in the
game.
Combat
The game will not exhibit combat - however,
the intention is to give the player the feeling
that hes fighting something (his depressive
thinking) without displaying literal combat;
its more like fighting the world youre in, the
fight to push forward.
2 . 3 R E P L A Y I N G A N D S A V I N G
Labyrinth will provide multiple checkpoints
throughout the game. These checkpoints will
generally be placed after a certain amount
of distance has been travelled, before, in or
after a challenge. A checkpoint is essentially
a location where the player can spawn. When
a player reaches a checkpoint, this spawn
point is activated and should the player fail,
he will spawn at the latest checkpoint.
The engine allows for a manual save sys-
tem to be implemented, however, this is sim-
ply too much work for me to implement right
now.
2 . 4 C H E A T S A N D E A S T E RE G G S
The game engine has an in-game console
that allows for command input. These are
used mainly for debugging but also for taking
screenshots. It also contains several com-
mands that can be seen as cheats. Examples:
God (god mode), Fly, Ghost (go through walls
and fly) etc. It is possible to dynamically im-
plement these commands in the game (when
the player activates a trigger).
There are and will be no real easter eggs.
3 . I n t e r f a c e
3 .1 V I S U A L S Y S T E M
HUD
The game will not feature a HUD. I believe
that a HUD detracts from the experience, as
it shows you information and visual cues you
would not normally see in the real world or
in this particular virtual world; it is an incon-
gruous visual cue. I think that implementing
a HUD may therefore cause a loss of immer-
sion for the player. When some contextual
actions are required, the game may display a
subtle hint in the form of text.
Menus
I had envisioned two different menus for
Labyrinth.
1. Main menu
The main menu is the menu that is
shown when the game is started.
Resume playing (from the last reached
checkpoint if possible, otherwise will
go to current state Limbo Labyrinth)
Start a new game (if I have the time)
Options: screen resolution, no de-
tail options for geometry and texture,
choose DX9 or DX11 render mode (may
or may not implement this)
2. In-game menu
When the player presses ESC this menu ap-
pears. The game is not paused; instead, the
menu is shown as a discreet overlay of the
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current game world.
Resume playing
Return to main menu
Options (see main menu)
Quit game. Exit Labyrinth and return
to desktop.
Rendering system
3D Rendering
The in-engine UDK Lightmass system han-
dles the rendering of all 3D objects. It allows
for high-quality precision lighting on static
objects via pre-rendering all static lights and
shadows. Dynamic real-time shadows and
post-processing, including (screenspace)
ambient occlusion are standard as well. It
is possible to import pre-baked lightmaps in
the engine, but this is not useful for me.
In-game graphics
Menus can be rendered by the game engine
in various ways.
1. Native coding (via Kismet or Unre-alscript) - quite easy and robust, yet
not very graphically refined. There is
some documentation available and the
process is quite easy.
2. Scaleform / Flash - The entire pow-
er of Flash can be utilized, including
3D menu effects, via Scaleform. It is
integrated in the game-engine, more
powerful, yet requires ActionScript 3
knowledge.
3 . 2 C O N T R O L S Y S T E M
The player can control the game via the
game-standard WASD keyboard combina-
tion and may use the spacebar to jump. The
mouse can be used to look around, the Eserves as action key and SHIFT to run. The
engine supports the Xbox360 controller for
Windows as well. Left analog stick for look-
ing around, right analog stick for movement,
A for jumping, and left analog stick press to
run.
3 . 3 A U D I O
Ambient sound effects and sound cues will
be used in the game, as well as action-spe-
cific sounds. These sounds are the sounds
the player expects when he interacts with
the world, and are therefore required to im-
prove the player immersion.
Player sounds
Walking
Running
Breathing and panting
Jumping
Object sounds (differs per material)
Grinding
Falling
etc.
Ambient sounds
Whispering
Laughing
Chatter
Traffic
White noise
Footsteps
Wind and other environmental sounds
etc.
I will use the BBC sounds library to acquire
these sound effects.
3 . 4 M U S I C
I may add a musical score at some part in the
game, but I will have to test it to see if this
adds or detracts from the experience.
3 . 5 H E L P S Y S T E M
In the very beginning of the game, some mes-
sages may be displayed onscreen to help the
player familiarize with the control scheme.
However, since the target group consists of
persons who are likely to play games, I as-
sume most people will already know the con-
trol scheme. I will not provide a tutorial level,
unless testing proves me wrong.
4 . A R T I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E
There will be no NPCs or AI present in Laby-
rinth. Instead, there will be scripted moments
of interaction that do not require AI coding.
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5 .1 T A R G E T H A R D W A R E
Most likely I will be unable to fully optimize the game, which means that the game is recom-
mended to be run only on more recent computer systems. The game is made using the UDK,
the non-commercial version of the Unreal Engine 3, which offers support for Windows (XP
or higher), Mac OS X, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, although the latter two require developer
licenses and developer consoles from their respective manufacturers.
Although Labyrinth will use some DirectX11 effects such as bokeh depth-of-field, it can be
easily adapted to run on DirectX9 systems and OpenGL by using a non-bokeh depth-of-field.
WindowsXPSP3orhigher,MacOSX10.6Lionorhigher
Quad-coreCPU
NVIDIAGeforce8800orhigher(orAMDequivalent)withDirectX11
2GbRAM
3GbHDDSpace
The engine supports iOS as well. However, the Mobile OpenGL renderer differs a lot from
the DirectX and desktop OpenGL counterparts and has different behavior in e.g. shadow
system and material editor. I will also have to take into account the lower performance and
memory specifications of mobile devices. If I would ever develop the game for iOS, it would
cost me a few extra months to fully optimize it for the mobile device; I may even have to alter
the gameplay to suit small touchscreens. However, it is definitely something to keep in mind.
Maybe when the project is finished, I will create an iOS version as an SDL activity.
The commercial version of the engine also offers Flash support, making the game device
agnostic and offering unprecedent distribution options. However, I work with the free non-
commercial version of the game and bandwidth issues for a multiple gigabyte game would
create additional problems.
For now, the game will be compatible only with Windows.
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5 . 2 D E V E L O P ME N T H A R D W A R E A N D S O F T W A R E
Hardware
Labyrinth is developed on my university-issued 2011 Lenovo Thinkpad W520.
IntelQ2760M2.0GHzquadcore
NVIDIAQuadro1000M
4GBDDR3RAM
1600x900LCDdisplay
The Quadro GPU is the main bottleneck of the system. I have tried playing games on it and
although it is a capable card, it is not meant for gaming. DX11 performance is the equivalent
of a current GPU entry model (NVIDIA GT550M). Additionally, the laptop cooling is insuf-
ficient. When playing games, the GPU may reach 90C after which it underclocks to prevent
hardware damage. This downthrottling from 900MHz to 12MHz results in framedrops down
to 1-5fps for several seconds. For some reason, this appears to occur more with Unreal
Engine games than with games created with other engines. For example, Crysis 2 ran with
console-like framerates of 25-30fps at native 1600x900 resolution at high spec. For reasons
I have been unable to find out yet, the UDK, which utilizes the Unreal Engine, doesnt seem to
overheat my system (yet..) although performance with complex scenes can become a little
sluggy. Another bottleneck is my 4Gb RAM; 8Gb is a more realistic requirement for game
creation (16Gb is ideal when designing really big worlds). The 5400RPM harddrive isnt great
either, but suffices for the most part.
Software
The software I have used in the development of Labyrinth:
UDK(UnrealDevelopmentKit):gameengine
Photoshop:texturecreationandbasicediting
nDO2:texturecreation,especiallynormalmaps
I have found pen and paper to have been the most important assets in development, be-
sides the game engine itself.
5 . 3 D E V E L O P M E N T P R O C E D U R E S A N D S TA N D A R D S
I have developed a certain working flow while working on Labyrinth.
1. Design level - Draw level and imagine the gameplay. This results in a map with details
of the events, encounters, and how it looks.
2. Rapid whiteboxing in engine - Using BSP brushes, the essential geometry of the level
is created in the engine.
3. Gameplay - Basic gameplay elements are added to the level; not only challenges, but
also the environment that allow the player to pass through at an optimal pace. Fast
iteration and testing to ensure gameplay, interactive elements and gameflow of the
level is correct. The level must simply work.
4. Additional detail, texturing and lighting - Extra geometry is added to provide more
interesting and complex environments. The BSP blocks are textured and the lighting is
setup properly to enrich the scenes and provide a greater sense of immersion.
5. Post-processing- Adds the extra eye candy that really breathe life and character into
the scene.
Bloom; god rays; light shafts; depth of field; color grading; advanced shadows; more com-
plex shaders for the materials (distortion, refraction, reflection; these are all optional); time
of day effects; decals; fog etc. This phase has the possibility to go on forever, and must beworked on mostly near the end of the process
5 . 4 G A M E E N G I N E : U D K
Labyrinth will be built using the UDK. The Unreal Development Kit is the editor environment
for the public using the renowned Unreal Engine 3 toolset. It is available for free for non-
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commercial use and deployment on Windows, Mac OS X and iOS. The difference between
the UDK and the Unreal Engine 3, is that although the UDK grants the same toolset used
by AAA developer studios, it does not grant access to the C++ source and thus cannot be
modified or extended with plugins. The commercial version of the UDK grants the possibility
to sell games for a one-time 99$ fee, royalty-free until 50,000$. The engine fully supports
Playstation 3 and Xbox360, however in order to develop for these platforms the respective
manufacturers have to grant you access to developer accounts and console development
kits. Afterwards, deployment to these platforms is possible.
The UDK offers robust and tested tools for the creation of both interior and grand outside
scenes. With built-in global illumination, real-time dynamic shadows, DirectX11 features suchas depth of field, APEX clothing and tessellation, incredible eyecandy can be created. It also
has a built-in physics system powered by NVIDIA PhysX that allows for easy implementation
of physics and the creation of interactive high-quality water. Programming games can be
done visually using flowcharts in Kismet, or can be written in the Java-based UnrealScript
language. Geometry can be imported in many ways, however, my art style suffices with the
built-in whiteboxing capabilities of the engine. The whiteboxing tools, or BSP brushes, offer
the opportunity for rapid geometry creation and prototyping. The material editor supports
diffuse, normal, specular and bump maps. It offers incredible flexibility to create almost any
material possible. There is a wide array of post-processing options to enhance scenes and
achieve the desired effects or look.
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/ P R O G R E S S O F G A M E /B U I L D S T A T U S
I knew that it was impossible for me to com-
pletely build Labyrinth the way I had intended
to. Therefore, for the game that I wished to
show at the Final Exhibition, I chose to focus
on the beginning of the game. I thought this
was the best way to introduce the game; I
had played game demos from major publish-
ers before and their demos always startedwith the beginning of the game (although
they probably do this mostly so they wont
spoil the game for the player).
I have built the first chapters of the game;
Stasis and Passage. Passage is not yet ful-
ly completed, as it lacks the transition into
Abyss. Other areas have been envisioned
by me, but not yet built. I lacked the time to
create custom game menus, as I gave game-
play and levels priority. For the story, I have
recorded myself several parts of voice-over.
However, I lacked the time to fully implement
them into the game, as sound editing in the
engine wasnt as straightforward as I had
thought. I have not been able to implement
the BBC sound effects for the same reasonas well as conversion issues.
The December 2012 (final exhibition)
Build of Labyrinth has been compiled into a
.EXE installer for convenient distribution and
evaluation.
/ U D K D E V E L O P M E N T
Although I had a fairly solid development
process, as can be read in section 5.3 of the
previous chapter, development was night-
marish at times. Although the UDK is almost
an industry standard in the field of current-
gen game engines, it was not completely
built to fulfill my particular needs.
The UDK is meant as a game engine only
and should not be used extensively as a
primitive 3D editor. Although it has support
for whiteboxing, primitive 3D brush editing,
it is not optimized for the task. However,
since I wanted to limit the learning curve
needed for Labyrinth, I had decided to rely
solely on the UDK and create all my levels
using brushes. As the whitebox complexity
increased as I progressed in the level design,
so did the instability of the engine. Perfor-
mance drops made level creation ever more
slowly and often the UDK would suddenly
crash. Later on I learned ways to optimize
the 3D brushes I made using whiteboxing,
however, I learned this very late in the pro-
cess. I guess that the time that I have lost is
approximately half of my complete develop-
ment time, because of dropped performance,
crashes and the resulting erased progress. It
is fair to say that the process has been whol-
ly inefficient. It was only when I had learnt
the tricks to optimize whiteboxing that these
time losses were cut to under ten percent of
development time.
TOP: Stasis
BOTTOM: Passage
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Fortunately, other aspects of the en-
gine were absolutely amazing and wonder-
fully fast. Creating animations was a fairly
straightforward task, as was applying post-
process filters. Gameplay iterations can be
made fast and the lightning-fast post-pro-
cessing really gives atmosphere and a dis-
tinct feeling to each level.
Should I continue development of Laby-
rinth in the future, I will seriously considerlearning dedicated 3D software to create
(more complex) assets for my level design.
Anything else, the UDK offers a reasonable
development experience with outstanding
game visuals. Even though I had hoped to
limit development time by utilizing a very
minimalist art style, the environments were
still very complex since they were built in
3D. I think the most important lesson I have
learned in this aspect is that the amount of
time needed to build a few simple levels is
much larger than I had originally anticipated.
With my current knowledge I estimate the
time I need to build a level for Labyrinth in a
normal work week is about 1,5 month.
/ F I N A L E X H I B I T I O N
For the Final Exhibition, I had intended to
show off a demo of Labyrinth, i.e. show a
few of the levels instead of the entire game.
I thought that this approach was possible for
me to develop and still get people to get a
feeling of the experience. I developed Sta-
sis and Passage and connected the levels
to each other. I also implemented Xbox 360
controls, so people would be able to play the
game on the television without having to use
a mouse and keyboard on the couch. For the
Final Exhibition, my main target was to see
if people would enjoy a game with limited
gameplay, enjoyed the art direction (VOID;)
and would get a good perception of the final
intended experience. I had intended the Ex-
hibition as my first real user test.
During the Exhibition, I received a fair
amount of visitors. I received plenty remarks
on the looks of the game; many felt it was
similar to either Assassins Creed or Mirrors
Edge. The challenge in the passage level
with the moving platform was experienced
by many as too difficult. Another thing I no-
ticed was that people were struggling with
the general video game controls. There was
a clear split between gamers and non-
gamers, i.e. people familiar with current-gen
computer and console games. The gamers
played the game a tad faster than I had in-
tended, whereas the non-gamers progressed
with much difficulty; the analog sticks of the
Xbox 360 posed a big challenge for them
and they were often disoriented when they
mistakenly adjusted the player camera. The
lack of a musical score was also noted, as
this could add considerably to the overall at-
LEFT & RIGHT: Passage
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mosphere and story of the game. The most
important feedback I received, however, was
about the entire demo. Because I had shown
only the beginning of the game, visitors were
unable to comprehend the entire story and
gameplay development of the game. It would
therefore have been better if I had shown
snapshots of the game, i.e. show the first
level, than a level in the middle of the game
followed by the final level. Had I done so, the
entire game concept may have been bet-
ter comprehended and experienced. Since
Labyrinth is a game that is focused more
on the journey than the final goal, this ap-
proach would have fitted the game much bet-
ter. Now, people were sometimes unable to
grasp the overall concept and picture of the
game.
Out of the feedback I received during the
Final Exhibition, I was able to draw several
conclusions.
Aesthetics: Overall art style was
praised, although some felt it was
similar to Assassins Creed and Mir-
rors Edge. Some environments could
be even more abstract, e.g. with more
floating, surreal geometry. The envi-
ronment also invited to explore, one of
the main goals of the concept. Visu-
ally, the game was very positively re-
viewed.
Gameplay: The difficulty of the chal-
lenge was too hard. I should better test
and tweak challenges next time.
Story: Overall story progression could
not be indicated from the game. More-
over, without my commentary, people
would likely not have known what to
do. I should better indicate story pro-
gression. I can do this via voice-over,
but also by implementing floating text
or text projected on objects. I believethis would not be an incongruous vis-
ual cue, it may even feel as if the game
world is talking to you.
Accessibility: If I want to make the
game more accessible to non-gamers,
I will have to research how these peo-
ple normally play games. A fine way
to test this would be to let them play
different, existing games and find out
how they react to the instructions and
hints the game offers. I can then also
watch the way they play and adapt the
game levels to these results to create a
game that is enjoyable for both gamers
and non-gamers. Another challenge
would be distribution and awareness
of the game for non-gamers; however,
that is an entirely different topic.
Music: I should try to implement mu-
sic next time. It really adds a lot to the
game atmosphere. However, I believe
a true musical score may be an incon-
LEFT & RIGHT: Passage
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BOTTOM: Passage (contd.