Patterns of Contrast

Transcription

Patterns of Contrast
Presenting the Level Parameter Segmentation Model
- A tool for assuring variation in game level design
Kristian Helle Jespersen
Master thesis
IT-University, Copenhagen
3. November 2008
Supervisor: Alessandro Canossa
1
Abstract ...................................................................................................................................................................... 2
2
Introduction ............................................................................................................................................................... 4
3
4
5
6
2.1
Keywords ........................................................................................................................................................... 5
2.2
Research Question ............................................................................................................................................ 5
2.3
Definitions ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.4
Hypothesis ......................................................................................................................................................... 6
2.5
Delimitation..................................................................................................................................................... 11
2.6
Topicality ......................................................................................................................................................... 12
2.7
Thesis structure ............................................................................................................................................... 13
Method .................................................................................................................................................................... 14
3.1
Identifying the parameters ............................................................................................................................. 14
3.2
What constitutes change?............................................................................................................................... 22
3.3
LPS-model as a tool for analysis ...................................................................................................................... 22
Discussion ................................................................................................................................................................ 23
4.1
CRBP revisited ................................................................................................................................................. 24
4.2
Occurrence analysis results ............................................................................................................................. 30
4.3
Model topicality .............................................................................................................................................. 40
4.4
Investigating the LPS-model categories .......................................................................................................... 43
4.5
Summary ......................................................................................................................................................... 52
Model for analysis – HL2E2 ...................................................................................................................................... 53
5.1
Setting ............................................................................................................................................................. 54
5.2
Visuals ............................................................................................................................................................. 55
5.3
Gameplay intensity ......................................................................................................................................... 56
The Bigger picture .................................................................................................................................................... 57
6.1
The framework ................................................................................................................................................ 58
7
Conclusion ................................................................................................................................................................ 59
8
Ludo- and bibliography ............................................................................................................................................ 60
9
Appendix .................................................................................................................................................................. 66
9.1
Appendix A - Frequency word script ............................................................................................................... 66
9.2
Appendix B - Frequency data .......................................................................................................................... 68
9.3
Appendix C - Keywords.................................................................................................................................... 71
9.4
Appendix D - Arrange keywords script ............................................................................................................ 72
9.5
Appendix E – Category frequencies ................................................................................................................ 80
9.6
Appendix F – HL2E2 analysis ........................................................................................................................... 82
1
1 Abstract
“Art is the imposing of a pattern on experience and our aesthetic enjoyment is recognition of the pattern”
(1)
“The arts would lie open for ever to caprice and casualty, if those who are to judge of their excellencies had
no settled principles by which they are to regulate their decisions; and the merit or defect of performances
were to be determined by unguided fancy; and indeed we may venture to assert, that whatever speculative
knowledge is necessary to the artist is equally and indispensably necessary to the connoisseur.” (2)
“All artifacts are created within some design methodology. Whether building a physical prototype,
architecting a software interface, constructing an argument or implementing a series of controlled
experiments - design methodologies guide the creative thought process and help ensure quality work.”(3)
“There’s no argument that the goal of games is to have fun, so it’s not surprising that many write about the
topic. But fun and emotions are outcomes of psychological processes, and not the processes themselves. If
we want to build better and better games, we need to look deeper and understand the dynamics that
actually determine the emotional outcomes.”(4)
The quotes in the above are all related to this thesis’ attempt to construct a level parameter segmentation
model (LPS-model), for linear AAA-game level design, based on universal design principles. The goal is to
identify universal principles which can be organized within a structuralistic framework to aid designers in
creating a more interesting play experience. A semantic analysis of a number of reviews reveals the
parameters which game critics emphasize the most, and these parameters become the groundwork for the
LPS-model, combined with a look into tips & tricks from industry professional and game scholars.
Additionally I will present a theory on neuroaesthetics which identifies Contrast, Rhythm, Balance and
Proportion as the most important aspects of human aesthetic appreciation, which will further justify the
overarching claim of this thesis; that variation, in its own right, is an extremely important aspect of any
experience, thus being the prime focus of the LPS-model.
2
With variety as the ‘meta-principle’ the identification of areas of discussion, which are subject of critic
emphasis, allows the LPS-model to categorize the elements of play experience which could benefit from
having orchestrated variation i.e. assuring that the player is never exposed to the same stimuli for a longer
period of time, by changing setting, lighting, gameplay etc.
The LPS-model is a physical model, which is meant to be hung on the wall and provide a visual overview of
how the various parts of the game play together. Since game development is iterative by nature, the
constant changes can often blur the outlook on the game. Being that the LPS-model is easily modifiable, it
allows designers to get instant feedback on the effects of the change. In conjunction with being a tool for
designers to verify that the design vision is adhered to, the model also provides a tool for communicating
changes throughout the entire team without each team member having to constantly attend meetings or
frequently re-read the design manual.
The LPS-model, as a tool for communication, is not thoroughly addressed in this thesis, since validation
would imply using the model in a large scale production. Instead the focus is on its use in design, and an
analysis of a critic acclaimed game is performed to verify if it adheres to the principles set forth by this
thesis.
3
2 Introduction
Having been presented with narratology as a mean of analyzing games in my early years of study, but
acknowledging its obvious shortcomings due to the temporal aspects as well as the cognitive implications
of participation versus observation, I have pondered how a structuralistic approach to game and level
design could be described. While Steffan Björk and Jussi Holopainen has done great work on structuralistic
game design in Patterns in Game Design (5), level design literature seems more oriented on technical
aspects as well as a selection of more general ‘tips & tricks’. Models and methods as seen in other
artistic/narrative media e.g. the actant model, the narrative arc, the golden ratio etc., seems to be absent
when looking at the field of level design. This inspired an investigation into the possibility of a design
model, inspired by an interdisciplinary collection of design principles, as the ones aforementioned.
Figure 3: Golden ratio
Figure 2: The actant model
Figure 1: Narrative arc
“Instead of treating the new phenomena (Game-aesthetics) carefully, and as objects of a study for which no
methodology yet exists, they are analyzed willy-nilly, with tools that happen to be at hand, such as film
theory or narratology, from Aristotle onwards. The cautious search for a methodology, which we should
have reason to expect of reflective practitioners in any new field, is suspiciously absent from most current
aesthetic analyses of games.”(6)
Even though Aarseth, in his publication Playing Research: Methodological approaches to game analysis, not
explicitly refer to the lack of any aesthetics-centered design methodology for level design, as this thesis
must be categorized as being, his publication encompasses it. It may seem an odd choice to insert the
above citation into a thesis which, at first glance, bases a model for aesthetic level design on precisely these
“willy-nilly” tools. The reason being, that the focus is not on founding the Level Parameter Segmentation
Model (LPS-model) on a modification of existing tools, but on the universal truths that these tools were
initially based on. Therefore what may seem as a modification of tools is merely an acceptance of the
premise on which these tools were founded, and using them to construct a specialized model for game
level design.
4
This thesis attempts to create such a tool allowing the designer to, if not define the fixed value of good
design parameters, then expose the parameters of which good level design consists, which is exactly what
the models mentioned in the above does for other artistic media, and allow the designer to gain an outlook
on the overall effect of his/her decisions.
Besides from the initial search for structuralistic level design tools, the thesis subject stems from a design
discussion with a few colleagues of mine when working on a AAA 3rd person action adventure game at
ZeitGuyz Game Developers, which I initially had agreed to write this thesis in collaboration with.
Unfortunately the final negotiations with publishers did not result in a publishing deal and thus the
company had to close. The discussion revolved around the lack of narrative structure in the plot of the
game, and that the plot at that time did not correspond to generally acknowledged narrative theory, and if
that was an even meaningful goal at all. The discussion spawned an idea of looking at the narrative arc
theory, as spawned by Aristotle(7), as a starting point for formalizing game flow and intensity variation
throughout the different levels, based on the premise that tension and variation were desirable principles
to strive for in the experience of any art form. This idea became the foundation for the investigation this
thesis performs.
2.1 Keywords
Gameflow, level design parameters, spatial dramaturgy, aesthetics, design principles
2.2 Research Question
How can universal design principles for game/level design be identified? And how would a model which
incorporates these principles be constructed, with the goal of aiding the design process of linear AAA 1st/3rd
person action games?
5
2.3 Definitions
In this section I will define words, which may be subject to misunderstanding, and is essential to this thesis.
•
Segment: A part of a level which is sufficiently different from the previous segment, to classify it as
being independent.
•
Instance: A filled out paper-version of the LPS-model describing a single segment.
2.4 Hypothesis
The reasoning which is paramount in leading to the validity of the LPS-model, is that contrast/variation in
its own right is a valid goal in any design process. It is a goal of this thesis to confirm the hypothesis partly
through the work on neuroaesthetics of Peter D. Stebbing in his publication A Universal Grammar for Visual
Composition (8) and partly through an interdisciplinary look at narratology, architecture and color theory.
2.4.1 The three uses
The LPS-model is first and foremost a tool for designers to assure coherence in the implementation of the
design vision, but the model contains other uses as well. I propose three distinct uses of the LPS-model;
1. As a mean of ensuring quality on levels and provide an easily modifiable model for the designer.
2. It should be able to provide information to each team member of in which direction each level is
currently going. This should help everybody have a clearer understanding of which assets are
needed to fulfill the vision.
3. As a tool for the producer to get hard data for cost/benefit analysis on time spend within each
individual setting and with each individual mechanic. This should aid in decisions on which aspects
of the game to cut/diminish or expand on.
6
2.4.2 Physicality of the model
Before these three uses are explained in further detail, a brief description of the
parameters and physical nature of the LPS-model is deemed necessary in order to
present the reader with an understanding which is essential in the remainder of this
section. The model shares physical similarities with storyboards and is supposed to
be hung on the wall for all team members to see. The comparison to storyboards is
limited, to a large extent, to its physical design, since whereas storyboards shows
the framing for each shot as well as any necessary notes, the LPS-model focus on
Figure 4: Storyboard from
Star Wars
gameplay intensity and the variation in the aesthetic parameters.
Figure 5: Five model-instances from Half life2: Episode2
2.4.3 Designing using the model
When designing a level using the LPS-model, it should be subdivided into a number of segments whenever
sufficient change occurs to separate the current segment from the previous (what constitutes ‘sufficient
change’ is described in section 0). Each of these segments are described in its own ‘instance’ of the model
i.e. a separate page, which contains the value of each parameter in the given segment e.g. gameplay,
intensity, color, sound and spatiality. Having these instances hung next to each other yields the overarching
outlook on the consequences of each design decision, with regard to the level as a whole. With this
7
description of the LPS-model in place it’s time to delve a bit deeper into the three potential uses as
described in the beginning of this section.
2.4.4 Cognitive bias
The first use of the model, as well as the predominant part of this thesis, deals with the LPS-model as a tool
for the level designer. Given that the designer has a vision of gameflow as well as a documented art
direction, it holds the potential of mapping these abstract ideas into a visual model. The important aspect
here is that the player experience of a level-segment is also affected by the preceding, and in part the
subsequent, segments due to human perception of change i.e. the value of any stimulus is not necessarily
perceived as actually having the given value, but more likely a value influenced by juxtaposed stimuli i.e.
that stimulus is perceived as more than the sum of its parts. This principle is well described in the field of
visual perception with the laws of simultaneous and successive contrast. These laws, identified by the 19thcentury physicist Michel-Eugène Chevreul(2), are a subset of the cognitive biases which humans possesses,
i.e. patterns of deviations in judgment e.g. if exposing ones hands to respectively hot and cold water, the
perceived temperature will vary when both are exposed to lukewarm water. Simultaneous and successive
contrast can be described by the collective name ‘contrast effect’ which can be defined as:
“A contrast effect is the enhancement or diminishment,
relative to normal, of perception, cognition and related
performance as a result of immediately previous or
simultaneous exposure to a stimulus of lesser or greater value
in the same dimension. (Here, normal perception or
performance is that which would be obtained in the absence
of the comparison stimulus - i.e., one based on all previous
experience.)”(9)
Figure 6: Example of contrast effect
Figure 6 shows both simultaneous contrast (left) and successive contrast (right). The perception of the color
of the center square is affected by the color of the surrounding square, and by looking at the red and green
circle for some time, it will change the perception of color when directing the eye to the yellow circles.
8
2.4.5 How to use cognitive bias
Exemplified by the contrast effect, it’s a hypothesis of this thesis that similar cognitive bias exist in the
experience of level design aesthetics. This hypothesis is supported by theory from other schools of art,
which will be dealt with in further detail in section 4.4. To simplify; the value of the LPS-model lies not only
in presenting the parameters of each individual segment, but also to expose its differences with regard to
the preceding and subsequent segments i.e. the flow/form. David Bordwell and Kirsten Thompson, well
known film theorists and founders of cognitive film theory, propose just this:
“In order to analyze a film’s pattern of development, it is usually a good idea to make a segmentation.
Segmentation is simply a written outline of the film that breaks it into major and minor parts, with the parts
marked by consecutive numbers or letters. If a narrative film has ten scenes, then we can label each scene
with a number running from one to ten. It may be useful to divide some parts further. Segmenting a film
enables us not only to notice similarities and differences among parts but also to plot the overall
progression of the form.” (10)
Since AAA game development is a field with a highly iterative production model, the amount of changes
can easily blur the clarity of the design vision. Each change has the potential of breaking the overarching
high-concept of form i.e. gameflow and art direction, since aesthetics and tension are linked to the
orchestration of successive stimuli. The idea behind the LPS-model is, that any changes are immediately
applied to the relevant instances i.e. the filled out paper-version of the model hanging on the wall. This
should give an instant suggestion on whether or not the change has form-breaking ramifications, which
would demand further changes to be applied. See more on the model as a mean of design in section 4.4.
2.4.6 Communicating using the model
The second use of the model is more a diverted effect than an actual conscious consideration when the
LPS-model was created, but the validity seemed to be in order when it was applied in my work at ZeitGuyz
game developers. Again referring to the iterative nature of game development, the ramifications of change
does not only apply to the high-concept, but also on the work of the game ‘craftsmen’ i.e. the audio,
animation, programming and art department. Any change to level design obviously directly effects these
departments since new assets must be created to comply with the revised design. This means a great deal
9
of cross-department communication is required to make sure everybody is working towards a common
goal, which subsequently means a great deal of time is wasted and that potential misunderstandings may
arise. The hypothesis here is, that some of the time spend on communication down through the
organization, or time spend reading revised design-manuals could be minimized by having an easily
modifiable and very accessible outlook on each level which, as proposed, the LPS-model can provide. See
more on the model as a mean of communication in section 4.4.
2.4.7 Mining data with the model
The third and final proposed use of the model is its potential of providing data for the producer. Gathering
data directly from the segments described with the LPS-model allows management to gain quantifiable
data on usage of game mechanics and other assets. Being able to directly compare guesstimated, or in
some cases measured, usage of a given mechanic/asset with the time-estimates given by department-leads
on required production time, allows the producer to identify any irregularities. Measured game-data is
often referred to as metric in the game industry, and applied heavily in blockbuster games such as Halo 3,
Mass Effect, and Gears of War.
An example could be the final level in Half Life 2
where the player is suddenly provided with an
upgrade to the gravity gun which makes it possible
to pick up enemy soldiers and throw them across
the room, an ability which was previously restricted
to inanimate objects. This gameplay mechanic is
only used in very small part of the game and would
instantly show up as having a very poor gameplaytime to production-time ratio. In the given example
Figure 7: Image from Half life 2
this would obviously not cause the producer to be
concerned since this is a conscious design decision
and not a misguided use of man hours, but in other cases it might reveal unwanted discrepancies. All
resources created by the development team should naturally not share the same gameplay-time to
production-time ratio, but the model does allow management to investigate certain game-resources which
10
holds the potential of being overkill when considering the series of strict deadlines AAA developers operate
under. See more on the model as a mean of data gathering in section 6.
2.5 Delimitation
Due to the interdisciplinary nature of this thesis as well as its wide perspective it’s necessary to have an
equally inclusive set of delimitations. First and foremost it’s important to narrow the scope of which games
the model has any validity; although it’s quite possible that the model has its uses in multiple genres, this
thesis is limited to 1st/3rd person action/adventure single player games that are linear in nature. The LPSmodel is based on the importance of transition and rhythm which, logically, is hard to control within an
open-ended level where information on player progression is inaccessible (unless certain dynamic
functionalities are implemented which alters the gameplay experience at run-time based on a change in
game states). This makes linear games, in which form and rhythm adheres to the principle of strings-ofpearls when observing level progression, the most fitting to investigate. Examples of these could be the
series: Half Life, Tomb Raider and Call of Duty.
These are prime examples of games that provide a quite varied experience throughout the entire game
though modeled within a rigid structure. They provide a varied experience, even with a minimum of
different mechanics, due to a well designed gameflow rhythm which eliminates the sensation of repetitive
gameplay, even during eventual backtracking. It is the parameters, providing this varied experience, which
is the goal of this thesis to identify. It should be noted though, that identifying the parameters is in no
means the same as identifying the value of the parameters, thereby creating a fixed recipe for aesthetic
success. Although the values of these parameters are set to adhere to certain design-principles in section
11
4.4, it is merely to exemplify how a filled-out version of the LPS-model corresponds to critique acclaimed
level design. The parameters of the model constitutes a design pattern which can provide an unlimited
number of results, in the same manner that DNA building blocks, although extremely limited in numbers,
are able to provide infinite results.
With regard to the validation of the model, it should be noted that analysis and theory will provide the
foundation, while an approach of validating through implementing the model on the design of actual levels
is outside the scope of the thesis. Validation through design doesn’t seem feasible given the amount of
user-testing this would imply. This directly relates to the fact that only one of the three potential uses,
listed in section 2.4 e.g. as a mean of design, will sought to be investigated to its full extent. The other two
uses; as means of communication and data gathering, necessitate the presence of a reasonably large
production team. When thinking of cross-department communication, it is obvious that any conclusion of
the effectiveness of the model is flawed by default, given the premise that theory is used as the foundation
for validation. That being said, the presentation of the final two uses will hopefully instill you, the reader,
with the inference that the inherent logics are sound, although not substantiated exhaustively.
2.6 Topicality
With production cost soaring in AAA game development (Rockstar producer Leslie Benzies estimates the
cost of GTAIV at a record-breaking $100M (11)) it’s more crucial than ever to assure that communication
within the team runs smoothly, to avoid resource waste. The LPS-model claims to hold the potential of
easing the communication regarding the effect of the inevitable changes caused by iterative development,
but since this claim is, as described in the previous section, not proven within the scope of this thesis, the
interest regarding topicality should reasonably be focused on another subject; it is the end-goal to present
a model based on universal design principles which allows the level/game designer to orchestrate the game
experience and perform QA (Quality Assurance) on the aesthetic vision of the project. The model aims at
supplementing the subjective conception of a given design by providing a structuralistic approach which
provides quantifiable data.
12
2.7 Thesis structure
Having in the previous sections described my motivation, research question and academic relevance - it’s
time to present the structure of the following sections.
Firstly the method, through which the research question will be sought answered, is explained. It deals with
how I propose to identify universal design principles through a semantic analysis of a number of game
reviews.
The discussion section deals with the data which the semantic analysis uncovered, as well as a more
general look into interdisciplinary design principles This section also looks at the topicality of the thesis by
relating it to the works of game scholars and industry professionals alike. Finally I present the actual
parameters of the model.
Having defined the parameters of the LPS-model, Half-life2:Episode2 (12) is analyzed and its values inserted
into the model and compared to the hypothesized principles of design.
In addition to using the LPS-model as a tool for design, I subsequently propose its use in a larger framework
with which quantifiable data can be retrieved and used for a producer to get an overview on how much
each gameplay mechanic and unique setting is used, and thereby enabling informed decisions on
production.
Finally I conclude on the thesis as a whole, and on how the research question has been answered.
13
3 Method
For the model to avoid being perceived as a collection of idiosyncratic ‘common sense’ propositions and to
add academic weight to its hypotheses, it is necessary to perform some initial steps. Firstly we need a
manner of identifying the parameters which holds the potential of aiding the designer in the pursuit of
universal aesthetics principles and the sought-after gameplay experience. Secondly we need a way of
defining when the discrepancy between the previous and the current gameplay segment is large enough to
be considered as ‘change’ i.e. when does it serve a purpose to describe a segment of a level with an
individual model-instance. Thirdly it is necessary to describe how I propose to analyze games, using the
chosen parameters, in order to relate the findings of the method to the structure of critic acclaimed games.
Lastly this section presents the manner of which it is possible to extract data from the analyzed game in
order to validate the thesis hypotheses.
3.1 Identifying the parameters
The search for universal design principles to empower the validity of the model yields the need to, at least
initially, transcend the concept of aesthetics as a cultural phenomenon, and instead provide a more
scientific foundation for this discussion. The burgeoning discipline of neuroaesthetics provides such a
foundation to build the identification of model-parameters on. Neuroaesthetics uses the techniques of
neuroscience to investigate and understand aesthetics - the pioneer and coiner of neuroaesthetics, Zemir
Zeki states:
“It seems a natural starting point, when discussing aesthetics, to look at the brain, through which all art is
created, executed and appreciated.”
"...the artist is in a sense, a neuroscientist, exploring the potentials and capacities of the brain, though with
different tools. How such creations can arouse aesthetic experiences can only be fully understood in neural
terms. Such an understanding is now well within our reach." (13)
14
3.1.1 CRBP in visual composition
Peter D. Stebbing, zoologist, biological illustrator and design lecturer at several UK and German universities
has in several publications sought to identify the principles which links human aesthetics to neuroscience
and organic organization. He preliminarily isolates four types of relationships as being the most important
aspects in visual composition; Contrast, Rhythm, Balance and Proportion (CRBP). (14) His method of
validating CRBP as being the prime elements in the aesthetics of visual composition consists of measuring
occurrences of certain words in the content pages of 50 books covering graphic design, painting, sculpture,
architecture etc. Measuring the frequency of which each word occurred, allows Stebbing to confirm his
hypothesis, since the CRBP (+synonyms) is in fact the most commonly used words. To link these findings
with neurology, Stebbing identifies CRBP as being equally fundamental in the organizational structure of
plants and animals – organic organization. The structure of organic beings is obviously important for
humans in order to identify food sources and potential dangers, this leads inevitably to the hypothesis that
the perceptual system is targeted at identified these structures. Succeeding in identifying these structures
yields an emotional ‘reward’ which Stebbing relates to aesthetics. He presents the notion of linking organic
organization to aesthetics in the following manner:
“Now why should we put the basic organizational characteristics of living organisms into the inanimate
'aesthetic' artifacts that we create? The answer, I hypothesize, is that our perceptual system is the bridge
between organic form and our aesthetic forms because our perceptual capabilities have evolved to
recognize the diversity of organic forms by responding to CRBP.” (8)
The identification and validation of CRBP is important to this thesis, since this hints at universal design
principles which heighten the aesthetic experience, and is dealt with in further detail in section 4.1 where
he also hints at the importance of CRBP in other media, but for the scope of this section, it is his method of
utilizing word frequency as a mean of confirming a hypothesis that is sought applied.
15
3.1.2 Identifying parameters through occurrence analysis
Trying to validate the parameters of the LPS-model through theory is a legit procedure, but the
argumentation will benefit from having a more tangible method as well. Borrowing heavily from the
method proposed in Stebbings A grammar of visual composition and its biological origin (8) the approach is
to analyze reviews from the six largest online written-review sites, and record the occurrences of words
dealing with the experience of a given game. This analysis holds information on terms which are important
to critics when reviewing games, which to a degree should be important for any developer. It has also
recently been presented at GDC 2008 by Dan Arey and Chris Swain in their keynote speech: Master Metrics:
the Science behind the Art of Game Design (15), that a 5 point metascore increase equals approximately a
50% revenue increase, thus parameters important to critics should be considered, in order to develop an
economically sound game. The choice of which written review sites to include is based on traffic-rankings
extruded from Alexa.com (16), a site dedicated to delivering data on site-traffic.
The sites chosen are:
Site name
Traffic ranking
(Ranking in comparison to all other websites)
Gamespot.com
120
Ign.com
132
Gamespy.com
985
Gamesradar.com
1.362
1UP.com
1.669
Gamezone.com
2.591
16
3.1.3 Choosing the games
Which games to investigate is chosen by looking at the 10 best and worst ranked at Metacritic.com, a site
dedicated to gathering review scores from multiple sites. In order to be included though, the games must
adhere to certain common denominators, thus the games chosen are not necessarily the lowest scoring
games, but the lowest scoring game within the given limitations. The common denominators are
•
They must be reviewed by a minimum of 10 sites
•
They must be reviewed by at least half the chosen review sites
•
They must be released after January 1st 2006
•
They must be published for the PC, Xbox360 or PLAYSTATION3 platform
•
They must be categorized at Metacritic.com as action, 1st person shooter or 3rd person shooter
The limitation regarding minimum number of review sites is based on the notion that only fairly large titles
should be included as data. This eliminates really low-budget titles where one could assume that the
development team is fairly inexperienced. Additionally the fact that a relatively large amount of review
sites have dealt with the particular game makes the average score more accurate.
The reason for limiting the search by publishing date and target platform is to assure the games have
roughly the same technical opportunities and are released during the next-gen lifetime; Xbox360 was
available at all of the three major markets (North America, Europe and Japan) in December 10th 2005.
Besides this formal way of limiting the data, it should be noted that some games, although complying with
the given rules, are disregarded if these seem to divert from the scope of games given in the delimitation in
section 2.5. An example could be Grand Theft Auto IV which satisfy the common denominators but is to
free-form to be included in this thesis. This is not saying that freeform games could not benefit from the
LPS-model, but in order to make a more coherent point, the delimitations of this thesis are quite strict. In
essence the common denominators are actual parameters in a Metacritic.com search, which yield a series
of possible games to investigate, but some of these may be discarded based on a subjective conclusion that
they do not abide with the delimitations just mentioned.
17
3.1.4 The games chosen
Using the method described in the above, the following games becomes the subjects of analysis (note that
the x indicates whether the review of the given game is to be found at that particular site):
Game
Score
GameSpot
IGN
Gamespy
Gamesradar
1UP
Gamezone
Bioshock
96
X
X
X
X
X
X
The Orange Box
96
X
X
X
X
X
X
Gears of War
94
X
X
X
X
X
X
Halo 3
94
X
X
X
X
X
X
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
94
X
X
X
X
X
X
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
94
X
X
X
X
X
X
Crysis
91
X
X
X
X
X
X
Mass Effect
91
X
X
X
X
X
X
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
90
X
X
X
X
X
X
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
89
X
X
X
X
X
X
Score
GameSpot
IGN
Gamespy
Gamesradar
1UP
Gamezone
The History Channel: Battle for the pacific
35
X
X
Hour of Victory
37
X
X
X
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
42
X
X
X
25 to Life
39
X
X
PsychoToxic
40
X
X
X
Hellboy: The Science of Evil
44
X
X
X
Made Man
40
X
X
X
Alien Blast: The Encounter
41
X
X
X
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
45
X
X
X
Haze
55
X
X
X
Table 1: Best rated games at Metacritic
Game
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Table 2: Worst rated games at Metacritic
18
3.1.5 Data mining procedure
The procedure for getting data for the occurrence analysis is as follows:
Firstly all content from each review is copied into a separate word document, to allow for review specific
analysis later in the process. Initially the starting point of the method is to look at the combined catalog of
reviews though. The reviews of all high-scoring and low-scoring games are combined in separate
documents, and subsequently combined into one overarching document containing all data.
The document containing all reviews is run through a word script (See Appendix A - Frequency word script)
which counts unique words, counts their frequency and lists them with regard to that frequency (See
Appendix B - Frequency data). This metric data allows for identification of the most commonly used terms
in the full review catalog. It should be noted that the aforementioned word script is constructed to leave
out actual names of the games analyzed. This is done to disallow certain words which are not thought of as
‘review universals’ to contaminate the results as i.e. the word ‘gears’ and ‘war’ could create data
discrepancy when analyzing gears of war.
This frequency data is reviewed by hand and nouns/adjectives, with occurrence >= 20, are isolated as
keywords (See Appendix C - Keywords) being that these are the only word-types containing inherent value
regarding game review foci whereas i.e. pronouns, numerals and verbs does not. Subsequently all
keywords will be inserted into non pre-defined categories. The method is to take one word at a time and
then assign them with a new category-label unless a category which can contain the given word already
exists. Category labels may change throughout the process though, depending on the nature of the
keywords.
The keywords will then be used as parameters in a second word script (See Appendix D - Arrange keywords
script) which allows for combining keywords in categories and displaying their individual frequency, as well
as the frequency of the whole category (See Appendix E – Category frequencies).
19
To summarize the method steps:
1. Copy each review into separate documents
2. Combine all high-scoring and low-scoring reviews into separate documents
3. Combine all reviews into a full review catalog
4. Run word frequency script on full catalog to list all words in relation to frequency, leaving out game
specific word or sentences i.e. Haze, Gears of War etc.
5. Isolate nouns and adjectives with frequency > 20
6. label isolated words with categories
7. Run occurrence analysis script on combined catalog
8. Run occurrence analysis script, using the isolated words, on high-scoring and low-scoring review
catalogs to identify linguistic variation when discussing high-scoring and low-scoring games
These are the steps which I propose could answer the initial question on whether or not variation in its own
right is important, and additionally provide the LPS-model with input on important parameters. See more
on this in section 4.2.
The isolation process in step 5 is sought to be as objective as possible but is should be noted, that some
nouns and adjectives with frequency > 20 are omitted from the keywords based on the following criteria:
•
Words considered to be contaminated since they are used to described specific game
developers/publishers, In-game locations/objects/characters or game platform i.e. Xbox, Portal,
Bungie, plasmids.
•
Subjective adjectives which deals solely with player experience i.e. beautiful, brilliant, cool.
3.1.6 The method logics
During the initial research, attempts to record word frequencies within level-design specific books have
been made, but it became early on clear that such literature is limited in describing actual design principles,
and are often more involved in discussing technical issues and iterative development techniques. In
Stebbings research a substantially larger catalog of literature was available, largely due to the fact that
20
formal design principles are only just beginning to appear within the field of game/level design, but
obviously also due to the vastly longer history of theory of visual composition.
This spawned the idea to approach occurrence-analysis from the review point of view. Being able to isolate
parameters often praised in high-scoring games as well as criticized in low-scoring games would allow for
an identification of important aspects in game/level design from a critics point of view.
3.1.7 Specific parameters
Obviously the occurrence-analysis might be limited with respect to specific design principles, since an
occurrence within a given review most likely takes the form of “The segmentation of gameplay is well
orchestrated” or “The constant change of scenery gives a very varied experience”. These fabricated quotes
hint nothing at useful hands-on design principles which could be immediately implemented by a designer,
but none the less they could indicate the presence of a ‘meta-principle’ which might be worth
deconstructing to form actual hands-on design principles. The goal of the occurrence-analysis method is to
validate the hypothesis that variation in its own right, i.e. the ‘meta principle’, is something to strive for as
mentioned in section 2.4.
The actual parameters which make up the LPS-model are found through a more ‘common sense’ approach;
by investigating the theory behind other artistic disciplines, such as narratology, architecture, dramaturgy
and color theory, certain universal principles which is applicable in level design will be identified.
Additionally a number of game post-mortems as well as the tips, tricks and rules of established game/level
designers will be scrutinized to uncover the aspects relevant for the LPS-model.
21
3.2 What constitutes change?
As described in section 2.4.2 the LPS-model is, when applied in a design process, comprised of a sequence
of instances i.e. filled out paper versions of the model, describing each segment of a level. In order to
discuss segmentation, one need to clarify what encompasses a segment, this results in the following
definition of the differences necessary to identify a given part of a game, as being a stand-alone segment.
What is change? It’s the difference that makes a difference!
•
A noticeable change in gameplay or gameplay intensity
•
A change of scenery
•
A change of spatiality
•
A change in color dominance
Alessandro Canossa, in an attempt to “define unified procedures and guidelines for designing levels”,
identifies these segments (he uses the term sub-section) in the following way in his paper Designing Levels
for Enhanced Player Experience:
“A sub-section is defined as a contiguous, uninterrupted, isotropic space that shares aesthetic, ludic and
phenomenological features.”(17)
Canossa’s definition adheres well to the one previously presented. For the purpose of the LPS-model
though, it seems reasonable to create a checklist-style definition to depict the vision of the thesis, since this
approach leaves less room for interpretation when trying to segment a given level.
3.3 LPS-model as a tool for analysis
Besides the method described in 3, the validity of the model will be investigated by means of an in-depth
game analysis of Half Life2: Episode2. The success criterion is to point at similarities between a critic
acclaimed game as HL2E2 and the principles of the LPS-model. The procedure for this analysis is to
deconstruct HL2E2 and insert its values into the LPS-model. Using a screen-capture program, a screenshot
will be taken every 3 seconds to later be used in identifying visual variation. These screenshots will be
compared to the model-instances filled out whenever adequate change occurs, as defined in the previous
section.
22
4 Discussion
This section contains a discussion on the parameters of the LFS-model, as well as a more general discussion
on the validity of it. It starts off with a more in-depth description of the CRBP parameters which were
presented by Stebbing (14) and mentioned in section 3.1. These are parameters which Stebbing argue
constitutes a universal principle for aesthetic appreciation, and it will be investigated with regards to level
design in this section. Additionally his method and method data are evaluated.
The method applied by Stebbing has been, as mentioned in the previous section, modified to allow an
analysis of game reviews, trying to identify important critic focal points. The data of this method, here
referred to as occurrence analysis results, are then examined to allow for a statement on the validity of the
claim that variation is a quality to strive for in its own right, as well as shine light on important categories
within reviews.
Additionally I will address the topicality of developing models and patterns with regards to game/level
design. This part of the report will draw in references to A Pattern Language (18), Game Design Patterns
(5), the 400 project (19) and a number of Gamasutra feature articles.
The remainder of this section addresses the actual parameters of the LPS-model and discusses them by
investigating interdisciplinary design principles of narrative tension/suspense, spatial design, aural design
and color theory. Lastly the remaining parameters which deal with aspects mostly relevant to the actual
production are addressed.
23
4.1 CRBP revisited
Stebbing propose that by identifying the biological basis behind human visual perception allows for
achieving knowledge applicable in the orchestration of visual composition. Although his primary focus is on
visual composition in ‘static arts’ such as paintings, thus not directly related the art of game/level design
where fixed composition is not a valid possibility since player interaction affects what is displayed, Stebbing
also finds proof of the existence of these universal principles, CRBP, in a number of other media, such as
dance, music and architecture. These findings substantiate the acknowledgement of CRBP being applicable
in level design as well. We’ll return to CRBP in other media in the latter part of this section.
4.1.1 The origin of CRBP
After being asked on the reason behind the importance of visual rhythm and balance while giving lectures
on graphic design, Stebbing begins to investigate the significance of these as well as trying to perhaps
identify other equally important components. He finds through his initial research four types of
relationships which are important components of visual composition; contrast, rhythm, balance and
proportion. These elements are sufficiently referred to in literature to allow for Stebbing to make these the
preliminary components of his research. He defines the elements as:
Contrast: I take Bateson's definition of a contrast as a difference which makes a difference and which can be
identified by any of our senses.
Rhythm or pattern: is a repetition of a contrast which may also occur in one or a combination of the four
basic symmetry operations.
Balance and symmetry: Two or more visual elements or forces are set against (oppose) each other so that
they equalize or neutralize their tensions often resulting in a symmetry of form.
Proportion: is a ratio composed of two or more contrasting quantities used repeatedly in either the same
and/or different measures in a design.(8)
These components become the backbone of his method to identify universal aesthetics principles.
24
4.1.2 Glossary analysis
The method to investigate the presence of these design universals is to:
1. Choose a base of literature regarding visual composition (50 books)
2. Extract all words used on the contents page of these books
3. Group synonyms and Identify the frequency of these
4. Choose the most frequently occurring words and analyze the occurrence of these in each book of
the literature base
The results that surfaced from step number 3 are in agreement with his initial hypothesis that CRBP would
be the most common terms used.(8)
CONTRAST:
61
PROPORTION:
36
gradation:
27
golden mean / section:
10
variation:
27
+ other synonyms:
2
+ other synonyms:
97
Σ 48
Σ 212
UNITY:
24
RHYTHM:
33
harmony:
11
repetition:
35
+ other synonyms:
2
pattern:
34
+ other synonyms:
29
Σ 131
Σ 37
Movement:
48
motion:
9
+ other synonyms:
0
BALANCE:
35
equilibrium:
8
symmetry:
10
+ other synonyms:
4
Expression:
30
Σ 57
+ other synonyms:
11
Σ 57
Σ 41
25
Stebbing also finds that a large frequency of the words Movement and Expression occurs but chooses not
to include them as they have nothing to offer in terms of organizing visual compositions. On average 2.4 of
the 5 components (CRBP + Unity) occurs in any of the content pages, allowing him to conclude that
although inconsistently referred to, CRBP should be perceived as the most important components of visual
composition.
4.1.3 CRBP in organic organization
The identification of the four core components is interesting in its own right, but the link to organic
organization adds further weight to the research. This allows the findings to transcend the categorization
of being cultural phenomena and instead being labeled as universal principles – shifting focus from
environment in the heritage and environment discussion i.e. whether a quality is based on a biological or
cultural foundation. That being said, obviously culture also affects ones aesthetic appreciation, but
identifying the subsection of aesthetics which is a universal human heritage, provides a framework on
which art can build.
What Stebbing proposes is, that the human perceptual system is attuned to respond particularly to the
characteristics of CRBP simply due to evolutionary necessities e.g. we know that the human perceptual
system actually enhances contrast to allow for faster recognition of form. These perceptual qualities allows
for fast identification of nourishment and potential dangers even outside ones natural habitat, enabling
early humans (4-5 million years ago) to survive the change from rain forest to savannah when splitting
ancestral line from chimpanzee.
“Clearly, it would have been biologically inefficient for them to have evolved feature detectors for every
organism they eat; therefore, our ancestors’ brains must have evolved an economical (i.e. grammatical)
system for recognizing any kind of organism.”(8)
(The following line of text is organized in a way that the first and last letter holds their position, but all
other letters are given a random position)
In the smae way taht tihs stenecne is ustodenrod aultghoh not bnieg slpeeld ctoreclry, human perception
is adept at understanding the construct of a given stimulus, not having to rely on identifying the actual
26
stimulus, in the same manner that unknown fruits were instantly recognized as having the characteristics of
fruits when humans changed habitat millions of years ago. The aesthetic appreciation is a way of rewarding
recognition of organisms, or as Stebbing puts it:
“Our art reflects nature. Nature formed our sense of visual perception which in its turn informs our aesthetic
expressions.”(8)
The image below illustrates how CRBP aids in recognizing organic form.
Figure 8: Organic organization
27
4.1.4 CRBP in other media
Through Stebbings research it is recognized that CRBP is important in a number of other media as well, as
shown with the following examples.(8)
“On the appreciation of dance Smith-Autard writes: ‘A few may be pleased by the overall shape of the
dance, and see the beginning, middle and end in proportionate relationship, and each section as a well
balanced entity yet carefully blended into a unified whole. Others may feel a sense of pleasure on
recognition of the repetitions and contrasts and follow the design of the dance within these frames of
reference.’”
“While on music Westrup writes: ‘Forms are the ways in which at different periods music is cast into
intelligible shapes. The fundamental principles remain constant: balance, proportion, repetition, contrast,
variation, and so on. It is the detailed application of these principles that changes. Styles are the ways in
which individuality or it may be the general feeling of the period, finds expression.’”
“Minai aims to ‘Outline the relevant design process... Harmonic order, as the law of opposites, is reached by
increasing uniformity and regularity through reduction of entropy of certain functions (e.g. rhythm), and at
the same time increase in randomness and diversity through increase of entropy of opposite functions (e.g.
climax) while numerous constraints are conditioning. Finally, 'originality' and 'probability' techniques are
introduced as tools for optimizing certain random functions, such as axioms (rhythm, climax, balance,
proportion, harmony and functional expression) and thus produce 'harmonic order'.’”
Where the initial proposal is that CRBP is crucial in visual composition, it becomes clear, that other media
shares that characteristic. Given that diverse media as dance, music and architecture are described with
these terms, indicates that it is not only the visual perceptual system which responds to CRBP, but also
other means of perceiving stimulus are influenced as well. It seems reasonable to infer that it is not only
the perception of these components but the experience of them as well. It seems valid to conclude that
contrast/variety, by example, are equally important when experiencing a work day at the assembly line, as
well as when appreciating the organization of fine art. That is, variation in experience is as important as
variation in perception.
28
4.1.5 Fear of formalism
When discussing creativity, it may be thought as limiting to consider aesthetics as a set of universal rules. Is
it restrictive to have a ruleset to abide to in a creative process? Even though the notion of universal rules
inhibiting art is fairly logical, one needs only to look at the history of arts and biology to disprove it. In arts,
new knowledge does not eclipse the old but rather builds on it, although techniques might. It could also be
noticed that extremely complicated ends can come from rather limited and strict means i.e. western music
which is limited to 12 semitones and again limited by certain patterns e.g. the major and minor scale. Or in
human physiology we see the three color receptors (red, green, blue) which are necessary to perceive the
full trichromatic color span. It is seen everywhere that limited means may produce unlimited results.
4.1.6 Relations to the LPS-model
This research into CRBP might, at first glance, seem to provide little in terms of actual parameters for the
LPS-model, but it does allow for a conclusion on the ‘meta-principle’ of the LPS-model, that variation is a
valid goal in its own right. Additionally it adds food for thought about how the designers of a given game
can incorporate repetition, balance and proportion into the design vision. Examples of this could be ensure
a certain rhythm of encounters i.e. a lengthy run-and-gun section should always be followed by a vehicle
section and end with a boss fight, or a motif as in half-life2; when you encounter dead characters with
head-crabs attached, you are sure to bump into zombies shortly. Balance could be thought of as making
sure that the gameplay intensity presents the player with both immensely intense encounters as well as
slow-paced sequences allowing the player to catch his breath. Lastly proportions could relate to the
decision to sequentially increase the difficulty of a game while progressing, in a way that the obstacles
presented are proportionate to the player progression. It should be noted that these are only examples
since the LPS-model does not attempt at delivering fixed design decisions, but only to provide a tool which
can help designers implement their design vision as well as keeping the overview on the consistency with
which it is applied.
In addition to providing all of the above, the research of Stebbing provided a method which could be
applied, although in a slightly changed form, to the research necessary to validate the LPS-model.
29
4.2 Occurrence analysis results
The main goal of the occurrence analysis method was to identify important game parameters by
investigating a series of high-scoring and low-scoring reviews. This method of analyzing metacritic.com
reviews to identify important review-criteria was also applied by Dan Arey and Chris Swain at a GDC-talk in
2008. (15) They have discovered that a 5 point score increase at metacritic.com meant an approximate 50%
revenue increase, which obviously is a point no responsible developer can ignore. They then created two
top-8 lists which could identify important common denominators in reviews of high-scoring and low-scoring
games which could be directly related to critic acclaim:
“Comparing the top game of the year per platform, versus the dud games:
1. large in scope
2. variety of player choice and activity
3. highly replayable
4. top quality visuals and sound
5. responsive and easy controls
6. engaging story and characters
7. quality interactive world and AI
8. responsive camera
Things that suppress metascore
1. undifferentiated gameplay
2. shoddy production values and controls
3. player unsure what to do or what just happened
4. mechanics disconnected from premise
5. noninteractive environment, too linear
6. does not flow, too hard too soon
7. save points too spread out
8. long repetitive load screens”
These results seem to be consistent with the findings of the occurrence analysis method applied in this
thesis, which will be expanded on in section 4.2.3. It should be noted that the success criteria in the above
had no influence on my method procedure since the GDC-talk by Swain and Arey was discovered
subsequent to the occurrence analysis being complete. Therefore any similarities in the results are due to
the method validity and not inferred by previous knowledge on the results of Swain and Arey.
30
4.2.1 Keyword categories
As described in section 3.1.5, the way the categories for the LPS-model is found, is through a step-by-step
procedure where each word, which adheres to the premise of being a noun or adjective with 20+
occurrences, were given a new label if no label existed that could include it. This means that no categories
were made prior to the allocation procedure, but surfaced when needed. It should be noted that some
labels went through minor adjustments to fit new words i.e. a label changed from “Enemies” “Enemies /
Friendlies” when the words ‘squad’ and ‘friends’ appeared - where it previously had only contained
opposition it was chosen to allow it to encompass all NPCs.
Table 3 on the next page, shows the final categories, the three most frequently used word in it, and the
frequency of which all contained keywords, in a particular category, occurred in the 104 reviews analyzed.
The categories are as follows in descending order:
•
Gameplay
•
Setting
•
Mechanics / Tools
•
Story
•
Enemies / Friendlies
•
Time
•
Visuals
•
Variation
•
Aural
•
Experience
•
Stability / bugs
These categories make up the parameter-categories of the LPS-model, although with minor modifications.
Initially the categories; ‘variation’, ‘experience’ and ‘stability/bugs’ are removed. ‘Variation’ is removed
since variation is not a tangible parameter, but rather the experience of change within any of the other
parameters. Even though it is removed as a specific parameter, it is still the most important aspect of the
LPS-model as a ‘meta-principle’ which guides the orchestration of each level-segment. ‘Experience’ is
removed since it is an effect of the design process, and not a cause. And lastly ‘Stability/Bugs’ is removed
since this are not parameters of design, although it maintain some importance in reviews.
31
Category: Gameplay
Keyword:
Multiplayer
Gameplay
Action
Frequency:
260
235
206
Σ 2662
Weapons
Cover
AI
180
155
102
Σ 1854
Level
Little (relates to size)
Levels
174
158
136
Σ 2068
Story
Character
Characters
199
156
104
Σ 1093
Enemies
Enemy
Soldiers
258
183
76
Σ 965
Graphics
Effects
Visuals
124
97
69
Σ 737
Time
Long
Hours
299
112
100
Σ 761
Sound
Music
Soundtrack
166
67
31
Σ 288
Different
Variety
Unique
141
57
44
Σ 406
Experience
Moment
Love
145
45
35
Σ 225
Issues
Problems
Broken
42
39
27
Σ 157
Combined keyword frequency:
Category: Mechanics / Tools
Category: Setting
Category: Story
Category: Enemies / Friendlies
Category: Visuals
Category: Time
Category: Aural
Category: Variation
Category: Experience
Category: Stability / Bugs
Table 3: Combined word frequencies
32
The categories will be discussed in subsequent sections, but for now let’s deal with the occurrence analysis
data regarding ‘Variety’. It is the only category dealt with in detail, since it is the foundation of the LPSmodel, and all other categories only serves as inspiration for deciding on parameters for the model.
4.2.2 Occurrence analysis: Variety
The initial analysis of the combined review-catalog reveals 9 nouns and adjectives with >20 occurrences
which relate to variation: Different, Variety, Unique, Original, Similar, Mix, Repetitive, Generic and Bland.
‘Different’ and ‘similar’ are removed as keywords since they have no explicit inherent value, and can be
used in numerous ways which does not relate directly to a discussion on variation. Additionally ‘unique’ and
‘original’ are combined since these words are interchangeable. This leaves the following 6 keywords as the
parameters for the continued analysis: Variety, unique/original, mix, repetitive, generic and bland. The
results of the occurrence analysis on each individual review, with these keywords as parameters, are shown
in Table 5 & Table 6 (high-scoring reviews) on page 35-36 and Table 7 & Table 8 (low-scoring reviews) on
page 37-38.
By looking at the data extracted from the tables, it is now possible to conclude on variety being an
important aspect of critique accolade. The following data can be seen in table format in Table 4
Frequency of variation
Frequency of unique/original
Frequency of mix
Occurrence of the 3 keywords
Frequency of repetitive
Frequency of generic
Frequency of Bland
Occurrence of the 3 keywords
High-scoring games
48,33 %
51,67 %
25,00 %
1,25
10,00 %
11,67 %
1,67 %
0,23
Low Scoring games
22,67 %
41,33 %
16,17 %
0,79
27,67 %
29,83 %
30,50 %
0,91
Ratio
0,47
0,80
0,65
0,88
2,77
2,56
18,30
5,42
Combined with review word ratio
1,78
10,91
Table 4: Variety keyword analysis
On average ≈1.6 of the 6 keywords occur in each review which hints at its importance. But what is even
more important is, that by grouping negatively (repetitive, generic, bland) and positively charged (variety,
unique/original, mix) words and looking at the data through this filter, some interesting numbers surface.
Within the scope of the high-scoring game reviews, the occurrence is now ≈1.25 out of 3, with both
‘variety’ and ‘unique/original’ occurring at ≈50% of the reviews (48.3% & 51.6% respectively) and ‘mix’
occurring at a frequency of 25%. Additionally it becomes clear that the negatively charged words has a far
33
lesser frequency; ‘repetitive’ scores 10%, ‘generic’ scores ≈11.6% and ‘bland’ scores ≈1.6% with a combined
occurrence of ≈0.2 keywords out of 3.
With regard to the low-scoring games, the occurrence of the positively charged words does diminish,
although not massively; ‘variety’ scores 22.6%, ‘unique/original’ scores 41.3% and ’mix’ scores 16%, with a
combined occurrence of ≈0.8 keywords out of 3. It should be noted though, that reviews of high-scoring
games contains approximate twice as many words as reviews of low-scoring games does, which could
indicate that the frequency would be higher if the reviews had the same extent. But what is even more
interesting is that negatively charged keywords skyrocket comparing to the high-scoring reviews. Here the
difference is much more apparent; the 3 negatively charged words has an occurrence which is ≈5.4 times
larger than when looking at high-scoring games. When taking under consideration that high-scoring game
reviews contains twice the amount of words, the difference is now ≈10.9 times larger. Of cause this
multiplication with word-ratio is quite speculative, but its worth keeping in mind.
Besides the evident difference in numbers, it seems that reviews of low-scoring games often has a
tendency to contain a more creative and ‘cheeky’ linguistic usage, which influence a word occurrence
analysis as the one performed in this thesis, as seen in the examples found within the review catalog:
“The Good: The game plays when you stick it in the disc tray.” (20)
“The design philosophy seems to have been: If climbing two sets of stairs with an enemy on each landing is
fun, 10 sets of stairs must be a hundred times better!” (21)
These examples illustrate that reviews contains more references a specific subject i.e. variety, than is
immediately apparent when doing a word-occurrence analysis. Additionally it is not possible to derive that,
in example, occurrences of positively charged words always relates to something positive. Often the
semantics of the positively charged words in low-scoring reviews are also reversed into their own antonyms
i.e. “there’s very little variety or objectives that haven’t been covered by other WWII shooters.” (22). In this
quote the occurrence of the word ‘variety’ does not state anything on the presence of variety in the game,
but rather the exact opposite.
Not incorporating semantics into the review analysis does not detract anything from the findings of the
above. Incorporating this aspect would only add further weight to the results.
34
Game
Gamespot
IGN
Gamespy
Gamesradar
5
1
1UP
Gamezone
Frequency in %
1
66,66666667
2
83,33333333
Bioshock
-
Variety
1
-
Unique / Original
1
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
0
-
Bland
0
1
2
4
1
16,66666667
1
16,66666667
The Orange Box
-
Variety
1
1
-
Unique / Original
4
6
-
Mix
1
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
-
Bland
1
50
2
1
66,66666667
16,66666667
0
1
16,66666667
0
Gears of War
-
Variety
2
-
Unique / Original
1
2
1
50
-
Mix
3
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
-
Bland
-
Variety
1
1
-
Unique / Original
2
3
-
Mix
2
2
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
0
-
Bland
0
1
33,33333333
16,66666667
1
1
1
1
33,33333333
33,33333333
0
Halo 3
1
50
2
2
66,66666667
33,33333333
1
16,66666667
Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots
-
Variety
1
1
2
1
1
1
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
2
-
Repetitive
0
-
Generic
0
-
Bland
0
2
1
83,33333333
2
66,66666667
1
33,33333333
Table 5: Occurrence analysis of high-scoring games part I
35
Game
Gamespot
IGN
Gamespy
4
2
1
1
Gamesradar
1UP
Gamezone
Frequency in %
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare
-
Variety
33,33333333
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
1
-
Generic
1
-
Bland
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
0
-
Generic
0
-
Bland
0
-
Variety
4
2
2
-
Unique / Original
5
1
1
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
0
-
Generic
0
-
Bland
0
2
1
50
1
33,33333333
2
33,33333333
1
33,33333333
0
Crysis
1
16,66666667
1
2
1
1
33,33333333
33,33333333
Mass Effect
50
1
1
66,66666667
1
33,33333333
Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter
-
Variety
1
-
Unique / Original
3
2
1
1
66,66666667
-
Mix
0
-
Repetitive
0
-
Generic
1
16,66666667
-
Bland
1
16,66666667
1
16,66666667
1
33,33333333
Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
-
Bland
1
16,66666667
1
1
33,33333333
0
1
16,66666667
0
Table 6: Occurrence analysis of high-scoring games part II
36
Game
Gamespot
IGN
Gamespy
Gamesradar
1UP
Gamezone
Frequency in %
The History Channel: Battle for the pacific
-
Variety
N/a
N/a
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
N/a
N/a
0
N/a
N/a
25
-
Repetitive
N/a
N/a
Generic
N/a
N/a
-
Bland
N/a
1
1
0
0
1
N/a
25
25
Hour of Victory
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
N/a
-
Mix
N/a
-
Repetitive
N/a
-
Generic
-
Bland
1
1
1
1
N/a
2
N/a
1
1
20
3
100
0
0
N/a
1
1
1
40
20
Turning Point: Fall of Liberty
-
Variety
1
-
Unique / Original
1
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
-
Bland
1
-
Variety
1
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
2
-
Bland
1
2
N/a
20
N/a
60
N/a
0
N/a
20
N/a
0
N/a
20
25 to Life
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
66,66666667
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
N/a
N/a
N/a
66,66666667
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
1
1
PsychoToxic
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
-
Mix
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
-
Repetitive
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
-
Generic
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
-
Bland
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
1
1
Table 7: Occurrence analysis of low-scoring games part I
37
Game
Gamespot
IGN
Gamespy
Gamesradar
1UP
Gamezone
Frequency in %
N/a
20
N/a
20
N/a
20
N/a
40
N/a
0
N/a
40
Hellboy: The Science of Evil
-
Variety
1
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
-
Generic
-
Bland
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
1
-
Mix
1
-
Repetitive
1
-
Generic
1
-
Bland
2
1
2
1
1
3
Made Man
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
1
66,66666667
0
Alien Blast: The Encounter
-
Variety
N/a
N/a
N/a
2
66,66666667
-
Unique / Original
2
N/a
N/a
N/a
2
33,33333333
-
Mix
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
-
Repetitive
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
66,66666667
-
Generic
1
N/a
N/a
N/a
33,33333333
-
Bland
N/a
N/a
N/a
0
1
Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
1
16,66666667
-
Mix
2
-
Repetitive
3
-
Generic
-
Bland
-
Variety
-
Unique / Original
-
Mix
-
Repetitive
2
-
Generic
5
-
Bland
2
1
1
1
1
50
16,66666667
2
1
1
1
1
1
50
1
1
50
1
83,33333333
1
16,66666667
2
50
3
33,33333333
Haze
1
1
0
16,66666667
2
1
50
Table 8: Occurrence analysis of low-scoring games part II
38
4.2.3 Supporting the findings
The occurrence analysis had two specific goals: firstly to identify categories often referred to in reviews,
and use these as inspiration for parameter of the LPS-model, and secondly to collect sufficient data to
conclude on the thesis hypothesis, that variety in its own right is something to strive for when designing
level-flow. Both of these goals have been achieved, but there exists additional material to further validate
the ‘meta-principle’ of variety inherent in the model.
The identification of CRBP, as being universal design principles, has been elaborated on, and by
subsequently identifying CRBP in several media, not only in visual composition, it is inferred that it is a valid
principle in level design as well.
In section 4.2, the research presented by Dan Arey and Chris Swain at a GDC-talk in 2008, was briefly
introduced, but it seems relevant to relate their method and findings to my own ditto. Their prime
objective is to identify a correspondence between metascore ratings and revenues, and subsequently to
identify the parameters which affect the metascore. Their method procedure for getting empirical data is
not specified, but the data itself is. Initially they identify the correspondence between ratings and revenue
as being that a 5 point metascore increase results in a ≈50% revenue increase. This investigation is outside
the scope of this thesis, but adds to the relevance of the LPS-model.
Similar to the method of this thesis, Arey and Swain looks at a cross-section of game reviews, and attempts
to conclude on which issues matters the most when review critics give out their scores. They identify
“variety of player choice and activity” as the second most important aspect in high-scoring games, and
“undifferentiated gameplay” as the most important reason of low-scoring games. These conclusions adhere
quite nicely to the premise of the LPS-model and the data presented in the previous section. Although Arey
and Swain only deals with variety in gameplay, it seems logical to infer, also with basis in the CRBP
research, that other aspect of level design could greatly benefit from embracing the concept of variation.
For example, the much discussed art direction of Diablo III, has visual contrast as a prime objective:
“Indeed, the broad color palette allowed for the Diablo III team to create a range of moods, continued
Donelson, where players could be subjected to the juxtaposition of bright, sunny exteriors and dark, gritty
dungeons. These contrasts played heavily into capturing the hallmark horror of the Diablo franchise. "Diablo
is a horror game at its core, and we had to keep this as a strong emphasis," he said.”(23)
39
And in a Gamasutra postmortem of Spyro the Dragon, the team talks about how to differentiate the
experience:
“With so many characters and locations, adhering to our production design was essential. Yet at the same
time we needed to give each world as distinct a look as possible without straying from our basic design
rules. One of our solutions was to design extreme variation into the game's environments. Spyro begins his
adventure in a castle garden and proceeds through a desert, snowy mountain peaks, a swamp, dreamscape,
and finishes in a mechanical world. Furthermore, the flying rounds are made of glowing crystals.”(24)
Having dealt in detail with the ‘meta-principle’ of variety, it’s time to look into the work previously done to
create a structuralistic design methodology.
4.3 Model topicality
In the last decade an academic effort has been made to create structuralistic tools to aid game designers,
and create a more formal vocabulary when discussing games. The majority of these are building on the
concept of design patterns presented by Christopher Alexander in his book A Pattern Language on
architectural principles(18). These patterns are collection of design choices and a description of their
influence on other patterns, forming a hierarchical structure which aids in game design decisions.
This mindset is adopted by Staffan Björk and Jussi Holopainen in Patterns in Game Design, a book which
identifies game design conventions as interplaying patterns i.e. the well known pattern of ‘Boss monsters’
has direct relations to patterns such as ‘Achilles’ hell’, ‘Narrative structure’, ‘Higher-level closures as
gameplay progresses’ etc. Since a connection between ‘Boss monsters’ and ‘Achilles’ heel’ has been
established, it is possible to look at what further implications this have. By looking at the ‘Achilles’ heel’
pattern, one would then see its relations to patterns such as ‘Strategic knowledge’, ‘Experimenting’, ‘Puzzle
solving’ and ‘clues’ etc. In this way the collection of patterns create a hierarchy of design conventions which
should be considered in the final design.
Even though many designers and scholars agree that such tools are both useful and rare, they are even
rarer when discussing game aesthetics and experience design, which is what the LPS-model addresses.
Even though scarce, in the contemporary design tools available, the majority discusses game design and
attempts nothing in terms of production. A deviation from this norm is the 400 project (19), a project led by
40
Noah Falstein, perhaps most known from his work on the Indiana Jones series in the nineties. The goal of
the 400-project is to get industry professionals to submit design rules to aid in creating better games –
currently 112 of a guestimated total of 400 rules is listed. Although not being as directly applicable as the
patterns presented by Björk and Holopainen, (seems more like tips & tricks than an actual methodology),
the collection of input from industry professional on all aspects of game production, and not only game
design, are interesting inspiration for fledgling developers. Additionally, several of the rules relate quite
nicely to the vision of the LPS-model. 15 of the 112 rules (See Table 9 on next page) relate to the LPSmodel either directly as in rule nr. 39: “Make Challenges Vary in More than Degree”, or as a rule that can be
enforced through the LPS-model as in nr. 89: “Emphasize Dramatic Reveals”.
The difference between the above mentioned models and the LPS-model is clear; where the patterns and
rules are meant to provide designers with means of formulating design visions, the LPS-model presents a
tool with which the implementation of that vision can be applied and evaluated. Aside from the ‘metaprinciple’ of variation, the LPS-model does not attempt to affect design visions and art direction, but allows
the designers to get an immediate feedback on the effects.
41
ID
2
6
Imperative Statement
Maximize Expressive
Potential
Provide Clear ShortTerm Goals
16
Distribute Game
Assets Asymmetrically
30
Provide a Consistent
Single Vision for the
Game
39
Vary Rate of Difficulty
Increase within the
Flow Channel
57
Make Challenges Vary
in More than Degree
58
Don't Make Your
Objective Your
Primary Threat
Players Should See
Their Goal Before
They Achieve It
61
64
Make the Hunter
Become the Hunted
70
Provide Visual
Weenies to Draw
Player
Sound Can Lead a
Transition
Differentiate Between
Game Design and
Experience Design
Emphasize Dramatic
Reveals
Use Interest Curve to
Identify Dead Spots
Write Player Narrative
to Identify Problems
74
86
89
93
94
Explanation in 250 words or less
Get the most out of your (always limited) material -- either find ways to exploit
an element of your game, or cut it out
Always make it clear to the player what their short-term objectives are. This can
be done explicitly by telling them directly, or implicitly by leading them towards
those goals through environmental cues. This avoids the frustration of
uncertainty and gives players confidence that they are making forward progress.
When there are objects or experiences the player can encounter in a game,
place them asymmetrically, both spatially in the sense of clumping some
together and spreading others thinly, and temporally in the sense of having
some be common, some uncommon, and some rare over time. Of course,
particularly useful or powerful items are good candidates to be the rarest.
It is vital from the beginning of design to make sure that there is one consistent
single vision of the user's experience as he or she plays the game. It is most
often a problem with shared design responsibility, but even a single designer can
make the mistake of being inconsistent in vision. The vision can change during
development, but everyone must know and be informed of the change
immediately.
A specific rule addressing "Fight Player Fatigue". Over the course of time a game
should increase in difficulty in rough proportion to the player's increasing
expertise - but that rate should vary like a sine wave (or think of it as vibrato) to
provide peaks and valleys of increasing difficulty.
Another "Player Fatigue" rule, add variety in challenges other than simple
straight-line increase. Don't pick a single variable like number of enemies and
simply keep increasing it. Letting several different variables interact is a good
method (see Create Emergent Complexity).
If you are tasked with defeating a head Ogre, don't make all the opposition
along the way solely smaller ogres.
Domain
Simplicity
Contributors
Hal Barwood
Basic
Noah Falstein,
others
Basic
Teut
Weidemann,
Noah Falstein
Production,
Meta
Noah Falstein
Meta,
Variety
Noah Falstein
Variety
Dan Arey
Variety
Brian Upton
The "No Backward Puzzles" rule. The satisfaction of achieving a goal is
magnified when the goal has been clear (and/or literally visible) for some time.
Solving a puzzle or surmounting an obstacle without even knowing you were
doing it, or without knowing why, robs the player of satisfaction.
Provide opportunities to switch roles and have the player alternate between
being predator and prey, even sometimes simultaneously. (Related to the idea
in dramatic writing of "reversal of fortune")
As Disney does in theme parks, provide distant but visible enticing objects - a
weenie - to lead player on through the environment. Movie term derives from
use of hot dogs to wrangle animals on a set
Often used in film, one can hear a new environment or character before they
actually appear on screen. (Standard movie rule too)
(Not sure I know what this means - NF)
Psych
Warren
Spector, Ron
Gilbert
Meta, Psych
Noah Falstein
Level Design
Eri Izawa
Psych
Rich Vogel
Meta
Raph Koster
Build emotional impact with dramatic discovery of new areas, characters, story
and plot points
Graphing the player's interest over the course of gameplay can help spot
problem areas.
In the early design phases, one way to find problems ahead of time is to write a
narrative from the player's point of view, describing the gameplay and the
experience of playing.
Psych
Brian Upton
Meta
Jesse Schell
Meta
Marc Cerny
Table 9: Rules of the 400 project which relates to the LPS-model
42
4.4 Investigating the LPS-model categories
This section defines the model-categories, and gives examples of design principles surrounding them, but
these are simply examples, and should not be perceived as a megalomanic attempt to define a universal
design vision in all 1.st/3.rd person action games. The examples are simply a way of illustrating how a
design vision and art direction can be implemented through the LPS-model. Some of the sections below
are based on a previously written non-published report in which I deal with a similar topic.
4.4.1 Setting
Level-segment name
Location
Inside/outside
Size
Player Reward
Name of level-segment
In which setting does the level-segment occur?
Is it inside or outside?
What is the size of the current location (small/medium/large)?
Is a ‘water cooler moment’ present
Table 10: Setting category of the LPS-model
This category deals with the setting of the level-segment, and breaks it down into parameters; segment
location, whether it’s inside or outside, and how large the dimensions of the current area are. The final
parameter in the Setting subset deals with the potential presence of ‘water cooler moments’ (the parts of a
game discussed with you colleague at the water cooler) after a long intense fight i.e. is the player rewarded
with an epic piece of architecture or cut-scene.
The following will give examples of how architectural guidelines can be applied in level design to create a
coherent design which is more than the sum of its parts, where the architecture itself plays a role in
enhancing the play experience. This may sound cryptic, but is actually quite obvious; the idea is to create an
environment which; seems native for the inhabitants, yields visual rewards to the player for overcoming an
obstacle, and support the intended player emotion.
The setting of each level is the most obvious variable to adjust to ensure architectural variation. It is part of
what Mike Lopez, Creative Manager at THQ, call the environment progression (Figure 3) in his Gamasutra
paper Game Design Fundamentals.(25)
43
Alongside large scale setting variation, which is the most
obvious for the player and perhaps most important for the
story progression, the level designer can also work with
variations in a smaller, but equally important, manner.
Changes between indoor and outdoor as well as a change in
the size of the area can create much needed diversity in the
individual levels. Inspiration can be found in a lot of real-world
architecture e.g. when walking around in the narrow tortuous
streets in Vatican City only to turn a corner and seeing the
huge St Peter’s square in front of St Peter’s church. This kind
Figure 9: St Peter's square in Vatican City
of deliberate contrast in shape and size is a well known
phenomenon within architecture. I won’t dive too deeply into
the subject but mention the probable benefits games can
achieve by utilizing the same methods.
An example of a game taking advantage of the long history of architectural theories is World of Warcraft
which according to Matthias Ljungströms paper The use of architectural patterns in MMORPGs (26) draws
heavily on patterns proposed in the classical architectural work A pattern Language. (18) Ljungström talks
about how the distribution of towns in World of Warcraft, as well as city facilities adheres closely to the
patterns proposed by Alexander.
The LPS-model only includes variables concerning the varying size in a level, as well information on whether
the scenes play out in an indoor or outdoor environment. It could indeed be interesting to dive deeper into
architectural theories about urban planning and beholder response, but it is outside the scope of this
paper, but it seems that architectural theories have a lot to offer in the planning of game segmentation,
just by considering the examples in the above.
44
4.4.2 Gameplay
Length
Gameplay
Intensity
The average time it takes to complete the given level-segment
Which form of gameplay is necessary to complete the level-segment
An integer from 1-10 describing the perceived experience intensity
Table 11: Gameplay category of the LPS-model
This is one of the most important categories and has been described throughout the entire paper. It is
important not to bombard the player with high intensity gameplay without inserting break for him to catch
his breath, as well as building up suspense for the next potentially intense encounter.
The notion of having a formal way of orchestrating the perceived intensity is common within narrative
media such as films. A tool much used in traditional narrative media is the Berettermodel, also called the
Hollywood model, which can be used to structure the narrative tension of a given story. The ideas that
preceded the model came from Aristotle who laid out some ground rules of what characterized a story. The
Berettermodel in its current form seems to stem from Scandinavia, but no author is credited for its
creation, at least I have not been able to find such information. The Berettermodel have narrative tension
on the y-axis and time on the x-axis, and consists of the eight steps presented in the following.
1) Prelude
2) Presentation
3) First turning point
4) Elaboration
5) Point of no return
6)
Second turning point
Figure 10: The Beretter/Hollywood model
7) Conflict resolution
8)
The coda
The model have through the years proven its validity, but what hold true for traditional narratives need not
necessarily hold true within the scope of interactive media. This paper loosely adopts the notion of the
45
curve, not from a story point of view, but on the premise that variations in perceived intensity add quality
to games as well as more traditional narrative media. This paper suggests, for level design purposes,
exchanging the narrative tension on the y-axis with gameplay intensity, to keep track of intensity variations
throughout each level, and in the game as a whole.
It should once again be noted, that it is the concept of
variation, and not the story structure which is
important in this paper. Perhaps a more accurate
graph would be that of a sine-wave although with an
increasing y-value. The shape of the curve is
Figure 11: Proposed intensity graph
substantiated by rule number 39 in the 400-project as
described in section 4.3:
“Over the course of time a game should increase in difficulty in rough proportion to the player's increasing
expertise - but that rate should vary like a sine wave (or think of it as vibrato) to provide peaks and valleys of
increasing difficulty.”
The shape of the curve is of course not a universal truth, but should be shaped to support the vision of the
game design document.
To further justice the claim that variation in gameplay is an integral part of good level design, this paper will
in the following section draw on various statements from game/level designers in the industry.
Ed Byrne, game designer and level designer on game productions such as Splinter Cell and Harry Potter
dedicates a section of his book Game Level Design on gameplay rhythm. He initially focuses on that the
rhythms of events, and the intensity of these, are used within basically all forms of entertainment to set up
expectations and deliver surprises for the audience. He states that without gameplay rhythm, which is
characterized by the variation in gameplay intensity, there would be no suspense which is the prime actor
for an immersive experience. A horror movie where the main character is being chased non-stop from
beginning to end would have a hard time creating an interesting experience, thus breaking the suspension
of disbelief.
“To create tension – if only in the player’s imagination – there has to be diversity of experience, pauses for
effect, sudden and unexpected occurrences, and long, disturbing sections dripping with suspense.”(27)
46
Cliffy Bleszinski, lead game designer at Epic, also talks about the importance of variation:
“Constant scare dull the senses. The scariest horror movies are the ones that lull the viewers into a false
sense of security and then spring something scary upon them, and a great level is no different.”(28)
A great example of how to orchestrate and vary the intensity in traditional narrative media is in the movie
Apocalypse Now (29) where the Captain and one of his crewmen are walking through the forest to gather
mangoes. The ambient sound level is quite high, but is gradually lowered for a longer period of time. The
audience is then, subconsciously, sharpening their hearing sense in order to hear the ambient sounds, at
which point a tiger attacks and the volume is turned up high again. This creates a higher emotional
response due to the contrast in sound levels, which is exactly the same effect the architectural contrast at
St Peter’s Square, as previously mentioned, attempts to achieve. This way of orchestrating events can also
be seen in Half-Life2: Episode Two where Gordon Freeman, the protagonist of the game, makes in way
through a level while crouching to avoid heavy fire, thereby limiting his view frustum. When he finally gets
to a window where he can climb through, he gets to his feet only to see an enemy point his weapon at the
player from point blank range. This is a sequence where the player is under constant fire, but is completely
safe while crouching. The trick is then to guide the player to an apparent safe-zone only to expose him for
an unforeseen event.
Similar to the premise of this paper, Byrne & Bleszinski does not mention the actual story in games, but
merely the means of how the story is told. On top of these notions he argues for the importance of
deciding on level rhythm at an early stage of the development, since changes are hard to implement at a
later stage. Although this is true to a large degree, the nature of iterative game development often requires
that ideas must be reworked throughout the game development process. This is once again where the
justification of the LPS-model comes into play, since it, as mentioned in section 2.4.6, is meant to be a very
dynamic tool which aid in communicating design changes.
47
4.4.3 Aural
Ambient soundscape
Music
Frequency domain of ambient soundscape
Frequency domain of music
Table 12: Aural category of the LPS-model
This category is not integral for the work of the level designer, but can hopefully aid the sound-team in
organizing which frequency domain to operate in, so that the soundtrack doesn’t drown potentially
important ambient sounds. This section of the paper would perhaps benefit from the input of sound
designers, since I have no previous knowledge about design considerations in this field.
4.4.4 Story
Story Setup
Sequence walkthrough
What knowledge is necessary for the player to continue
A step by step walkthrough of the level-segment from the players point of
view
Table 13: Story category of the LPS-model
Even though the focus of this paper have been on narrative discourse, the model would not be complete
without information about the story progression and which important points need to be made within the
sequence. The sequence walkthrough can also aid the development team to get a joint understanding of
the narrative progression of the game.
4.4.5 Enemies
Enemies
List the enemies which is included in level-segment
Table 14: Enemies category of the LPS-model
As with the previous section, this category is not accompanied by any universal design principles, but it is
obviously important when discussing variety within computer games.
48
4.4.6 Visuals
Weather
Time of day
Color scheme
Describe weather
Which time of day
Image
Screenshot or concept drawing of level segment
Table 15: Visuals category of the LPS-model
The lighting and color parameters are cheap means of creating variation and contrasts in the level, without
having to add additional content; textures can be swapped, and light sources altered. A well created color
scheme has the potential of letting the level designer know which colors would be wise to take advantage
of, and also on how to create the transition into the next scene. Another important aspect of having
structured the use of color is that informed decisions can be made on whether or not certain enemies
stand out or blend in.
The following section will give a brief introduction to a brief history and the most basic elements of color
theory and subsequently how this theory has been used in level design by looking at an example of a HalfLife2 scene.
From early 18th century to late 19th century the foundation of color theory was based on the notion that the
three primary colors were red, yellow, and blue (RYB). Painters and dyers had been using these three basis
colors for years, and it was believed that all colors could be created from that set; it later was proven that
magenta was impossible to create. That limitation amongst other factor gave rise to the notion that using
red, green, and blue (RGB) as primary colors was better suited to describe color perception. This was later
substantiated by physiological findings; it was discovered that the way humans perceived colors is based on
three unique kinds of receptors in the eye, and by measuring receptor response to color exposure, it could
be documented that exposure to pure RGB colors could isolate receptor responses.
The RGB color wheel is defined firstly by the primary colors which are equally spaced around the wheel.
The mixtures between the primary colors yield the secondary colors, which then again, mixed with
primaries create the tertiary colors. On top of this, colors placed directly opposite each other on the color
wheel are called complementary colors.
49
The most basic rules of color combinations are that; colors directly adjacent to each other (analogous),
colors 1/3 the way around the wheel (triadic) and colors directly opposite each other (complementary)
works well together. Besides these basic rules a number a color schemes exists but this paper will only deal
with the analogous, triadic and complementary color schemes.
Figure 12: Triadic and complementary colors (28)
Figure 13 is a screenshot taken from Half-Life2, and will serve as
an example on how to use color theory in the construction of a
visually appealing level. The following quote is from an analysis
and tutorial on how Valve uses color theory and how the game
NPC’s are placed in surrounding which accentuate them,
thereby making it easier for the player to notice them, while not
seeming out of place in the environment.
Figure 13: Half-life2 Screenshot
“The cream, dusty red, and burgundy set up a solid color range with nice accents and the burgundy as a
slight contrast. The burgundy and cream gets carried into the floor tiles and rust in the railings creating
strong visually appealing floors and railing that fit in...The Combine and the concrete however form a very
blue palette between their uniforms and the pale blue grey found in the floors and some ceilings. This also
continues into the barrels. So there are two palettes, usually that is a poor approach but checking the color
wheel for where the palettes are placed. Oranges and red sit opposite and 1/3 of the way round from the
blue, because of this fact they appear to accent and contrast thus sitting together nicely in the same image”
(30)
50
Another important point to notice is the blue light in the background which is a triadic color of the main
color, which creates a fluent transition into the next scene where the blue color is the main.
This was an example of how proven color theory can be applied to level design, but as previously
mentioned, this is merely an example of which parameters the LPS-model can relate to. A game could have
a completely different art direction, but the LPS-model as a tool to provide an overview is still valid.
4.4.7 Unique assets
Unique code
Unique animation
Unique art assets
Unique audio
List the unique code needed
List the unique animation needed
List the unique art assets needed
List the unique audio assets needed
Table 16: Unique Assets category of the LPS-model
This category doesn’t deal with any actual design considerations, but is included as a tool for the
development team to identify the assets needed in producing the level-segment.
51
4.5 Summary
The categories of the LPS-model span over both design parameters, as well as aspects which are important
for the rest of the production team. As mentioned, the examples in the above only illustrates how design
principles from other media can apply to level design, but cannot be thought of as a checklist for all games.
With regard to the categories dealing with production, the validity cannot be proven within the scope of
this thesis, but through own experience and logical inference, I feel confident in arguing that they indeed
will prove to be valuable guidelines in any production.
Marc Laidlaw, writer, level designer and game designer at Valve Software states in an interview with
Gamasutra:(31)
“The story bible is just a way of communicating a vision of the game to the rest of the team. For us,
sometimes the bible is effective, sometimes it is not very useful at all. Early in the design process it is very
useful, and in the end, when you want to pin down exactly what you’ve done (for the benefit of posterity,
sequels and third party developers), it’s useful again. But for a long middle section, you have to rely on
something more lie telepathy to keep the team in sync. Did I say ‘telepathy’? I meant ‘lots of meetings’.”
Laidlaw talks about ‘telepathy’ and lot of meetings as the only mean of keeping a team in sync with the
design vision. The LPS-model presents an easily modifiable framework to communicate these visions.
52
5 Model for analysis – HL2E2
Using the method previously described in 3.3, this section will break up a personal play-session of two
hours of Half-Life2: Episode2 into a number of segments, and investigate if the design adheres to the
principles of the LPS-model. The data presented in the following is based on the model-instances seen in
Appendix F – HL2E2 analysis (See 9.6).
Segment
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part II
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part III
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part IV
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part V
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part I
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part II
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part III
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part IV
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part V
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VI
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VII
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VIII
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part IX
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part X
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part XI
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part I
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part II
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part III
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part IV
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part V
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VI
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VII
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VIII
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part IX
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part X
Table 17: Level segment parameter values
Setting
Countryside
Mines
Countryside
Mines
Countryside
Mines
Underground
Mines
Underground
Mines
Mines
Mines
Underground
Mines
Underground
Mines
Countryside
Countryside
Countryside
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Factory
Countryside
Gameplay
Story
Gravity-gun
Story
Puzzle
Story
Puzzle
Explore
Fight
Fight
Hold ground
Hold ground
Fight
Fight
Puzzle
Escape
Story
Story
Boss
Puzzle
Story
Explore
Fight
Fight
Fight
Confined-fight
Puzzle
min.
5
2
4
1
6
2
1
1
6
12
3
6
6
4
10
7
3
5
2
2
2
4
6
3
6
4
Intensity
1
4
1
2
1
3
1
5
6
7
8
6
7
2
9
2
2
8
2
1
3
6
7
4
8
2
53
5.1 Setting
Looking at the data in Table 17, it becomes clear that the setting changes continuously throughout the
game, but what is especially interesting is, the fact that the setting changes within each chapter as well. If
we look at how the four unique settings used in the first three chapters of HL2E2 are applied, we are able
to derive certain principles of the level design vision.
The first chapter constantly alternates between the ‘mine’ and ‘countryside’ setting. The second chapter
continues to use the mine-setting but is now alternating between ‘mine’ and ‘underground’. The third
chapter uses ‘factory’ and ‘countryside’, but alternates not in the same manner as the previous sections,
although this chapter changes between an outdoor and indoor factory setting continuously. This means
that the designer achieves a high degree of variation with limited means i.e. unique settings, which are
obviously extremely expensive assets to create. The continually changing, almost sine-wave’ish, use of
settings makes it possible to use the same assets again and again, since their presence is interrupted by a
completely different set of assets. Inserting the playtime of each setting into a graph, results in the
following:
40,00
Use of unique areas
30,00
20,00
10,00
0,00
It seems that each setting has relatively the same amount of playtime, which is an economically sound way
of utilizing ones assets. It should be noted, that the data in the above is based on my own play experiences,
and should be verified by a larger amount of play-throughs. But since it’s outside the scope of this thesis to
validate the LPS-model as a tool for production, as mentioned in section 2.4.1, but only to present the
logical inference that it may be just that, the data collected is found to be sufficient.
54
5.2 Visuals
As presented as an example in section 4.4.6, HL2E2 uses color theory to great effect. It uses color in the
transitions between level-segments by providing a lighting which is the triadic color of the predominant
color, each time a change of setting occur. Each level has red, green or blue as the predominant color, and
when the player is about to enter a new setting, the entrance is lit by one of the other colors. This
eliminates ‘hard’ transitions and helps the player find his way. The continuous change in the color spectrum
is best illustrated by presenting a number of the sequential screenshots taken with three seconds apart
while playing. The images below span over a 2½ minutes period of playtime. The full catalog of screenshots
can be found on the CD-rom. By having color spectrum information imbedded in the LPS-model, it allows
the designer to take informed decisions on subsequent level-segments.
55
5.3 Gameplay intensity
Three chapters in Half-Life2: Episode Two have been analyzed, and the findings inserted into the LPS-model
to test the structure of a commercially successful game against the assumptions presented in this paper.
Playing through the three chapters took approximately two hours and by subdividing these two hours into
segments, using the method described in section 3.2, the analysis ends up with 26 distinct sequences.
These sequences can be found in Appendix F – HL2E2 analysis (Section 9.6). Most of the parameters in the
LPS-model could be objectively observed but gameplay intensity is obviously extremely subjective, thus the
following graph is solely based on personal experience. As mentioned in section 5.1, the analysis would
benefit from having a larger empirical base, but it is possible to conclude that gameplay intensity is
contrasted greatly throughout a playthrough of HL2E2, and it is the goal of the LPS-model to ensure just
this.
Figure 14: Intensity variation in HL2E2
56
6 The Bigger picture
This section will discuss the organizational benefits of letting the model being a part of a larger framework
which allows the producer to mine data from asset and mechanic usage in the game and using it as a part
of the basis for decisions.
It would be beneficiary for any development team to incorporate the data from the LPS-model instances
into a database, which allows instant feedback on how the play experience is orchestrated. Besides being a
tool to incorporate design visions, the LPS-model instances, when applied to a database, provides the
producer valuable data on the use of assets. Given the current cost of AAA production, it is necessary to get
the most out of the created assets, or as Hal Barwood writes in rule number 2 in the 400 project:
"Maximize Expressive Potential: Get the most out of your (always limited) material -- either find ways to
exploit an element of your game, or cut it out” (19)
Bioware was also very analytical in the design process when making Mass Effect. The way they record ‘time
spend reports’ and apply them to iterative design is explained in a GDC 2008 lecture by Arey and Swain:
“Time spent report: logs what players do, time per activity, cinematics, combat, convos (conversations), etc.
Shows time on average for players and helps developers judge if the balance is right for that level. If you
look at different Mass Effect levels, they have different mixes. Players like a variety. First version of Noveria
showed a lot of convos, not a lot of combat, so players said it was slow. So they changed the mix, added
more combat, removed some convos to get the right mix. Citadel is much much more convos heavy — 99
mins of convos and 22 of combat, because Citadel was important to the story.”(15)
Although the LPS-model is primarily a tool for designers to orchestrate the play experience, a bi-product is
that the data is easily applied to a larger framework, where issues as described by the two quotes in the
above are addressed. Having a clear cut design vision needs to be checked against its actual
implementation, which is what the LPS-model can provide.
57
6.1 The framework
For the purpose of this model, all data from the LPS-instances
LPS
are linked to an excel document,
document which in
turn is able to provide graphs on gameplay intensity variation,
variation, use of unique settings and use of specific
gameplay elements. Below are examples, taken from the HL2E2 analysis, of which kinds of information can
be retrieved by using the larger framework. The actual excel spreadsheet can be found of the CD-rom.
CD
Perhaps a better way of implementing the framework would be to create a web-utility,
web utility, instead of doing it
by linking word and excel document. This procedure would add a great deal of flexibility, but it’s
it not within
the scope of this project to develop the framework, but merely to present its logics and possibilities.
Use of mechanics
Confined-fight
5%
Gravity-gun
Boss
4%
2%
Story
25%
Hold Ground
14%
Explore
3%
Use of unique areas
40,00
30,00
20,00
10,00
0,00
Fight
35%
Puzzle
12%
Intensity
10
8
6
4
2
0
0
20
40
60
80
100
120
Time
58
7 Conclusion
The greatest pitfall of this thesis is the attempt to validate a model, meant for production, through
theoretical means. The collapse of the initial procedure of doing it in collaboration with ZeitGuyz Game
Developers, which unfortunately had to close due to funding issues, meant that a different method of
validation needed to be found. That meant that the focus shifted from proving the validity of the model as
a production tool, to a more thorough investigation of design principles.
The CRBP provides a legitimate base for investigating the presence of universal principles of aesthetic
appreciation, and when combined with remarks from game scholars and industry professionals, the basis
for a hands-on model based on variety is justified.
The occurrence analysis of 100+ game reviews yields interesting results, and is quite similar to the findings
of Dan Arey and Chris Swain in their research of correlations between certain qualities in games and their
review-score, as well as the direct correlation between review-score and revenue. They found variation to
be a prime quality in high scoring games, and lack thereof to be a detractive element in low-scoring games.
This adheres well to the hypothesis of this thesis, and gives validity to the attempt of creating a tool which
organizes variety. Additionally the occurrence analysis as well as the research by Arey and Swain identified
corresponding categories of important game qualities, which were used as parameters of the LPS-model.
The method could have benefited from not only including word occurrences, but also the semantics of
sentences as well. This seemed not to corrupt the findings to a great extent though, since the conclusion of
both the occurrence analysis and the research by Arey and Swain yielded similar results.
It is my firm belief that, although unsubstantiated, the LPS-model has the potential of being a valuable tool
in iterative development and ease the communication in large teams. The reasoning behind variety as an
invaluable quality in games, and that the LPS-model can help orchestrate this, is sound, but the final test of
whether or not it is applicable in large scale production remains to be seen.
59
8 Ludo- and bibliography
1. Whitehead, Alfred North. Dialogues. Boston : Little, Brown and Company, 1954.
2. Reynolds, Joshua. Seven Discourses on Art. Whitefish, Montana : Kessinger Publishing, 2004.
3. Hunicke, Robin, Leblanc, Marc and Zubek, Robert. MDA: A Formal Approach to Game Design and Game Research. San Jose : Game Developers
Conference, 2004.
4. Rigby, Scott and Ryan, Richard. Gamasutra.com - Rethinking Carrots. [Online] Jan 16, 2007. [Cited: Nov 27, 2008.]
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20070116/rigby_01.shtml.
5. Björk, Steffan and Halopainen, Jussi. Patterns In Game Design. Boston, Massachusetts : Charles River Media, 2004.
6. Aarseth, Espen. Playing Research: Methodological approaches to game analysis. Melbourne : Australia DAC conference, 2003.
7. Aristotles. Poetik. Copenhagen : Hans Reitzel, 1999.
8. Stebbing, Peter D. A grammar of visual composition and its biological origin. Communication & Cognition, vol. 36 no. 3/4. 2003, pp. 353-390.
9. Wikipedia. Contrast Effect. [Online] July 14, 2008. [Cited: September 1, 2008.] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Contrast_effect.
10. Bordwell, David and Thompson, Kristin. Film Art: An Introduction. New York : McGraw-Hill Education, 1996.
11. Bowditch, Gillian. The Sunday Times. [Online] April 17, 2008. [Cited: September 5, 2008.]
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/uk/scotland/article3821838.ece.
12. Valve. The Orange Box. 10. Oct 2007.
13. Zeki, Zemir. http://neuroesthetics.org/. [Online] [Cited: September 10, 2008.] http://neuroesthetics.org/statement-on-neuroesthetics.php.
14. Stebbing, Peter D. A Universal Grammar for Visual Composition? Leonardo - Volume 37, Number 1. February 2004, pp. pp. 63-70.
15. Swain, Chris and Arey, Dan. GDC2008: Master Metrics. [Online] Feb 20, 2008. [Cited: Okt 10, 2008.]
http://www.raphkoster.com/2008/02/20/gdc2008-master-metrics/.
16. Alexa. Alexa.com. [Online] September 16, 2008. [Cited: September 16, 2008.] http://www.alexa.com/site/ds/top_500.
17. Canossa, Alessandro. Designing Levels for Enhanced Player Experience. 11. June 2007.
18. Alexander, Christopher. A Pattern Language. Cary, North Carolina : Oxford University Press Inc, USA, 1978.
19. Falstein, Noah. 400 Project. [Online] March 18, 2006. [Cited: October 2, 2008.]
http://www.theinspiracy.com/Current%20Rules%20Master%20List.htm.
20. Gamespot.com. History Channel: Battle for the Pacific for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Jan 4, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/historychannelbattleforthepacific/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;r
ead-review.
21. —. Psychotoxic for PC review. [Online] Mar 22, 2005. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/psychotoxic/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
22. Gamezone.com. Hour of Victory review. [Online] Jul 10, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r31625.htm.
23. Gamespot.com. BlizzCon 2008: Forging Diablo III's depths. [Online] Oct 11, 2008. [Cited: Oct 14, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/news/6199261.html.
24. Gamasutra.com. Spyro Production Design. [Online] Apr 27, 2000. [Cited: Oct 14, 2008.]
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20000502/spyro_03.htm.
60
25. Lopez, Mike. Gameplay Design Fundamentals:. Gamasutra. [Online] November 28, 2006. [Cited: December 8, 2007.]
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20061128/lopez_01.shtml.
26. Ljungström, Matthias. The use of architectural patterns in MMORPGs. Bergen : s.n., 2005.
27. Byrne, Ed. Game Level Design. Boston : Charles River Media, 2004.
28. Bleszinski, Cliff. The Art and Science of Level Design. Gamasutra. [Online] January 10, 2001. [Cited: December 8, 2007.]
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20010110/cliff_03.htm.
29. Coppola, Francis Ford. Apocalypse Now. 1979.
30. Valve Developer Community. Color theory (level design). [Online] Mar 21, 2006. [Cited: Dec 2007, 18.]
http://developer.valvesoftware.com/wiki/Color_theory_(level_design).
31. Carless, Simon. Marc Laidlaw On Story And Narrative In Half-Life. Gamasutra. [Online] August 8, 2003. [Cited: December 7, 2007.]
http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20030808/carless_pfv.htm.
32. Salen, Katie and Zimmerman, Eric. Rules of play. Cambridge, Massachusetts : MIT Press, 2003.
33. Laurel, Brenda. Computers as Theatre. Boston Massachusetts : Addison-Wesley Professional, 1993.
34. Fruin, Noah Wardrip. First Person: New Media as Story, Performance and Game. Cambridge, Massachusetts : MIT Press, 2006.
35. Co, Phil. Level design for games. Berkeley, California : New Riders, 2006.
36. Csikszentmihalyi, Mihaly. Flow: The Psychology of Optimal Experience. London : Harper Perennial, 1991.
37. Chatman, Seymour. Story and Discourse: Narrative Structure in Fiction and Film. Ithaca New York : Cornell University Press, 1978.
38. Ford, Janet Lynn. Color Theory: Overview. Worqx. [Online] 1998. [Cited: 12 18, 2007.] http://www.worqx.com/color/index.htm.
39. Gamespot.com. Bioshock for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Aug 20, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/bioshock/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
40. —. The Orange Box for PC review. [Online] Oct 10, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/halflife2episode2ob/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
41. —. Gears of War for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Nov 10, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/gearsofwar/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
42. —. Halo 3 for Xbox 360. [Online] Sept 23, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/halo3/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
43. —. MGS4: Guns of the Patriot for PS3 review. [Online] Jun 13, 2008. [Cited: OCt 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/adventure/metalgearsolid4/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
44. —. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare. [Online] Nov 6, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/callofduty4modernwarfare/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
45. —. Crysis for PC review. [Online] Nov 13, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/crysis/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
46. —. Mass Effect for PC review. [Online] May 30, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/rpg/masseffect/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
47. —. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Mar 8, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/tomclancysghostrecon3/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;readreview.
48. —. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Vegas for Xbox360 review. [Online] Nov 21, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/rainbowsixvegas/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
61
49. —. Hour of Victory for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Jun 29, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/hourofvictory/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
50. —. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty. [Online] Mar 12, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/fallofliberty/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
51. —. 25 to Life for PC review. [Online] Jan 19, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/25tolife/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
52. —. Hellboy: The Science of Evil for Xbox 360 review. [Online] Aug 26, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/xbox360/action/hellboy/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
53. —. Made Man for PC review. [Online] May 14, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/interviewwithamademan/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
54. —. Alien Blast: The Encounter. [Online] Feb 18, 2004. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/pc/action/alienblastencounter/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
55. —. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer. [Online] Jun 21, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/fantastic4riseofsilversurfer/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
56. —. Haze. [Online] May 20, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.gamespot.com/ps3/action/haze/review.html?om_act=convert&om_clk=gssummary&tag=summary;read-review.
57. IGN.com. Bioshock Review. [Online] Aug 16, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/813/813214p1.html.
58. —. The Orange Box review. [Online] Oct 9, 2007. [Cited: OCt 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/826/826062p1.html.
59. —. Gears of War review. [Online] Nov 7, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/744/744356p1.html.
60. —. Halo 3 review. [Online] Sep 23, 2007. [Cited: OCt 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/821/821911p1.html.
61. —. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review. [Online] Jun 12, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.ign.com/articles/881/881472p1.html.
62. —. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare review. [Online] Nov 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/832/832599p1.html.
63. —. Crysis review. [Online] Nov 12, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.ign.com/articles/834/834614p1.html.
64. —. Mass Effect review. [Online] Nov 19, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/833/833640p1.html.
65. —. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter review. [Online] Mar 7, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/694/694274p1.html.
66. —. Rainbow Six: Vegas Review. [Online] Nov 16, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/745/745678p1.html.
67. —. The History Channel: Battle For the Pacific review. [Online] Feb 21, 2008. [Cited: OCt 29, 2008.]
http://ps3.ign.com/articles/854/854121p1.html.
68. —. Hour of Victory review. [Online] Jun 29, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/800/800735p1.html.
69. —. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty review. [Online] Feb 28, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/855/855845p1.html.
70. —. 25 to Life review. [Online] Jan 17, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.ign.com/articles/681/681676p1.html.
71. —. Psychotoxic review. [Online] Mar 29, 2005. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.ign.com/articles/599/599865p1.html.
72. —. Hellboy: The Science of Evil Review. [Online] Jun 27, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.ign.com/objects/827/827013.html.
73. —. Made Man review. [Online] Jun 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.ign.com/articles/794/794455p1.html.
74. —. Alien Blast: The Encounter review. [Online] Feb 23, 2004. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.ign.com/objects/613/613294.html.
62
75. —. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review. [Online] Jun 18, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://xbox360.ign.com/articles/797/797567p1.html.
76. —. Haze review. [Online] May 20, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.ign.com/articles/875/875229p1.html.
77. Gamespy.com. Bioshock review. [Online] Aug 16, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/bioshock/813243p1.html.
78. —. The Orange Box review. [Online] Oct 10, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/half-life-2/826174p1.html.
79. —. Gears of War review. [Online] Nov 7, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/gears-of-war/744635p1.html.
80. —. Halo 3 review. [Online] Sep 23, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/halo-3/821976p1.html.
81. —. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review. [Online] Jun 13, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/metalgear-solid-4/881742p1.html.
82. —. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare review. [Online] Nov 6, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/call-of-duty-4modern-warfare/833100p1.html.
83. —. Crysis. [Online] Dec 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/ea-crytek-title-untitled-project/839785p1.html.
84. —. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter review. [Online] Mar 10, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox360/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-3/695123p1.html.
85. —. Hour of Victory review. [Online] Jul 30, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/hour-of-victory/809231p1.html.
86. —. Turning point: Fall of Liberty review. [Online] Mar 10, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/fall-ofliberty/858345p1.html.
87. —. Psychotoxic review. [Online] May 4, 2005. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamespy.com/pc/psychotoxic-the-4th-horseman/610074p1.html.
88. —. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review. [Online] Jun 29, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox360/fantastic-four-ii-/800738p1.html.
89. —. Haze review. [Online] May 20, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.gamespy.com/playstation-3/free-radical-project/875472p1.html.
90. Gamesradar.com. Bioshock review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/bioshock/review/bioshock/a2007081511272150653077/g-20060426172349312080.
91. —. The Orange Box review. [Online] Oct 9, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/the-orange-box/review/theorange-box/a-200710091304124675293/g-2007040612380492056.
92. —. Gears of War review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/gears-of-war/review/gears-of-war/a20061107102052108052/g-2005122011355464042.
93. —. Halo 3 review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/halo-3/review/halo-3/a-2007092118243123051/g2005000000000000000350.
94. —. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-ofthe-patriots/review/metal-gear-solid-4-guns-of-the-patriots/a-20080602125952203027/g-20051216153655522074.
95. —. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare review. [Online] Nov 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/call-of-duty-4-modernwarfare/review/call-of-duty-4-modern-warfare/a-2007110512090683184815/g-20070214121215902085.
96. —. Crysis review. [Online] Nov 13, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/crysis/review/crysis/a2007111391346624059/g-2006032914441159019.
97. —. Mass Effect review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/mass-effect/review/mass-effect/a20071118143959234064/g-2005138888000000020740.
98. —. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/xbox360/tom-clancys-ghostrecon-advanced-warfighter/review/tom-clancys-ghost-recon-advanced-warfighter/a-2006031017398731074/g-2005138888000000020804.
63
99. —. Rainbow Six Vegas. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/pc/rainbow-six-vegas/review/tom-clancys-rainbow-sixvegas/a-2007010412414265545655/g-2006110111565249079.
100. —. The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/the-history-channelbattle-for-the-pacific/review/the-history-channel-battle-for-the-pacific/a-2008050517405921118165/g-20080505164836338036.
101. —. Turning Point: Fall of Liberty review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/turning-point-fall-ofliberty/review/turning-point-fall-of-liberty/a-200803241607558139039/g-20060831172928404052.
102. —. Hellboy: The Science of Evil. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/hellboy/review/hellboy-the-science-of-evil/a200807099534842057/g-2006050919572816099.
103. —. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review. [Online] [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.gamesradar.com/ps3/fantastic-four-rise-of-thesilver-surfer/review/fantastic-four-rise-of-the-silver-surfer/a-20070702923028956910/g-2006110711126231047.
104. 1UP.com. Bioshock review. [Online] Aug 16, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3162017&p=4&sec=REVIEWS.
105. —. The Orange Box review. [Online] Oct 16, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
106. —. Gears of War review. [Online] Nov 6, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3154958&p=4&sec=REVIEWS2006.
107. —. Halo 3 review. [Online] Sep 21, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3163125&p=4&sec=REVIEWS.
108. —. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review. [Online] Jun 12, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
109. —. Call Of Duty 4. [Online] Nov 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3164177&p=37&sec=REVIEWS.
110. —. Mass Effect review. [Online] Nov 19, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3164453&p=4&sec=REVIEWS.
111. —. Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter review. [Online] Mar 21, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
112. —. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas review. [Online] Nov 21, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
113. —. Hour of Victory review. [Online] Jul 5, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3160803&p=4&sec=REVIEWS.
114. —. Hellboy: The Science of Evil review. [Online] Jul 2, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
115. —. Fantastic Four: Rise of the Silver Surfer review. [Online] Jun 27, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
116. —. Haze review. [Online] May 28, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3167998&p=37&sec=REVIEWS.
117. Gamezone.com. Bioshock review. [Online] Aug 21, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r24999.htm.
118. —. The Orange Box review. [Online] Oct 29, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r31784.htm.
119. —. Gears of War review. [Online] Nov 10, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r26748.htm.
120. —. Halo 3 review. [Online] Sep 26, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r27639.htm.
121. —. Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots review. [Online] Jun 18, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://ps3.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r28100.htm.
122. —. Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare review. [Online] May 11, 2007. [Cited: OCt 29, 2008.] http://ps3.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r32387.htm.
64
123. —. Crysis review. [Online] Nov 27, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r28652.htm.
124. —. Mass Effect review. [Online] Nov 19, 2009. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r27907.htm.
125. —. Tom Clancy's Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter review. [Online] Mar 20, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r26327.htm.
126. —. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas review. [Online] Dec 5, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r29005.htm.
127. —. The History Channel: Battle for the Pacific review. [Online] Dec 18, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
128. —. 25 to Life review. [Online] Feb 13, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r24037.htm.
129. —. Made Man review. [Online] May 22, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r30061.htm.
130. —. Alien Blast: The Encounter review. [Online] Feb 24, 2004. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://pc.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r23106.htm.
131. —. Fantastic 4: Rise of the Silver Surfer review. [Online] Jun 28, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.]
132. —. Haze review. [Online] May 22, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://ps3.gamezone.com/gzreviews/r29942.htm.
133. 1UP.com. Crysis review. [Online] Nov 12, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://www.1up.com/do/reviewPage?cId=3164321&p=1&sec=REVIEWS.
134. Gamespy.com. Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Vegas review. [Online] Nov 22, 2006. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox360/rainbow-six-vegas/747474p1.html.
135. —. Hellboy: The Science of Evil review. [Online] Jul 2, 2008. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox360/hellboy/885944p1.html.
136. —. Mass Effect review. [Online] Nov 19, 2007. [Cited: Oct 29, 2008.] http://xbox360.gamespy.com/xbox-360/mass-effect/836239p1.html.
65
9 Appendix
9.1 Appendix A - Frequency word script
Sub WordFrequency()
Const maxwords = 15000
Dim SingleWord As String
Dim Words(maxwords) As String
Dim Freq(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordNum As Integer
Dim ByFreq As Boolean
Dim ttlwds As Long
Dim Excludes As String
Dim Found As Boolean
Dim j, k, l, Temp As Integer
Dim ans As String
Dim tword As String
'Maximum unique words allowed
'Raw word pulled from doc
'Array to hold unique words
'Frequency counter for unique words
'Number of unique words
'Flag for sorting order
'Total words in the document
'Words to be excluded
'Temporary flag
'Temporary variables
'How user wants to sort results
Excludes = "”
'Find out how to sort
ByFreq = True
ans = InputBox("Sort by WORD or by FREQ?", "Sort order", "FREQ")
If ans = "" Then End
If UCase(ans) = "WORD" Then
ByFreq = False
End If
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
System.Cursor = wdCursorWait
WordNum = 0
ttlwds = ActiveDocument.Words.Count
For Each aword In ActiveDocument.Words
SingleWord = Trim(LCase(aword))
If SingleWord < "a" Or SingleWord > "z" Then
SingleWord = ""
End If
If InStr(Excludes, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
SingleWord = ""
End If
If Len(SingleWord) > 0 Then
Found = False
For j = 1 To WordNum
If Words(j) = SingleWord Then
Freq(j) = Freq(j) + 1
Found = True
Exit For
End If
Next j
If Not Found Then
WordNum = WordNum + 1
Words(WordNum) = SingleWord
Freq(WordNum) = 1
End If
If WordNum > maxwords - 1 Then
66
j = MsgBox("Too many words.", vbOKOnly)
Exit For
End If
End If
ttlwds = ttlwds - 1
StatusBar = "Remaining: " & ttlwds & ", Unique: " & WordNum
Next aword
' Now sort it into word order
For j = 1 To WordNum - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To WordNum
If (Not ByFreq And Words(l) < Words(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And Freq(l) > Freq(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = Words(j)
Words(j) = Words(k)
Words(k) = tword
Temp = Freq(j)
Freq(j) = Freq(k)
Freq(k) = Temp
End If
StatusBar = "Sorting: " & WordNum - j
Next j
tmpName = ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.FullName
Documents.Add Template:=tmpName, NewTemplate:=False
Selection.ParagraphFormat.TabStops.ClearAll
With Selection
For j = 1 To WordNum
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(Freq(j))) _
& vbTab & Words(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
End With
System.Cursor = wdCursorNormal
j = MsgBox("There were " & Trim(Str(WordNum)) & _
" different words ", vbOKOnly, "Finished")
End Sub
67
9.2 Appendix B - Frequency data
9301 the, 4355 to, 4228 and, 4053 a, 3896 of, 2777 you, 2332 in, 2158 is, 1922 that, 1315 it, 1303 game, 1301 with, 1263 as, 1154
for, 1128 are, 1031 on, 1016 your, 996 but, 862 can, 842 this, 771 be, 718 or, 711 from, 662 an, 599 at, 595 up, 594 all, 587 out, 580
one, 567 have, 545 it's, 523 more, 517 will, 502 so, 501 if, 486 like, 459 some, 452 not, 445 when, 434 there, 428 by, 417 i, 404
you'll, 387 which, 387 just, 364 has, 352 into, 351 get, 350 even, 350 they, 338 through, 337 them, 331 also, 300 while, 299 its, 299
time, 298 only, 297 their, 290 way, 289 other, 285 play, 275 we, 270 much, 270 than, 269 was, 268 most, 266 no, 265 first, 261
well, 260 multiplayer, 258 you're, 258 enemies, 255 about, 251 good, 248 what, 246 any, 240 down, 235 gameplay, 234 two, 232
do, 231 player, 230 these, 228 around, 228 games, 227 take, 227 few, 221 make, 217 over, 206 action, 206 new, 204 every, 203
use, 203 where, 202 too, 199 story, 199 players, 198 how, 197 really, 194 single, 192 though, 183 there's, 183 enemy, 181 because,
181 then, 180 his, 180 weapons, 178 each, 177 team, 176 been, 175 very, 175 same, 174 level, 172 see, 170 would, 168 find, 166
sound, 165 who, 160 online, 158 little, 156 playing, 156 character, 155 cover, 154 system, 153 campaign, 152 after, 152 still, 150
fun, 150 don't, 148 off, 148 back, 147 shooter, 147 many, 147 best, 145 experience, 142 look, 141 different, 141 here, 140 right,
138 such, 137 combat, 136 levels, 135 three, 135 world, 135 that's, 130 makes, 129 before, 129 another, 128 may, 128 things, 127
great, 126 go, 125 enough, 124 graphics, 122 never, 121 both, 121 now, 121 he, 121 mode, 121 isn't, 120 doesn't, 119 need, 118
feel, 117 end, 117 own, 117 those, 115 going, 115 set, 113 pretty, 113 want, 112 bad, 112 game's, 112 long, 111 run, 110 series,
110 better, 110 does, 110 once, 108 being, 108 war, 108 fire, 108 could, 107 times, 107 bit, 105 lot, 105 person, 104 characters, 104
next, 102 ever, 102 our, 102 were, 102 ai, 101 you've, 101 yourself, 101 my, 101 episode, 100 thing, 100 hours, 99 come, 98
something, 98 know, 98 away, 98 side, 97 however, 97 effects, 96 city, 95 should, 94 xbox, 94 since, 93 without, 93 gun, 93 far, 93
had, 93 looks, 92 voice, 92 real, 92 snake, 91 always, 91 map, 91 point, 91 everything, 91 able, 91 fight, 90 weapon, 90 battle, 90
again, 90 co, 89 open, 89 big, 88 they're, 88 takes, 88 work, 87 quite, 86 between, 85 difficulty, 84 high, 84 me, 84 op, 83 us, 83
maps, 83 behind, 82 last, 82 modes, 82 points, 82 say, 82 full, 81 often, 81 actually, 81 aren't, 81 power, 81 mission, 80 during, 79
won't, 79 design, 79 moments, 78 hard, 78 looking, 78 fact, 77 place, 77 can't, 76 old, 76 easy, 76 move, 76 people, 76 soldiers, 75
control, 75 feels, 74 comes, 73 simply, 73 start, 73 across, 73 screen, 72 shoot, 71 against, 71 either, 71 kill, 71 course, 71 keep, 70
entire, 70 played, 70 amazing, 70 him, 70 almost, 70 used, 70 above, 69 yet, 69 anything, 69 give, 69 based, 69 visuals, 69 using, 69
years, 68 sure, 68 fantastic, 68 close, 68 interesting, 68 excellent, 67 music, 67 movie, 67 missions, 67 put, 67 less, 67 part, 66
made, 66 within, 65 pc, 65 making, 65 might, 65 head, 65 done, 65 alien, 64 four, 64 options, 64 hit, 64 nothing, 64 click, 64
number, 64 plot, 64 environments, 63 getting, 63 button, 62 solid, 62 rather, 62 seen, 62 least, 61 must, 61 shot, 61 got, 61 sense,
60 shooting, 60 itself, 60 along, 59 fighting, 59 powers, 59 help, 58 probably, 58 standard, 58 turn, 58 gets, 58 nectar, 57 quickly, 57
perfect, 57 life, 57 man, 57 setting, 57 pick, 57 past, 57 variety, 57 live, 56 special, 56 guns, 55 guys, 55 second, 55 taking, 55
soldier, 55 sounds, 54 it’s, 54 short, 54 review, 54 until, 54 why, 54 amount, 54 ability, 53 try, 53 style, 53 title, 53 running, 53 five,
53 called, 52 health, 52 top, 52 kind, 52 given, 52 shooters, 52 portal, 51 plenty, 51 deathmatch, 51 attack, 51 sometimes, 51
ground, 50 throughout, 50 expect, 50 dialogue, 50 change, 50 others, 50 else, 50 hand, 50 we've, 49 damage, 48 acting, 48 create,
48 sniper, 48 means, 48 powerful, 48 left, 48 various, 48 finally, 48 seems, 48 available, 48 seconds, 48 check, 48 instead, 48 ways,
47 under, 47 presentation, 47 gaming, 47 seem, 47 exciting, 47 features, 47 think, 47 camera, 47 doing, 47 small, 47 sequences, 47
rapture, 46 choose, 46 death, 46 together, 46 huge, 46 free, 46 several, 46 cool, 46 worth, 46 year, 46 pop, 46 battles, 45 found, 45
grenades, 45 die, 45 problem, 45 already, 45 moment, 45 impressive, 45 gear, 44 having, 44 gamers, 44 did, 44 machine, 44 trying,
44 completely, 44 addition, 44 mechanics, 44 unique, 44 what's, 44 especially, 44 example, 44 scenes, 44 final, 43 usually, 43 stand,
43 controls, 43 middle, 43 intense, 43 six, 43 attacks, 43 half, 43 her, 43 room, 43 squad, 42 environment, 42 complete, 42 issues,
42 he's, 42 large, 42 fast, 42 support, 42 cut, 42 vehicles, 42 previous, 41 force, 41 overall, 41 human, 41 main, 41 storyline, 41
save, 41 whole, 41 bullets, 41 whether, 41 areas, 41 let, 41 clear, 41 fans, 41 items, 41 screens, 41 dead, 41 face, 41 metal, 40
including, 40 truly, 40 said, 40 assault, 40 version, 40 gives, 40 mantel, 40 thanks, 40 epic, 40 forge, 39 possible, 39 stop, 39 tactical,
39 third, 39 abilities, 39 certain, 39 elements, 39 problems, 39 firing, 39 class, 39 allows, 39 light, 39 stealth, 38 yes, 38 challenge,
38 role, 38 range, 38 lack, 38 aliens, 38 image, 38 boss, 38 invisible, 38 nice, 38 heavy, 38 visual, 37 simple, 37 package, 37 couple,
37 works, 37 anyone, 37 details, 37 wall, 37 extremely, 37 moving, 37 easily, 37 reason, 37 ratings, 37 original, 37 you’ll, 37 ending,
37 created, 36 add, 36 particularly, 36 area, 36 job, 36 effect, 36 maybe, 36 perhaps, 36 everyone, 36 ii, 36 friends, 36 teammates,
36 satisfying, 35 types, 35 feature, 35 killing, 35 become, 35 grenade, 35 definitely, 35 goes, 35 match, 35 rifle, 35 love, 35 finish, 34
concept, 34 exactly, 34 line, 34 likely, 34 didn't, 34 locust, 33 video, 33 plays, 33 you’re, 33 designed, 33 direction, 33 nearly, 33
stuff, 33 genre, 33 vehicle, 33 water, 33 air, 33 bioware, 32 titles, 32 don’t, 32 settings, 32 sort, 32 combine, 32 objects, 32 melee,
32 beat, 32 you'd, 32 fine, 32 alone, 32 someone, 32 important, 32 lets, 32 helps, 32 chief, 32 sequence, 32 detail, 32 later, 32
engine, 32 vision, 32 s, 31 objectives, 31 idea, 31 decent, 31 models, 31 impossible, 31 textures, 31 incredibly, 31 tell, 31 offer, 31
soundtrack, 31 specific, 31 rate, 31 similar, 31 score, 31 suit, 30 guy, 30 awesome, 30 longer, 30 rest, 30 coming, 30 notice, 30
command, 30 low, 30 target, 30 spend, 30 spot, 30 explosions, 30 boring, 30 hear, 30 despite, 30 technical, 30 energy, 30 difficult,
30 although, 30 hour, 30 master, 30 gravity, 29 blood, 29 basic, 29 near, 29 call, 29 type, 29 quality, 29 space, 29 armor, 29 blast, 29
constantly, 29 themselves, 29 frame, 29 begin, 29 normal, 29 tank, 29 filled, 29 core, 29 matches, 29 chapter, 29 beautiful, 29
perks, 29 fortress, 28 walls, 28 wait, 28 further, 28 frustrating, 28 foes, 28 offers, 28 standing, 28 beyond, 28 matter, 28 position, 28
forces, 28 unfortunately, 28 x, 28 order, 28 universe, 28 shotgun, 28 split, 28 console, 28 approach, 28 gorgeous, 28 mind, 27 soon,
27 bugs, 27 attention, 27 box, 27 objective, 27 care, 27 future, 27 appeal, 27 broken, 27 mexico, 27 stuck, 27 drop, 27 chance, 27
68
battlefield, 27 fights, 27 weak, 27 piece, 27 feeling, 27 becomes, 27 franchise, 27 incredible, 27 they'll, 27 hardcore, 27 events, 27
kojima, 27 valve, 26 scoring, 26 act, 26 return, 26 wrong, 26 lots, 26 talk, 26 entertaining, 26 developer, 26 guide, 26 inside, 26
fairly, 26 mix, 26 quick, 26 show, 26 narrative, 26 encounter, 26 multiple, 26 advantage, 26 press, 26 star, 26 rebels, 26 happens, 26
i've, 26 result, 26 capture, 26 tanks, 25 generic, 25 occasionally, 25 certainly, 25 mean, 25 friend, 25 ammo, 25 replay, 25 imagine,
25 comments, 25 form, 25 repetitive, 25 depending, 25 isn’t, 25 deep, 25 planet, 25 view, 25 medium, 25 skills, 25 jump, 25 bullet,
25 forward, 25 hell, 25 strong, 25 follow, 25 base, 25 pieces, 25 speed, 25 effective, 25 let's, 25 reload, 25 brings, 24 instance, 24
stage, 24 shots, 24 stay, 24 cutscenes, 24 blow, 24 buy, 24 menu, 24 turret, 24 allow, 24 detailed, 24 bring, 24 parts, 24 body, 24
intelligence, 24 bunch, 24 ride, 24 progress, 24 via, 24 audio, 24 cinematic, 24 infinity, 23 mostly, 23 mechanic, 23 realistic, 23
absolutely, 23 killed, 23 entirely, 23 otherwise, 23 true, 23 due, 23 upon, 23 appear, 23 tactics, 23 minutes, 23 helicopter, 23 comic,
23 military, 23 strength, 23 throw, 23 major, 23 poor, 23 content, 23 members, 23 red, 23 group, 23 rocket, 23 particular, 23
provides, 23 classic, 23 eye, 23 name, 23 easier, 23 perfectly, 23 plasmids, 23 gears, 23 bungie, 23 alyx, 22 case, 22 playstation, 22
wide, 22 early, 22 ends, 22 unlock, 22 ones, 22 adds, 22 depth, 22 planets, 22 reach, 22 building, 22 aspect, 22 thought, 22 load, 22
tough, 22 punch, 22 wouldn't, 22 switch, 22 black, 22 generally, 22 lighting, 22 fps, 22 places, 22 walk, 22 am, 22 cause, 22 giving,
22 waiting, 22 general, 22 immediately, 22 massive, 22 stick, 22 delivers, 22 rpg, 22 chainsaw, 22 gordon, 21 linear, 21 limited, 21
frequently, 21 that’s, 21 fall, 21 machines, 21 enjoy, 21 lasting, 21 hammer, 21 aim, 21 supposed, 21 plus, 21 impact, 21 read, 21
gain, 21 feet, 21 hold, 21 bar, 21 hero, 21 developers, 21 deliver, 21 device, 21 enjoyable, 21 nature, 21 uses, 21 there’s, 21
situation, 21 told, 21 fan, 21 aspects, 21 legendary, 21 achievement, 21 personal, 21 familiar, 21 released, 21 explore, 21 question,
21 classes, 21 stunning, 21 leave, 21 snake's, 20 perspective, 20 totally, 20 deal, 20 break, 20 rating, 20 description, 20 annoying, 20
serious, 20 corner, 20 texture, 20 brilliant, 20 keeping, 20 white, 20 starts, 20 attempt, 20 access, 20 hate, 20 holding, 20 forget, 20
gunfire, 20 movies, 20 i'm, 20 appears, 20 watch, 20 clearly, 20 taken, 20 troops, 20 we're, 20 known, 20 somewhat, 20 smoke, 20
miss, 20 art, 20 provide, 20 heart, 20 fully, 20 plasmid, 19 unless, 19 highly, 19 avoid, 19 eventually, 19 survive, 19 difference, 19
closing, 19 ign, 19 physics, 19 lost, 19 modern, 19 mention, 19 versions, 19 option, 19 provided, 19 manages, 19 challenging, 19
day, 19 location, 19 came, 19 streets, 19 purchase, 19 perform, 19 adventure, 19 technology, 19 worst, 19 woman, 19 aiming, 19
balance, 19 greatest, 19 men, 19 happen, 19 kills, 19 moves, 19 issue, 19 step, 19 film, 19 surface, 19 offline, 19 promise, 19
include, 19 artificial, 19 minute, 19 toward, 19 cry, 19 freedom, 19 tale, 19 jungle, 19 ubisoft, 19 relatively, 19 flag, 19 surprise, 19
hide, 19 night, 19 bland, 19 earn, 19 drebin, 18 choices, 18 whatever, 18 apart, 18 link, 18 hope, 18 ship, 18 extra, 18 game’s, 18
ten, 18 friendly, 18 dozens, 18 pull, 18 videogame, 18 strange, 18 turning, 18 super, 18 computer, 18 skill, 18 generation, 18 ps3, 18
haven't, 18 army, 18 sides, 18 driving, 18 thrown, 18 cast, 18 history, 18 focus, 18 sweet, 18 aside, 18 took, 18 key, 18 days, 18
films, 18 search, 18 animation, 18 included, 18 wwii, 18 struggle, 18 north, 18 seeing, 18 thinking, 18 buildings, 18 situations, 18
explosive, 18 splicers, 18 terrific, 18 systems, 18 insane, 18 ward, 18 nanosuit, 18 korean, 17 pace, 17 theme, 17 slow, 17 favorite,
17 ugly, 17 essentially, 17 sight, 17 evil, 17 flying, 17 terms, 17 obvious, 17 actual, 17 sci, 17 drive, 17 harder, 17 ago, 17 test, 17
rounds, 17 useful, 17 thankfully, 17 hardly, 17 cosmic, 17 directly, 17 fly, 17 figure, 17 achievements, 17 scene, 17 sets, 17 kick, 17
majority, 17 wasn't, 17 happy, 17 regardless, 17 choice, 17 thrilling, 17 storytelling, 17 sit, 17 notch, 17 land, 17 teams, 17 leaves, 17
self, 17 development, 17 reasons, 17 minor, 17 onto, 17 begins, 17 talking, 17 rarely, 17 customization, 17 rich, 17 superb, 17
crytek, 17 quests, 16 somehow, 16 actors, 16 puts, 16 weaponry, 16 animations, 16 fi, 16 wants, 16 rifles, 16 opening, 16 success,
16 select, 16 controlling, 16 draw, 16 considering, 16 eight, 16 puzzle, 16 compelling, 16 book, 16 pressing, 16 locations, 16 door, 16
learn, 16 tech, 16 brief, 16 pros, 16 cons, 16 list, 16 direct, 16 usual, 16 turned, 16 handful, 16 additional, 16 none, 16 saw, 16
process, 16 blue, 16 floor, 16 bottom, 16 party, 16 lead, 16 mark, 16 runs, 16 smart, 16 manner, 16 below, 16 decision, 16 outside,
16 scale, 16 pack, 16 goal, 16 placed, 16 path, 16 hands, 16 chapters, 16 finishing, 16 working, 16 sea, 16 value, 16 biggest, 16
spectacular, 16 balanced, 16 launch, 16 decisions, 16 leader, 16 adam, 16 words, 16 wonderful, 16 date, 16 equipment, 16
significant, 16 needs, 16 marcus, 16 cog, 16 launcher, 15 movement, 15 happening, 15 escape, 15 requires, 15 creatures, 15
occasional, 15 numbers, 15 windows, 15 credits, 15 added, 15 wanted, 15 surprisingly, 15 scattered, 15 nicely, 15 speaking, 15 dark,
15 hits, 15 custom, 15 total, 15 mess, 15 keeps, 15 upgrade, 15 doors, 15 graphical, 15 note, 15 visually, 15 handy, 15 finished, 15
except, 15 carry, 15 dying, 15 positions, 15 she, 15 rock, 15 meter, 15 leaving, 15 subtle, 15 alive, 15 fiction, 15 built, 15 bits, 15
turrets, 15 sections, 15 smooth, 15 competitive, 15 trigger, 15 presented, 15 front, 15 advanced, 15 quest, 15 sneaking, 15
technically, 15 straight, 15 months, 15 distance, 15 results, 15 equipped, 15 barely, 15 grab, 15 challenges, 15 enter, 15 dynamic, 15
hiding, 15 arbiter, 14 hitting, 14 giant, 14 sent, 14 seemingly, 14 doesn’t, 14 ups, 14 oh, 14 turns, 14 deadly, 14 sky, 14 slightly, 14
strike, 14 solo, 14 among, 14 mr, 14 unlike, 14 d, 14 hidden, 14 himself, 14 slowly, 14 dream, 14 loading, 14 foe, 14 laser, 14
remember, 14 magic, 14 collect, 14 rebel, 14 strategy, 14 actions, 14 green, 14 named, 14 ready, 14 continue, 14 following, 14
climb, 14 diverse, 14 versus, 14 looked, 14 resolution, 14 tons, 14 creating, 14 faster, 14 handled, 14 changed, 14 fortunately, 14
ahead, 14 require, 14 thus, 14 train, 14 framerate, 14 stages, 14 tied, 14 catch, 14 price, 14 memorable, 14 forced, 14 offering, 14
daddy, 14 item, 14 helicopters, 14 spawn, 14 fenix, 13 targets, 13 changes, 13 earth, 13 school, 13 anywhere, 13 ton, 13 impressed,
13 wars, 13 endless, 13 non, 13 re, 13 shock, 13 conversations, 13 potential, 13 lose, 13 individual, 13 torch, 13 towards, 13 higher,
13 constant, 13 expected, 13 flat, 13 pad, 13 awful, 13 tiny, 13 mouse, 13 late, 13 heavily, 13 formula, 13 packed, 13 nearby, 13
gone, 13 alongside, 13 drops, 13 damn, 13 upgrades, 13 it'll, 13 carpenter, 13 protect, 13 nor, 13 rush, 13 bodies, 13 scripted, 13
handle, 13 beautifully, 13 track, 13 expectations, 13 premise, 13 eyes, 13 method, 13 effectively, 13 worthy, 13 setup, 13 allies, 13
basically, 13 threat, 13 says, 13 ghost, 13 orders, 13 firefights, 13 mysterious, 13 cases, 13 underwater, 13 wrench, 13 genetic, 13
beauty, 13 science, 13 field, 13 psyche, 13 conclusion, 13 rescue, 13 saved, 13 watching, 13 pause, 13 terrorists, 13 falling, 13
seven, 13 shepard, 13 galaxy, 12 worse, 12 realism, 12 defend, 12 accuracy, 12 paced, 12 hoping, 12 default, 12 fare, 12 fair, 12
engaging, 12 tougher, 12 necessary, 12 firearms, 12 join, 12 surprised, 12 heads, 12 hot, 12 creation, 12 gen, 12 skip, 12 faces, 12
increase, 12 interest, 12 realize, 12 controlled, 12 motion, 12 opponents, 12 spent, 12 appreciate, 12 bots, 12 stands, 12 smoothly,
69
12 drug, 12 distinct, 12 ignore, 12 leap, 12 firefight, 12 execution, 12 robust, 12 locked, 12 dropped, 12 roll, 12 glitches, 12 missing,
12 whose, 12 finding, 12 section, 12 sorts, 12 puzzles, 12 meet, 12 sheer, 12 arsenal, 12 picking, 12 car, 12 properly, 12 blasting, 12
beginning, 12 happened, 12 ryan, 12 necessarily, 12 trick, 12 radar, 12 brute, 12 knows, 12 latest, 12 checkpoint, 12 scope, 12 joey,
12 shotguns, 12 ghosts, 12 ocean, 12 welcome, 12 indeed, 12 sisters, 12 atmosphere, 12 loud, 12 immersive, 12 experiences, 12
bumper, 12 east, 12 respawn, 12 snipers, 12 ended, 12 noticeable, 12 color, 12 started, 12 mitchell, 12 mako, 12 valve's, 12
freeman, 11 fix, 11 won’t, 11 blend, 11 monsters, 11 believable, 11 helpful, 11 home, 11 casual, 11 steal, 11 fresh, 11 graphically, 11
frantic, 11 pistols, 11 neat, 11 monotonous, 11 frequent, 11 proper, 11 poorly, 11 release, 11 auto, 11 maneuvers, 11 shame, 11
raise, 11 unlocked, 11 typical, 11 licensed, 11 ultimate, 11 primary, 11 girl, 11 improved, 11 win, 11 questions, 11 consoles, 11
wanting, 11 unit, 11 rise, 11 completed, 11 focused, 11 tired, 11 performance, 11 neither, 11 intriguing, 11 greater, 11 lines, 11
torn, 11 useless, 11 selection, 11 gamer, 11 breathtaking, 11 downright, 11 disappointing, 11 providing, 11 squadmates, 11 race, 11
arcade, 11 odd, 11 controller, 11 rendered, 11 presence, 11 considered, 11 gimmick, 11 disappointed, 11 territory, 11 word, 11
tight, 11 opportunity, 11 trees, 11 shadows, 11 accurate, 11 bomb, 11 doubt, 11 inspired, 11 crazy, 11 includes, 11 conflict, 11
element, 11 today, 11 ultimately, 11 sword, 11 armed, 11 attacking, 11 u, 11 corners, 11 enhanced, 11 needed, 11 currently, 11
information, 11 length, 11 folks, 11 scenario, 11 lag, 11 allowing, 11 answer, 11 house, 11 pacing, 11 everywhere, 11 andrew, 11
lengthy, 11 twice, 11 tries, 11 security, 11 ammunition, 11 voices, 11 tonics, 11 decide, 11 biotic, 11 devices, 11 com, 11 studio, 11
steam, 11 trouble, 11 marines, 11 rpgs, 11 pay, 11 editor, 11 sera, 11 mexican, 11 skulls, 11 digital, 11 octocamo, 10 background, 10
sitting, 10 credit, 10 purpose, 10 nuclear, 10 doom, 10 cooperative, 10 freeze, 10 chatter, 10 speak, 10 missed, 10 falls, 10
environmental, 10 terrible, 10 affect, 10 send, 10 heroic, 10 helping, 10 ps2, 10 underground, 10 sadly, 10 regular, 10 creative, 10
charge, 10 breaking, 10 throwing, 10 breaks, 10 developed, 10 radical, 10 shane, 10 overdose, 10 silly, 10 supports, 10 lower, 10
forth, 10 hook, 10 competition, 10 respawns, 10 merely, 10 average, 10 initial, 10 stupid, 10 partner, 10 meant, 10 american, 10
safe, 10 facing, 10 aircraft, 10 graphic, 10 implemented, 10 weight, 10 journey, 10 spots, 10 prison, 10 positive, 10 discover, 10
understand, 10 etc, 10 immersion, 10 capable, 10 telling, 10 presents, 10 window, 10 bonus, 10 earlier, 10 tool, 10 hopefully, 10
consider, 10 compared, 10 involved, 10 snipe, 10 cross, 10 eliminate, 10 reward, 10 tv, 10 ron, 10 perlman, 10 realized, 10 worry,
10 flaws, 10 swords, 10 delivered, 10 mood, 10 instantly, 10 managed, 10 destroy, 10 separate, 10 money, 10 starting, 10 theory,
10 chase, 10 beaten, 10 intensity, 10 creepy, 10 equal, 10 covered, 10 numerous, 10 wonder, 10 learning, 10 attempting, 10
country, 10 seriously, 10 ross, 10 blowing, 10 went, 10 we'll, 10 loose, 10 combination, 10 whenever, 10 adding, 10 dawn, 10
television, 10 common, 10 ask, 10 vital, 10 download, 10 active, 10 hacking, 10 daddies, 10 edge, 10 recommend, 10 wind, 10
touches, 10 outstanding, 10 experiment, 10 news, 10 surprises, 10 mounted, 10 frag, 10 bloody, 10 heard, 10 uav, 10 phenomenal,
10 explode, 10 commands, 10 counter, 10 customize, 10 service, 10 fit, 10 sad, 10 commander, 10 scheme, 10 exploration, 10 crash
70
9.3 Appendix C - Keywords
Gameplay:
[multiplayer][gameplay][action][team][online][campaign][shooter][combat][mode][war][battle][difficulty][modes][options][button
][shooters][deathmatch][battles][version][stealth][challenge][ratings][concept][genre][skills][speed][tactics][rpg][linear][limited][cl
asses]
Experience:
[experience][moment][love]
Time:
[time][hours][years][short][year][hour]
Setting:
[level][levels][city][world][map][open][big][maps][environments][setting][sequences][scenes][machine][room][environment][areas
][metal][elements][wall][water][air][objects][space][fortress][walls][universe][box][battlefield][planet][base][planets][building][ma
chines][corner][blood]
Enemies/friendlies:
[enemies][enemy][soldiers][alien][soldier][sniper][squad][human][aliens][boss][friends][teammates][friend][military]
Mechanics / tools:
[weapons][cover][ai][gun][weapon][life][guns][power][powers][ability][health][damage][features][camera][grenades][mechanics][c
ontrols][vehicles][bullets][abilities][grenade][rifle][vehicle][engine][gravity][armor][tank][shotgun][ammo][bullet][turret][mechanic
][rocket][chainsaw][hammer][gunfire][physics]
Visuals:
[graphics][effects][visuals][style][light][image][visual][details][effect][detail][models][textures][explosions][lighting][texture][smoke
][art]
Aural:
[sound][music][soundtrack][audio]
Stability/bugs:
[issues][problems][bugs][broken][fps]
Variation:
[variety][unique][original][mix][generic][repetitive][bland]
Story:
[story][character][characters][voice][mission][moments][missions][plot][dialogue][storyline][objectives][chapter][act][narrative][cu
tscenes][cinematic]
Removed:
[game][player][games][players][system][game’s][series][person][design][screen][movie][review][title][presentation][gamers][fans][
screens][role][line][video][stuff][titles][vision][idea][franchise][kojima][valve][developer][hell][pieces][parts][body][intelligence][de
velopers][movies][new][special][designed][released][full][old][powerful][invisible][heavy][simple][limited][serious][classic][complet
e][strong][hard][easy][impossible][difficult][hardcore][easier][fun][Good][pretty][great][fantastic][interesting][excellent][better][ni
ce][brilliant][stunning][satisfying][exciting][awesome][boring][beautiful][gorgeous][enjoyable][cool][impressive][incredible][realisti
c][familiar][incredibly][bad][frustrating][annoying][wrong][massive]
Too specific:
[xbox][pc][portal][rapture][forge][locust][bioware][console][mexico][bungie][alyx][playstation][gordon][snake’s][plasmid]
71
9.4 Appendix D - Arrange keywords script
NB: This section way differ slightly in terms of keywords from the actual script applied due to loss of data on
a defect hard drive.
Sub Arrange()
Const maxwords = 200
Dim SingleWord As String
Dim CurrentArray As Integer
Dim Freq(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsVisuals(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqVisuals(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsAural(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqAural(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsSetting(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqSetting(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsStory(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqStory(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsBugs(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqBugs(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsVariation(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqVariation(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordsGameplay(maxwords) As String
Dim FreqGameplay(maxwords) As Integer
Dim WordNum As Integer
Dim NumVisual As Integer
Dim NumAural As Integer
Dim NumSetting As Integer
Dim NumStory As Integer
Dim NumBugs As Integer
Dim NumVariation As Integer
Dim NumGameplay As Integer
'Maximum unique words allowed
'Raw word pulled from doc
'Array to hold unique words
'Frequency counter for unique words
'Number of unique words
Dim WordFound As Boolean
Dim ByFreq As Boolean
Dim ttlwds As Long
Dim Excludes As String
Dim Found As Boolean
Dim j, k, l, Temp As Integer
Dim ans As String
Dim tword As String
'Flag for sorting order
'Total words in the document
'Words to be excluded
'Temporary flag
'Temporary variables
'How user wants to sort results
Visuals =
"[effects][graphics][light][lighting][visual][visuals][visually][textures][texture][graphical][color][colors][materials][rendering][aest
hetics][aesthetic]"
Aural = "[sound][music][soundtrack][audio][aural]"
Setting = "[setting][environments][environment][theme][locations][premise][scenario][locales][scenarios][architecture]"
Story =
"[story][characters][character][dialogue][storyline][plot][history][universe][narrative][storytelling][actors][animation][animations][
protagonist][story's][voiceovers]"
Bugs = "[bugs][broken][unresponsive][framerate][glitches][tweak][glitchy][instability]"
Variation =
"[contrasting][variation][vary][varied][varying][variance][variations][segment][segmentation][segmented][difference][different][dif
ferently][differences][differentiate][differentiates][alterations][alternate][distinct][distinctive][unique][diversity][derivative][deriva
te][derived][repetitive][repetition][repeat][repeated][repetitious][generic][monotonous][variety][change][bland][diverse][changes]
[contrast][changing][predictable][monotony]"
72
Gameplay =
"[gameplay][ai][difficulty][difficulties][fun][maps][map][level][levels][mechanics][controls][mechanic][balance][balancing][physics][
pace][pacing][paced][balanced][movement][replayability][unbalanced][unresponsive][sluggish]"
ByFreq = True
Selection.HomeKey Unit:=wdStory
System.Cursor = wdCursorWait
WordNum = 0
NumVisuals = 0
NumAural = 0
NumSetting = 0
NumStory = 0
NumBugs = 0
NumVariation = 0
NumGameplay = 0
CurrentArray = 0
ttlwds = ActiveDocument.Words.Count
' Control the repeat
For Each aword In ActiveDocument.Words
SingleWord = Trim(LCase(aword))
WordFound = False
If SingleWord < "a" Or SingleWord > "z" Then
SingleWord = ""
End If
If InStr(Visuals, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
SingleWord = SingleWord
CurrentArray = 1
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Aural, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
CurrentArray = 2
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Setting, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
CurrentArray = 3
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Story, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
CurrentArray = 4
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Bugs, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
CurrentArray = 5
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Variation, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
73
CurrentArray = 6
WordFound = True
End If
If InStr(Gameplay, "[" & SingleWord & "]") Then
CurrentArray = 7
WordFound = True
End If
If WordFound = False Then
SingleWord = ""
End If
If Len(SingleWord) > 0 Then
Found = False
'Visuals
For j = 1 To NumVisuals
If WordsVisuals(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqVisuals(j) = FreqVisuals(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
If Not Found Then
'Aural
For j = 1 To NumAural
If WordsAural(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqAural(j) = FreqAural(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
'Setting
For j = 1 To NumSetting
If WordsSetting(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqSetting(j) = FreqSetting(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
'Story
For j = 1 To NumStory
If WordsStory(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqStory(j) = FreqStory(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
'Bugs
For j = 1 To NumBugs
If WordsBugs(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqBugs(j) = FreqBugs(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
74
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
'Variation
For j = 1 To NumVariation
If WordsVariation(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqVariation(j) = FreqVariation(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
'Gameplay
For j = 1 To NumGameplay
If WordsGameplay(j) = SingleWord Then
FreqGameplay(j) = FreqGameplay(j) + 1
Found = True
End If
Next j
End If
If Not Found Then
If CurrentArray = 1 Then
NumVisuals = NumVisuals + 1
WordsVisuals(NumVisuals) = SingleWord
FreqVisuals(NumVisuals) = 1
End If
NumAural = NumAural + 1
WordsAural(NumAural) = SingleWord
FreqAural(NumAural) = 1
End If
NumSetting = NumSetting + 1
WordsSetting(NumSetting) = SingleWord
FreqSetting(NumSetting) = 1
End If
NumStory = NumStory + 1
WordsStory(NumStory) = SingleWord
FreqStory(NumStory) = 1
End If
NumBugs = NumBugs + 1
WordsBugs(NumBugs) = SingleWord
FreqBugs(NumBugs) = 1
End If
NumVariation = NumVariation + 1
WordsVariation(NumVariation) = SingleWord
FreqVariation(NumVariation) = 1
End If
75
NumGameplay = NumGameplay + 1
WordsGameplay(NumGameplay) = SingleWord
FreqGameplay(NumGameplay) = 1
End If
WordNum = WordNum + 1
'Freq(WordNum) = 1
End If
If WordNum > maxwords - 1 Then
j = MsgBox("Too many words.", vbOKOnly)
Exit For
End If
End If
ttlwds = ttlwds - 1
'StatusBar = "Remaining: " & ttlwds & ", Unique: " & WordNum
Next aword
' Now sort it into word order
For j = 1 To NumVisuals - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumVisuals
If (Not ByFreq And WordsVisuals(l) < WordsVisuals(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqVisuals(l) > FreqVisuals(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsVisuals(j)
WordsVisuals(j) = WordsVisuals(k)
WordsVisuals(k) = tword
Temp = FreqVisuals(j)
FreqVisuals(j) = FreqVisuals(k)
FreqVisuals(k) = Temp
End If
' StatusBar = "Sorting: " & WordNum - j
Next j
For j = 1 To NumAural - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumAural
If (Not ByFreq And WordsAural(l) < WordsAural(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqAural(l) > FreqAural(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsAural(j)
WordsAural(j) = WordsAural(k)
WordsAural(k) = tword
Temp = FreqAural(j)
FreqAural(j) = FreqAural(k)
FreqAural(k) = Temp
End If
' StatusBar = "Sorting: " & WordNum - j
Next j
For j = 1 To NumSetting - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumSetting
If (Not ByFreq And WordsSetting(l) < WordsSetting(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqSetting(l) > FreqSetting(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
76
tword = WordsSetting(j)
WordsSetting(j) = WordsSetting(k)
WordsSetting(k) = tword
Temp = FreqSetting(j)
FreqSetting(j) = FreqSetting(k)
FreqSetting(k) = Temp
End If
Next j
For j = 1 To NumStory - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumStory
If (Not ByFreq And WordsStory(l) < WordsStory(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqStory(l) > FreqStory(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsStory(j)
WordsStory(j) = WordsStory(k)
WordsStory(k) = tword
Temp = FreqStory(j)
FreqStory(j) = FreqStory(k)
FreqStory(k) = Temp
End If
Next j
For j = 1 To NumBugs - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumBugs
If (Not ByFreq And WordsBugs(l) < WordsBugs(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqBugs(l) > FreqBugs(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsBugs(j)
WordsBugs(j) = WordsBugs(k)
WordsBugs(k) = tword
Temp = FreqBugs(j)
FreqBugs(j) = FreqBugs(k)
FreqBugs(k) = Temp
End If
Next j
For j = 1 To NumVariation - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumVariation
If (Not ByFreq And WordsVariation(l) < WordsVariation(k)) _
Or (ByFreq And FreqVariation(l) > FreqVariation(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsVariation(j)
WordsVariation(j) = WordsVariation(k)
WordsVariation(k) = tword
Temp = FreqVariation(j)
FreqVariation(j) = FreqVariation(k)
FreqVariation(k) = Temp
End If
Next j
For j = 1 To NumGameplay - 1
k=j
For l = j + 1 To NumGameplay
If (Not ByFreq And WordsGameplay(l) < WordsGameplay(k)) _
77
Or (ByFreq And FreqGameplay(l) > FreqGameplay(k)) Then k = l
Next l
If k <> j Then
tword = WordsGameplay(j)
WordsGameplay(j) = WordsGameplay(k)
WordsGameplay(k) = tword
Temp = FreqGameplay(j)
FreqGameplay(j) = FreqGameplay(k)
FreqGameplay(k) = Temp
End If
Next j
' Now write out the results
tmpName = ActiveDocument.AttachedTemplate.FullName
Documents.Add Template:=tmpName, NewTemplate:=False
Selection.ParagraphFormat.TabStops.ClearAll
With Selection
.TypeText Text:=Trim("") _
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Visuals: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumVisuals) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumVisuals
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqVisuals(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsVisuals(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Aural: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumAural) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumAural
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqAural(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsAural(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Setting: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumSetting) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumSetting
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqSetting(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsSetting(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Story: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumStory) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumStory
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqStory(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsStory(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
78
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Bugs: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumBugs) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumBugs
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqBugs(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsBugs(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Variation: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumVariation) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumVariation
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqVariation(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsVariation(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
& vbCrLf
.TypeText Text:=Trim("Gameplay: ")
.TypeText Text:=Trim(NumGameplay) _
& vbCrLf
For j = 1 To NumGameplay
.TypeText Text:=Trim(Str(FreqGameplay(j))) _
& vbTab & WordsGameplay(j) & vbCrLf
Next j
End With
System.Cursor = wdCursorNormal
j = MsgBox("There were " & Trim(Str(WordNum)) & _
" different words ", vbOKOnly, "Finished")
End Sub
79
9.5 Appendix E – Category frequencies
Gameplay: Σ 2662
260
multiplayer
235
gameplay
206
action
177
team
160
online
153
campaign
147
shooter
137
combat
121
mode
108
war
90
battle
85
difficulty
82
modes
64
options
63
button
52
shooters
51
deathmatch
46
battles
46
free
40
version
39
stealth
38
challenge
37
ratings
34
concept
33
genre
25
skills
25
speed
23
tactics
22
rpg
21
limited
21
linear
21
classes
Experience: Σ 225
145
experience
45
moment
35
love
Time: Σ 808
299
112
100
69
54
46
42
30
30
26
time
long
hours
years
short
year
fast
longer
hour
quick
Setting: Σ 2068
174
158
136
135
96
91
89
89
83
64
57
47
46
44
44
43
42
42
41
41
39
37
33
33
32
29
29
29
28
28
27
27
25
25
22
22
21
20
level
little
levels
world
city
map
big
open
maps
environments
setting
sequences
huge
machine
scenes
room
environment
large
areas
metal
elements
wall
water
air
objects
blood
space
fortress
universe
walls
box
battlefield
base
planet
building
planets
machines
corner
Enemies / Friendlies: Σ 965
258
enemies
183
enemy
76
soldiers
65
alien
55
soldier
48
sniper
43
squad
41
human
38
aliens
38
boss
36
friends
36
teammates
25
friend
23
military
80
Mechanics / tools: Σ 1854
180
weapons
155
cover
102
ai
93
gun
90
weapon
81
power
59
powers
57
life
56
guns
54
ability
52
health
49
damage
47
features
47
camera
45
grenades
44
mechanics
43
controls
42
vehicles
41
bullets
39
abilities
35
grenade
35
rifle
33
vehicle
32
engine
30
gravity
29
armor
29
tank
28
shotgun
25
bullet
25
ammo
24
turret
23
mechanic
23
rocket
22
chainsaw
21
hammer
20
gunfire
20
physics
Visuals: Σ 761
124
97
69
53
39
38
38
37
36
32
31
31
30
24
22
20
20
20
graphics
effects
visuals
style
light
image
visual
details
effect
detail
textures
models
explosions
detailed
lighting
texture
smoke
art
Aural: Σ 288
166
67
31
24
sound
music
soundtrack
audio
Performance / Bugs: Σ 157
42
issues
39
problems
27
broken
27
bugs
22
fps
Variation: Σ 406
141
57
44
37
31
26
25
25
20
different
variety
unique
original
similar
mix
repetitive
generic
bland
Story: Σ 1093
199
156
104
92
81
79
67
64
50
41
31
29
26
26
24
24
story
character
characters
voice
mission
moments
missions
plot
dialogue
storyline
objectives
chapter
act
narrative
cutscenes
cinematic
81
9.6 Appendix F – HL2E2 analysis
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part I
Countryside
5
Clear skies
Daytime
Story
1
Zombies
Fast zombies
Crab-covered zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Very Large
Portal Storm
The combine portals are unstable
Low frequency stormlike
NA
X
X
Image
82
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Mines
2
NA
NA
Gravity-gun
4
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Narrow
NA
NA
Low frequency humming
NA
X
X
Image
83
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part III
Countryside
4
Clear skies
Daytime
Story
1
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small
NA
The player must deliver vital information
NA
Image
84
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part IV
Mines
1
NA
NA
Puzzle
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small
Animated event
NA
NA
X
Image
85
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 1: To the White Forest - Part V
Countryside
6
Clear skies
Daytime
Story
1
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Medium/large
NA
Learn about Hunters + Must save Alyx
Sounds of Hunters nearby
NA
Image
86
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part I
Mines
2
NA
NA
Puzzle
3
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small
NA
Regroup with the vortigaun
Low frequency machines
NA
X
Image
87
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part II
Underground
1
NA
NA
Explore
1
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small
NA
NA
High frequency animal sounds
NA
Image
88
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part III
Mines
1
NA
NA
Fight
5
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small
NA
X
Sounds of ant lions
NA
Image
89
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part IV
Underground
6
NA
NA
Fight
6
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Medium
NA
NA
Sounds of ant lions
NA
X
X
X
Image
90
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part V
Mines
12
NA
NA
Hold ground
7
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
X
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
medium
NA
NA
Ant lions + sounds of antlion radar warnings.
NA
Image
91
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VI
Mines
3
NA
NA
Hold ground
8
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
X
Ant lion workers
X
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
medium
NA
NA
Ant lions + sounds of antlion radar warnings.
Yes
Image
92
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VII
Mines
6
NA
NA
Fight
6
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Medium/large
NA
Need Ant lion essence to save Alyx
Sounds of ant lions
NA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Image
93
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part VIII
Underground
6
NA
NA
Fight
7
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Medium/large
NA
NA
Sounds of ant lions
NA
X
X
X
X
X
X
Image
94
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part IX
Mines
4
NA
NA
Puzzle
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Medium/large
NA
NA
Low frequency hum
NA
Image
95
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part X
Underground
10
NA
NA
Escape
9
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Small/Medium
NA
NA
Low frequency hum
NA
X
Image
96
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 2: This Vortal Coil - Part XI
Mines
7
NA
NA
Story
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
Medium
NA
Main storyline info about G-man
Low frequency hum
NA
Image
97
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part I
Countryside
3
Clear skies
Daytime
Story
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Very large
NA
Alert the rebellion of the combine attack
Sounds of Gunships in the distance
NA
Image
98
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part II
Countryside
5
Clear skies
Daytime
Boss
8
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
X
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
X
Ant lion guards
X
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
large
NA
NA
Thumping of big hammers , low frequency
NA
Image
99
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part III
Countryside
2
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Puzzle
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
small
NA
NA
Wind
NA
X
Image
100
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part IV
Factory
2
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Story
1
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Large
NA
NA
Wind
NA
Image
101
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part V
Factory
2
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Explore
3
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Primarily inside
small
NA
NA
Zombie screams
NA
X
Image
102
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VI
Factory
4
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Fight
6
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
small
NA
NA
Zombie screams
NA
X
X
X
X
X
Image
103
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VII
Factory
6
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Fight
7
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Medium
NA
NA
Zombies
NA
X
X
X
X
X
X
X
Image
104
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part VIII
Factory
3
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Fight
4
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Inside
small
NA
NA
Low freq humming
NA
X
X
Image
105
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part IX
Factory
6
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Confined-fight
8
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Medium
NA
NA
Sounds of the Geiger counter
Electronic
X
X
X
X
X
Image
106
Level name
Setting
Length
Weather
Time of day
Gameplay
Intensity out of 10
Enemies
Inside/outside
Large/small size
Player Reward
Story Setup
Ambient soundscape
Music
Color scheme
Chapter 3: Freeman Pontifex - Part X
Countryside
4
Clear skies
Late afternoon
Puzzle
2
Zombies
Fast zombies
Grenade Zombies
Leg-less Zombies
Head-crab
Poison head-crab
Barnacles
Ant lions
Ant lion workers
Acid lions
Ant lion guards
Combines
Combine elites
Snipers
Turrets
Striders
Hunters
Gunships
Outside
Large
Portal blast + bridge collapse
Get Car to proceed
Squeaking bridge
NA
Image
107

Patterns of Contrast

Transcription

Similar documents

zombies - Games Workshop

abstract

Friday the 13th! June 13th-14th, 2014

Check out the 8 page preview by clicking here.

TRANSPORTATION

FACeTS FACeTS - A Snowmobile for George

Oct 2013 reg layout

Official Rules

zombies ate my nieghbors

Untitled