TWISTER INTERFACE: INTERFACE DESIGN AND JUSTIFICATIONS

       Research for this assignment inspired changes in the final mock-up interface for Twister: Kinect. In fact, it even inspired changes to the mechanics of the game. Ideas considered interesting were scrapped due to unsuitability, whereas other ideas where refined and eventually, the final interface was developed below. I must note; the graphical prowess of this interface inst outstanding, but it is supposed to be a 'mock-up'.

TWISTER: KINECT - INTERFACE MOCK-UP
by Christian Whelan

       Designed by Charles Foley with success in 1966, Twister is the classic and nostalgic, physical party game. It’s physically demanding spotted mat is identifiable with the game’s name, rules and even memories. Thus, when replicating a twister experience digitally using Kinect, it’s important not to just replicate mechanics, but rather the spirit of Twister – laughs, comedy and memories. This goal ensures digital Twister is faithful, whilst offering the new through nostalgia and hardware. First – research.

SECTION ONE: RESEARCH ON UI DESIGN AND FEEDBACK

             Before designing the interface for Twister, it’s important to research examples within the same genre – Party Games. Two games will drive this research, Buzz and Wii Party - games that prove incredibly popular amongst its audience, an audience Twister: Kinect shares.

    Two statements ring true with examples below - “truly great user interfaces are the ones that are engineered to stay out of the way” (Teamtreehouse, Sollenbourger. K, 2012) and interfaces “…keep the user entertained” (Toastytech, 2007) through feedback and variety. Looking at the interfaces of Buzz and Wii Party, today’s HCI objectives are noticeable. Buzz and Wii Party are party games focused on the players. Instantly (which is important), three things are noticeable about the interfaces – affordances, pop out effects and simplicity. All are in effect within the “safe frame” (Level Up! , R. Scott, 2010) - information is presented in a thematic and fun way, whilst working in seamless co-operation to assist players in actually playing the game.

   Party games are multiplayer focused; therefore crucial aspect is distinguishing players between one another and highlighting which player controls which avatar. Here, the character’s avatars are paired with their attributes so players can keep track of theirs and others ‘personal’ stats. It’s a great idea that is undoubtedly achieved through images, text and attributes – these are HCI affordances. Affordances to be utilised in the Twister interface.

  The second aspect is the way pop-out effects are used to enhance affordances. Colours, borders, text colours, fonts and weight are key in facilitating gameplay as Sollenbourger states, “The size, color, and placement of each element work together, creating a clear path to understanding…” (2012). Buzz uses it to facilitate controls, whereas Wii Party uses it to distinguish the players’ avatars – both concepts needed for Twister that uses colour as a primary mechanic. The final aspect is the colour pallet – a rule of three comes into play, ensuring the interfaces are consistent and understandable as Sollenbourger supports.

   The final aspect of the user interfaces is simplicity. Only details that are crucial are visible as Sollenbourger continues to support “Does the user really need this?” (Teeamtreehouse, 2012) when discussing what should be asked when designing interfaces. This answer is exaggerated in the images to the right. In Buzz, all the players require, are attributes that highlight progress, information needed to progress, and information that determines the game. In Buzz, there’s the player information, questions / answers and the timer. In Wii Party, there’s the HUD avatar, score and timer. There is a praxis, one to be adopted in Twister’s interface.

    Visual, Aural and Tactile feedback is a trio that bring interfaces to life, keeping entertainment flowing and enhancing the game’s “feel”. Buzz and Wii Sport use the aforementioned. Visual effects, sounds and animation for buttons, successions, progressions and failures show that every single action has all three to increase polish as Sollenbourgh supports that “Your interface should at all times speak to your user, when his/her actions are both right and wrong or misunderstood.” (Teamtreehouse, 2012). Rogers also supports that “…there can never be too many fireworks!” (Level Up! , 2010). There is never s a second that goes by without a sound playing as a result of a player’s actions - effects such as shaking buttons, highlighted borders and sweeping sounds add to the games feel. It is incredibly important when Twister: Kinect has no physical controller – the entirety of Twister: Kinect’s feel will have to be reflected through discernible animations, visuals and sounds – diegetic, non-diegetic and spatial, as an interface is not just the HUD, it’s also the game environment.

         Conclusively, as Twister: Kinect has no physical controller; the game’s success is down to the interfaces and feedback– it has to be simple, readable and discernible. By researching Buzz and Wii Party, it is clear what works in interface design and what doesn’t. With feedback, more is better - even the subtle details adds to the experience.

SECTION TWO: COMPLETE UI DESCRIPTION

              Taking the interface and feedback research carried out on Buzz and Wii party, the Twister: Kinect’s multiple interfaces began development with many iterations and versions, changing as the mechanics informed the design. In the end, multiple modes required multiple interfaces and forms of feedback, all of which are consistent in theme - Twister: Kinect became familiar, but something new, adopting the entertainment show setting of the popular Buzz titles. In-game, the interface adopts the design of the game show, with the centre stage and contestants illuminated in strobe lights, and the HUD projecting key game attributes and properties (lives, character names, coloured spots).

    The most logical way to explain and justify the interface is it categorise the elements into diegetic and non-diegetic design aspects whilst referencing the mock-up interface design, concluding with an explanation of feedbacks that would give Twister: Kinect the polish many party games have. Foremost we have the diegetic design elements.

     There are only two diegetic design elements in Twister: Kinect - the projected player avatar and the in-game twister mat. Both of which are set in the game show themed environment and crucial in allowing the player to play the game. Foremost we have the mat. This is without a doubt, the most significant aspect of the interface, as players will reference it constantly throughout the play session, because of this, just like any other game avatar, it is central in the interface, illuminated by surrounding strobe lights – players will naturally be drawn to it as it’s their game environment. It is their means to success, just like the physical mat would be in the classic game of twister. Equally as important, is the avatar, the player’s themselves will be projected into the game environment using Kinects motion sensor technology. With these two diegetic design aspects, players would know where to move, where they are and how to get there, but there is still a lot missing - players do not know who they are. Colours are a crucial part of the solution, along with many other details. This is where the non-diegetic design elements come into play, with layout, colour, scaling and affordances.

     Player attributes, player properties, the spinner and the scores – the four crucial key elements that make up the non-diegetic interface of Twister. It could be said that because of the theme of the game (game show) that the in-game avatar are aware of these aspect, thus they create a diegetic interface, however, considering the in-game avatars are in fact the player’s themselves, the interface is still non-diegetic – it’s a required fourth wall, that just happens to be tied into the game’s thematic world.

     At this point, players have a virtual mat, an avatar and a virtual environment, but now player need a mechanic to the play the game – the spinner. This second half of the classic Twister game is again, central in the screen but remains for the majority of the game half its usable size, never hidden and never faded due to its constant use. With each player turn, the player would shout “Twister Spin”, bringing up the spinner, then automatically spinning. Once the spin is completed and colour and a limb is selected for that player. It’ is important to note that the spinner adopts the same design as it always has – four sections with the twister colours and an arrow. It is from this point the character attributes make themselves noticed to the players.

     In each corner for each player (one to four) everything the player could possibly need is contained, organised in a hierarchy of importance as Rogers states “use hierarchy to organise your HUD” (Level Up!, 2010). First is the player gamer tag gamer picture – the two aspects that the player will instantly identify with. These are also the largest of the elements. Following, in the same section, are the player’s lives, determined by how many slips the player has during the game. Why do the lives sit here? The reasoning rests in its importance, considering the lives determine the win/ lose scenarios, the player will want to have this information instantly, thus it is grouped with all the other important player information. Finally, as an offshoot from this section but still within the same corners, the colour circle sits, large and more central to the screen to highlight its importance. Once the spinner returns to original smaller size after the spin, this is the UI element that will tell the payer where they are to go next.

       Moving onwards, the player attributes and their positioning around each other was decided at an early stage. The positioning around the screen however, had seen iterations. It was all about ensuring the layout was simple, intuitive and understandable but on the most part invisible, as Rogers states “the HUD should be practically invisible” (2010). Only when the player needs information should they see the HUD, so in response to this fact, the player attributes where scattered to either corner as far as possible and minimised to a small but readable size so the player could focus on the action.

     With everything in the position and size it needed to be, it was all about using colour to offer affordances to the players – players need something to identify their avatar with in co-operation with their attributes. Thus, taking the colour scheme of twister and applying a colour to each player meant they instantly knew who they were, as the avatars share the same colour. Simultaneously, players can find their own information easily using colour association swiftly adopted due to the simple interface. It’s a simple but effective technique, that caries the bold theme whilst facilitating the gameplay – a goal from the start of this process.

    Finally, the score is central and adopts this colour coding technique. In Twister: Kinect, players are in competition, so the score it the focal point at the end of each game. Therefore, the scoreboard s both central and colour coded, the players can find it and recognise the scores relationship with each player.

        Now that the literal design of the UI has been explained, the feedback needs to be detailed. Feedback is incredibly important in Twister: Kinect. It gives the controller lacking game the feel the common controller provides. Therefore, literally every action has a sound, animation and accompanying graphic as Sollengerger supports “always provide feedback so the user doesn’t get bored” (2010).

    Starting with the obvious, music continuously plays as the game plays. As the game progresses and the positions increase in difficulty, the music’s tempo quickens to increase tension and excitement for the pending fall. At this point, it suddenly stops as crowds cheer, only for a new track to start and to add variety. Notable, is that as soon as the player falls or loses a life, a recording of the fall / slip plays whilst simultaneously showing snapshots of the players face as he / she does. It’s an entertaining bonus that could provoke falling just for that captured memory. Additionally, as the capture replays to the player, the in-game audience laughs with them – these subtle effects add to the feedback. The most commons sounds and effects however, are during the balancing act of staying in the game. As player desperately balance and change positions, buzzwords shoot on screen under the appropriate players attributes with the commentator shouting them – “Watch out” or “Great work!”. Various other sound bites play as fireworks set off and glitter falls off the screen. It’s an attempt to reward the player for their every move, something classic physical twister cannot provide. In doing so, the player can feel the game interact with them – theirs and the games actions are discernible.

Eventually, as stated, they fall. When this happens, the spinner is activated through a voice command. When the player activates the spinner, swooping sounds take over followed by the creaking and cracking of the turning wheel as it activates, speeds up and slows down to a halt to land on the limb assigned colour. When a colour is select, it shoots out of the screen with fireworks and the commentator dictates the next move. It then falls back to the players attributes with a crash and the spinner minimises with yet more swooping sounds. It is at this point where the game is at its most quiet – the player is attempting to reach the next position as players watch the screen.

      So, after an entire game of swopping, fireworks, shouting commentators and audience cheers, a player is left standing, wining the round or entire match. At this point the HUD swiftly zooms off screen disappears, the camera zooms in, the player is prompted to hold a winning pose as the game takes a photo and compiles it with the match’s best bits. To top it off, a chosen custom song plays for him / her whilst people begin for the next match. It’s a final reward for the victor that is personal and incredibly unique whilst fitting with the part atmosphere, keeping the party going and in turn, keeping the games going. It’s a feedback feature that Twister: Kinect owns.

      In all, the feedback in Twister: Kinect ensures that there is never a moment that passes where nothing is happening. Because of this, entertainment is prolonged, enhancing the twister experience, offering something familiar but something new. When it comes to the UI, User Interfaces should primarily facilitate gameplay - it should be informative, accessible, understandable but simple. Scott Rogers best summarises a game UI’s by stating “…the goal of these screens is to communicate clearly and efficiently to the player” (Level Up! , Scott Roger, 2010). Game interfaces share the same theory of the common computer interface, but they shouldn’t be the focal point of the experience – they create the fourth wall and become a double edged sword. The interface designed for Twister: Kinect follows this praxis, much like Buzz or Wii party. And the fourth wall, that is inevitable, is meaningful used to enhance gameplay. But players need controls to play the game. What are the Kinect controls and why us Kinect?

SECTION THREE: CONTROL SCHEME WITH OVERLAID INDICATOR

      In Twister: Kinect, controls have to be a seamless social activity, not an isolated activity as social play is the heart of Twister – the “interaction of multiple players.” (Zimmernman, Rules of Play, 2004). Thus, intuitive, discernible and entertaining are the three goals when designing the controls of Twister: Kinect. Two things make this possible – hand gestures and voice controls that should be “intuitive to the player” (Rogers. S, 2010). Too many motion controls and affordances can confuse for players, so blurring the gap between intention and physical action is key - “motion controllers should be broad and mimic reality” (Rogers. S, Level Up, 2010).

     Two questions needed answering through Kinect controls - how do players navigate interfaces and how do players play. With interface navigation, there are two options – twister positions (for added entertainment), or hand gestures and voice controls (selectable on start-up). If the player chooses to use Twister poses to navigate menus, each selection presents players difficult comedic poses, these poses are shown using non diegetic silhouettes (see below) coupled with the menu selections so players would instantly recognise their relationship. In addition, it increases entertainment as getting to the game is a now spectators sport and therefore, entertaining for all.  On the other hand, if players choose the standard gesture and voice controls, controls are less ‘obviously’ fun, rather they are simple and effective when you consider feedback and that Twister: Kinect only requires three gestures and intuitive voice commands. Again, it comes back to the Roger’s statement that “motion controllers should be broad and mimic reality”. Players will face four points of interaction – selecting, quitting, pausing and recording.

      To select, the player would place their hand over the selection and continuously wave until the selection smashes and takes the player to the next screen – quite standard. To quit or go back, for example, going back to the main menu from the House Party interface, the player would perform a bold swiping gesture from left to right, rolling a twister mat over the screen the reveal the next interface, similar to a smart phone. The reasoning behind this interaction is through a statement that rings true, especially now touch screens are as common as they are now, as Scott Rogers states “consider emulating control schemes” as it is “familiar” (2010) and therefore, less confusing. Pausing is more complicated, the only time the player would pause is during an in-progress game of a twister, which with hand gestures would definitely interrupt the game’s flow. Naturally, players would use voice controls to pause the game with the “Pause Game” voice command, but in order to do so physically, all players would have to put one arm straight in the air, which although impractical, would be an entertaining form of social co-operation. Of course, this specific gesture would be explained during the loading screen and in-game through affordance hints. Through three simple gestures, the player can navigate the entire interface, but make use of all the hardware.

  Voice control is the third and most important of the three control methods. It’s enabled throughout the entire game and most the efficient control method in-game due to its seamless and intuitive nature that prevents player frustration. It works exactly like it should, by accepting a variety of literal voice commands. If players wish to select the “House Party” mode, then the player would state “Select House Party” and so on. Microsoft used the Xbox dashboard, the most important interface of a console, as the promotional demo for Kinects voice control – Twister: Kinect shares the same intuitive voice control functionality. Most importantly however, is the voice recognition used to control the spinner, the primary mechanic, in which case the players would shout “Twister Spin!” when ready for the next move. At this point, the spinner would zoom and centre and animate accordingly. The variety of voice commands are detailed below.

    When playing the game, controls are passive and unintentional by players. The Kinect’s joint recognition would compare player’s position with the in-game twister mat. If there one or more limbs leave this zone, players loose a life. Likewise, if the player’s hands are on the mats circles, then they are safe, allowing the game to continue on. Couple this passive background control with the voice and gesture controls and Twist: Kinect is a game that utilises Kinect to its fullest whilst remaining intuitive enough to not interrupt the heart and soul of the game.

SECTION FOUR: CONTROLLER JUSTIFICATION

             Kinect is a “controller-free gaming experience using physical gestures and movements, replicating them onscreen” (Gadget Show, 2009). In comparison, Twister revolves around physicality. Considering Twister requires full body movement, the PlayStation’s and Nintendo Wii’s controllers aren’t appropriate for Twister: Kinect. 

       At the core of Twister: Kinect is a faithful digital recreation of the classic game. There is a plethora of controller options available, but it seemed Twister’s iconic rules and gameplay prompted at only two viable options – a connected physical mat (replica of the common twister mat), and the Kinect motion sensor. In the end, it was the mechanics and ideas at the design stage which prompted Kinect to overshadow the normally, equally viable mat option - physical controllers are designed for other gameplay styles, they would physically prevent players from playing twister, thus, preventing immersion and damaging what makes twister so fun. These four mechanics are joint recognition, gesture recognition, voice control and video and image capturing. 

      Firstly and most significantly, we have joint recognition as James Rivington states “your body is the controller” (TechRadar, 2010) when discussing Kinects main unique selling point. When twister revolves entirely around the body and Kinects main USP revolves around recognising the body, it is clear that Kinect is the suitable choice when Twister: Kinect’s main mechanic is considered, as Rivington continues on to say “It measures the positioning of 48 key joints in your anatomy and by tracking the movements of these joints, it can work out exactly what position your body is in.” (2011). It is the only controller that registers every joint, and outputs the desired response – it is designed for physical games like twister. But the physical mat peripheral can mimic this functionality at an equally entertaining level, it’s the other mechanics of Twister: Kinect that highlight the physical matt’s shortcomings.

   If a physical mat was utilised for a basic remake, there would be no benefits to using the Kinect over a physical peripheral, but when players switch to the conventional controller to navigate interfaces, there is a fourth wall – one that classic Twister avoids. Kinect however, has gesture recognition, it “uses the camera and microphone to work out what you're doing” as Rivington continues. Players use gestures to navigate menus – it’ a seamless experience.

    To enhance this point, gameplay in Twister: Kinect starts before the game begins (the menu), the traditional controller’s analogue sticks do not offer the athletic, tactile feel Kinect offers in this mini-game – players actually make the poses required to select a menu option and as Scott Rogers states, a game should “keep the gamer playing” (Level Up! , 2011). Considering the game’s USPs match the USPs of the Kinect, the physical mat or conventional controller has blatant downfalls. Additional mechanics of Twister: Kinect also justify Kinect use.

    Penultimately, as Rivington supports, Kinect has voice control. It was specifically promoted for navigating interfaces or enhancing gameplay by breaking the fourth wall. Mass Effect 3’s dialog and the Xbox dashboard are notable examples. Considering the point made regarding other controllers lacking suitability for Twister, it made sense that Twister: Kinect would have optional voice controls so players never stop playing. They could say “Spin the spinner” or “Record” to control the game. Other controllers could provide this, but they pose a physical barrier.

    This leads onto the final justification for Kinect use, one that also further justifies voice controls – the Snapshots mechanic. Automatically or when prompted, images and the last 10 seconds or 3 minutes of gameplay are recorded, saved and ready to be shared. It’s a mechanics that solidifies the spirit of Twister – fond memories. It’s a key mechanic that is utilised every time a player falls and plays on the non-diegetic interface for further entertainment. Without this, the game would not be as entertaining, as it provides reward from failure. There’s only one controller that allows this whilst still retaining the benefits a digital Twister needs – Kinect.

      

      Clearly, Twister: Kinect was inspired by and designed around the Kinect motion controller. It fully utilises its gaming benefits to enhance the Twister experience. Now, players don’t just play Twister, they play Twister before they player Twister, record and picture themselves playing twister, and share their memories with family and other Twister players. It’s the enhanced, modern Twister, which focuses on what Twister is about - controller free, unique family fun, only possible by Kinect.

NEXT POST: REPETITIVE CASUAL GAME: INITIAL CONCEPT AND IDEAS

TWISTER INTERFACE: MOCK-UPS

         Replicate the classic party game Twister on a games console - the task of the 9th assignment of the year. When handed this assignment, I instantly thought of Kinect. Although I'm not a massive fan of the device, it seems only suitable that a party game that requires free hands, uses a platform that gives you freedom of movement with your limbs. So, rather than the Wii Controller, the Move Controller or the Xbox Controller, Kienct seems the perfect choice. Especially when it can recognise depth, augment reality, distinguish between limbs, and provide accessible voice controls.

     To me, simplicity, decoration and being faithful with the classic game is important. I want to embrace the nature of a party to facilitate laughs and therefore entertainment value - exactly the reason Twister is so popular. I shall justify these aspects at a further stage when I discuss the mechanics and feedback systems, the below designs are purely basic mock-ups.

    So, I've chosen three modes - Party Mode (in the room), Online Mode and Endurance Mode (Single Player). This was in hopes to cater for all audiences whilst retaining twister's physical spirit central to the games mechanic (again, I shall justify this at a later point). I want to take a handful of mechanics, and re-use them in different contexts to change up the game-play. Anyway, have a look at the mock-ups drawn over my ancient television.

TWISTER: KINECT - INTERFACE MOCK UPS
by Christian Whelan

TWISTER: KINECT - MAIN MENU MOCK UP
by Christian Whelan

TWISTER: KINECT - DIAGETIC MOCK UP
by Christian Whelan

TWISTER: KINECT - NONDIAGETIC MOCK UP
by Christian Whelan

TWISTER: KINECT - ENDURANCE MODE MOCK UP
by Christian Whelan

MAIN MENU - Simplistic, thematic, functional. Players won't be spending too much time on the menu, the chances are, they would play the game at an event or party to get straight to the instantaneous physical fun.

PARTY MODE - The classic and most popular family fun mode, so therefore the first choice on the Main Menu. Here, two or three players would go head to head on screen using an augmented reality twister mat. Maybe they have lives, or lives for each limb? At the moment, I am brainstorming the possibilities of the lives mechanic and what it can bring to the game.

ONLINE MODE - The same as the Party Mode, only players will compete online, taking advantage of Kinect's ability to augment reality. The players are augmented onto each others screens using collision detection, visual effects and feedback to restrict movement (like in the classic mode).

ENDURANCE MODE - To cater for those who want exercise and fun alone, Endurance Mode is the Single Player mode of Twister: Kinect. The Spinner is AI controlled and random, but its speed and difficulty begin to increase as the game times how long you last in this berserk, limb twisting endurance mode.

        I feel I have a good foundation for an Xbox 360 Twister clone. Its the same classic game, but it also adds features to generate new laughs, thus increase the replay-ability value. Hopefully, once the feedback systems are in place and the pretty visuals are overlaid to "Juice" the game up, it should be a realised and successful concept. My fiancée already said "Oh my god! I want to play it now", so that a good sign I guess (unless she was being sarcastic to shut me up... as she usually does).

NEXT POST: TWISTER INTERFACE: INTERFACE DESIGN AND JUSTIFICATIONS

CHARACTER AND LEVEL DESIGNS

       Finally, I got the character and level design finished. Even though it was less formal and the character and level were inspired bya game idea I've had for a while now (Revenants), I found this assignment the hardest by far. Actually implementing what I've learnt over the months was more challenging that I could have imagined. I could design a character and level that including everything I've learnt, but it wouldn't mean it was a good level. 

    I had to design a character, his biography, his back story and the level the character would play in. To be honest, the character is my worst one yet - I guess not everything can be as perfect as you want it to be.

COMMENTS AND CRITICISMS APPRECIATED!

REVENANTS - FRONT COVER
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - CHARACTER DESIGN
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - CHARACTER INTERVIEW
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS -LEVEL WALKTHROUGH
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - LEVEL DESIGN (START)
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - LEVEL DESIGN (4TH FLOOR)
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - LEVEL DESIGN (3RD FLOOR)
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - LEVEL DESIGN (2ND FLOOR)
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS - LEVEL DESIGN (END)
by Christian Whelan

REVENANTS: THE CHARACTER BIOGRAPHY AND JUSTIFICATIONS

             Chris Mally, an unemployed, parent dependant, lethargic dreamer that buys his time with empty academic ventures – unfortunately today’s social stereotype of the average young adult. One that twenty two years old Chris Mally, the playable protagonist of Revenants, reluctantly conforms to but doesn’t take pride in, it’s a conditioned praxis only a relentlessly destructive event could ironically mend. Initially, he’s the representative character of the commoner. Penultimately, through the branching arc, he demonstrates physical and psychological characteristics until he flourishes as a symbolic character players empathise with through stories, in-game events and mechanics. His backstory plays a role in the ability to empathise with him and therefore the story and the game itself.

“Eighteen years in the same town, social circle and the pessimistic mind, Chris was a stay at home gamer. It’s an inferiority complex and a fear-triggered lack of motivation originating from family loss and his resultant illness. At four years old, Chris sat in the back of his mother’s car, innocently and unwillingly victim to the drunken crash that took his mother, naivety and health. Recovering from head trauma, stress triggered blinding migraines. Enforced expectations, workloads, negative social situations – all of the aforementioned crippled Chris’s vision through stress induced migraines, forcing him to spend the his years unable achieve goals – everything was out of reach because of his own mind and beliefs. At sixteen years old, succumbing to his socially detrimental illness, online browsing triggered an independent passion for parkour running. Chris developed this, but it was never of any result. With no job, and a fear of spending his life with unfulfilled potential, Chris applied for university, to delay getting a job. Ironically, Chris was forced to move into Manchester with his girlfriend, where again, he remained below average.”

       It’s an exaggerated representation of everyday life, the inability to strive for the better due to one’s own personal crippling doubts and expectations. It’s a weakness and emotional trigger, that although extreme, is still relatable, players will empathise with Chris, his worries and his lifestyle. Setting up a story that players will relate to, immerse themselves in and most importantly, care for as well as the characters within it. 

       To extend empathy levels for players, Chris’s two character traits, prompted and justified by moments in his life, serve more than just filler – they play vital roles in the game mechanics – Parkour Running and Migraines; his strengths and weaknesses balance not only as mechanics, but as character agency and empathy. Foremost to discuss, is his strength, something that Chris is actually good at. Scott Rogers declares, “…make sure your character is good at something.” (2010, Level Up! The Guide to Great Video Game Design). Parkour Running represents his practical function. He can run, jump, slide and wall run, but it also serves as a rewarding countermeasure for his weaknesses – Migraines and Fear (empathy). Whenever Chris comes into contact with any conflict, most notably the Infected, Chris’s, and therefore the player’s, vision is blurred – forcing players to utilise the Parkour mechanics to escape. 

       As a result of this balance, Chris is equally as weak as he is strong. But most importantly, the player feels empowered by utilising Chris’s passion of parkour that cures Chris’s weakness. This leads onto Chris’s antagonist. His foe is a larger force rather than an individual – the agile infected that cause the weakness. For undiscovered reasons, the population of the North West are infected; turning the pedestrian heavy Manchester into an Infected swarmed no man’s land. They stand, sit or lie in mobs. They hear or see, they scream, they sprint, and possibly kill Chris. Chris can attack if one on one, but in any other case he must escape. It creates the premise of the game world and its story and makes the characterisations playable. Thus, the player experience is richer and the character rounded and believable. Through this, Chris and the player would go on a journey that is relatable and inspiration on an emotional level.

       Chris has a backstory, traits, strengths and weaknesses brought on from events, but it’s important to discuss his name and appearance. Scott Rogers supports that a name “must suit the character” (2010, Level Up! The Guide to great Video Game Design). Chris is the average person, so he has a common forename, with an Irish surname – a culture often associated with personality. Chris Mally is an everyday, likeable guy. He isn’t a “Badass”, he’s an undiscovered hero with unfulfilled potential, forced into an extreme situation (the game’s premise).  Not too extreme of a character and personality that you can’t empathise, but not too redundant that the player doesn’t care. If players relate to the character, they care about the story, the actions and the events. They become internalised within the player, not just externally in the game. Finally, we have his superficial appearance (clothes and accessories) relate to the game premise and world. He wears a hoodie, to stay hidden, and jeans, because that’s all that was on sale when the infection struck - all of his clothes are scavenged (as you can see from the price tag). The sack is a key item in the game (but optional) where the player would collect as many items as possible and bring them back to a select safe location. The rips and the cuts are not from conflict, but from evasive free running in unsuitable clothing and panic.

REVENANTS: THE FIVE PART STORY ARC

     With this basis for a rounded, relatable character reflected through his story and abilities, Chris goes on a journey, conquers his fears and becomes who he’s always wanted to –all experienced through the five part branching story.

      

       Set between in a two month period, Revenants’ entire story takes place in modern day Manchester. Manchester, with a twisted premise – it’s been overrun by the SC100 pandemic and Chris Mally, the protagonist and avatar of Revenants, is forced to survive the now infected Manchester population, find his family and escape the alive. Facing fears and taking unfortunate circumstances as unconscious opportunities to better himself, Chris takes a journey as his character develops through the five part story arc. It begins at home, where he feels safe with his imperfections.

21st of December (Act One): Chris is surfing the web in his apartment, glimpsing the news - Act 1 begins; Chris’s call to adventure. The news advises people to stay indoors. Suddenly, the traffic is louder than usual. Beeping of horns are a racket, but the shouting outside is worse. Chris peers outside whilst the more independent Rachel checks on the shouting. In the street, a woman lies in traffic, bloodied and having a fit. She stops, stands up stationary, looks at the restless drivers and attacks them. Chris turns to shout Rachel when the shouting has been replaced with screaming as Rachel attempts to slam the door. The infected run inside as they both lock themselves in the bathroom, but the infected barge the door and knock Chris out. He wakes to find everyone gone.

22nd of December (Act One): Alone in silence, Chris rings Rachel to find her phone in the apartment. He manages to contact his panicked family in a dangerous predicament before being cut off. In an attempt to find Rachel, Chris explores the ransacked apartments, only to see the distant Hilton Hotel explode, foreshadowing events to come. Suddenly, Chris is chased out of the apartment and trapped in a storeroom. With only one way out, he escapes the infected, running to his family miles away. Thus begins Act 2 – overcoming the challenges along the way.

23rd December / 19th January (Act 2): Alone on his journey, Chris adapts by whilst scavenging for food, clothes and weapons, he is on the defence as the infected chase him on rooftops, though alley ways, on train tracks, in apartments, shopping centres and cinemas. Overcoming countless infected encounters and helping those who need it. He meets elderly Terrance and his wife May, trapped in their apartment who provide him with shelter; Alexander, a disturbed man in the cinema who betrays him and Sunny in the train station, an independent woman who assists his journey and shows him a document hinting at the location and truth of the pandemic’s cause. She is caught and, forcing Chris to finish his journey alone. Act 3 begins – overcoming the final evils of the circumstances.

20th January / 8th February 9 (Act 3): Chris reaches his family’s wrecked street. The front door is open and the downstairs empty. Upstairs, his family lies dead. With his sole dependence gone, Rachel and his brother Sean suddenly walk in. With conflicting emotions, he ensures their safety, and heads to the Hilton hotel, destroyed from the explosion and riveting with infected. He finds a document detailing the infection and the Euphoric Lab detailing the infections. It turns out the crash that killed his mother was a result of the virus being transported, he repressed the memory of the military cleaning the scene up and the source of the infection is a captive 22 year old girl pumped full of mind altering drugs. She attacks him; Chris traps her after a long conflicting chase, leaves with the document and burns the Hilton, unintentionally drawing all infected to him. Chris must get home on foot, constantly chased.

9th February / 10th February (Act 4): Returning to his family panicked and a changed person from the lessons and realisations he has experienced, it seemed that hope is lost when there are hints to infection beyond Manchester. A military vehicle plays an emergency broadcast, telling of an evacuation zone and cure for survivors at the Old Trafford Stadium. They frantically head their as the infected relentlessly pressure them. Outside Old Trafford, spot Lights turn on, bullets fire overhead, and they are quickly escorted by firing military into the stadium grounds, where choppers wait, taking Chris Rachel and Sean out of Manchester, leaving a view of thousands of infected below them.

21st of February onwards (Act 5): Parts of Manchester have been given the clear. Rachel, Chris, Sean and hundreds of survivors are taken by military trucks back into the areas restored and cleared. Chris is questioned and given a job helping restore Manchester as his now fiancée and brother stay at the safe zone providing help to others. 

     And so the story ends. Through five parts, Chris is put in a predicament with threats and a goal (save family from infected), he tries to overcome them but fails (family’s death), tries again but faces a larger problem (Euphoric Labs, realisation), until he is presented with the most challenging situation of which he resolves the problem (chased by Infected and escapes). Revenants’ story arc has structure, obstacles, threats, character development and a resolution. 

REVENANTS: LEVEL DESIGN, JUSTIFICATIONS AND STYLES

     Whilst it is true that the story allows the gameplay to be directed, and that visuals and audio styles and themes evoke emotions. Nothing directs the player more than indirect player control through the art of level design techniques such as tension, tempo, landmarks, and even sound and lighting effects. Balancing and carefully orchestrated these events allows for a varied level, full of different emotions and a satisfactory entertainment. As Jim Rossignol of PC Format magazine states level design is “one of the fundamental processes of game development.” (2010, PCFORMAT, Issue 234). A game designer determines the mechanics and how they’re played, the level designer creates the world in which the mechanics can be played

    The most method to justify the introduction apartment level of Revenants is to take justify each event in order, then discussing the visual styles, audio styles and inspirations. An important aspect to note is that the level without obstructions, would take 5 minutes to complete. The level with obstructions would therefore be 10 minutes. A good method of level pacing practice as Scott Rogers states that playing the game without obstacles or points of interest, should take ”half the time it will take you in the final game” (2010).

1: The first time the player takes control – when Chris wakes up after the encounter. As a blatant contrast to the intro cut scene, the daylight, the cleanliness and the ambient sound of pedestrians and most importantly, the chaos of the latter event have gone. What’s left is a ransacked apartment, the television on with no signal, blood on the walls and blood on the floor. The sudden alterations of the visual and sound environment creates tension and thus atmosphere as Bill Green states, “The contrast between the destruction and the once-beautiful architecture helps create a harrowing atmosphere” (2010, Gamestm.com). It is important design aspect, as the first few moment of the game set the tone for what’s to come. In a horror game, this should be tension and horror. The room is trashed, the room is blood-soaked, and the television isn’t functional – everything the player needs to know. The high tension and underlying excitement comes from not knowing the extent of what’s ahead and how the player can and will deal with when they face the first conflict, of which this level will build up towards. From this point, the blood smears lead out to the apartment hallway.

2: The second the player leaves the room following the bloodstains, they hear a thud and a crash, heightening the tension further as they look down the aftermath of the action – barricaded doors, bags packed outside apartments and flickering lights from damaged electrics. Its sets the tone and hints that maybe the player should not be here. The end of the corridor is lit brightly, casting a shadow of a wheelchair and seemingly a man not moving. As Neil Alphonso states, ““pointing people in the right directions with subtle visual aids: a light here, a blood trail there.” (2010, PCFORMAT) is great way to direct the play of a level. Clearly, the player will head towards the light, regardless of the clear danger due to anticipation. But what heightens the tension further (which is now at peak level) is the two rooms along the way. The bloodstains, presumably Rachel’s, lead to the next open apartment where the sound originated from, clearly accessible as the door is wide open. As they enter the apartment, the room is in worse condition than their own. The first thing players see is a messy bed, lit by the television (again, with no signal) hinting this is not an isolated accident. As they are drawn to the bed, a pan falls to the ground in their blind spot. As this happens there vision blurs, giving the player their first glimpse of the fear. A quick exploration of the room (or none) takes them back to the hallway and into the next room.

3: What takes them to the next room? Flickering light, bleeding through the ajar door – players are drawn to it. As they enter, yet again another bed is lit, players expect the same scare but instead they are greeted by a bed with an old man’s corpse, bloodied, adopting an uncomfortable gesture. Scott Rogers states, “Nothing says beware, like skills and skeletons strewn around an environment” (2010). Considering this is the message of the level, a corpse is an addition to signal the real dangers of the threats, foreshadowing, and close by, threats. As they leave the room they here another bang and thug, this time coming from the end of the hallway. This time, the shadow has gone, but the player heads in that direction regardless.

4: The player reaches the first window, looking out over the Manchester Street, littered with crashes cars and in the distance, the Hilton Hotel, the penultimate set piece. The top floor explode, lowering the tension built from anticipation and raising the excitement and pace slightly. 

5: They enter the room to their right, where seemingly, the wheelchair ridden may be. Instead they a greeted with disturbing gargles and groans from the bathroom – the door slightly swings ajar as if lightly nudged, heightening tension further and directing the player, as Scott Rogers continues on to state that “the carrot provoking players onwards is always hidden behind intelligent use of art.” (2010).

6: The player opens the door, greeted by an infected in a wheelchair. It falls off the wheelchair and crawls at them screaming as a cut scene shows them back up and fall to the floor. The Player gains control and prompts tell players to leave and not attack. So they run because of the movement impetus suddenly forced upon them as they begin to hear quickened steps and screaming on the floor above and in an adjacent apartment as they sprint. By this point, the tension level low to medium and the pace, therefore excitement is high and effective due to the anticipation built around atmosphere.

7: The player reaches the stairwell but a cut scene takes control of Chris as he hears a smash, turns around and sees a family of infected staring at him like hungry dogs at the end of the hall. They scream, and sprint toward him as Chris turns back around looking at the stairwell - the player takes control. In fear and excitement, players sprint down the stairwell – a key part of the level. By this point, the pace is at peak. Why is this part important? Two reasons – one, the stairwell has both a claustrophobic effect, leaving the player trapped even though they evade the infected and two, it creates a bottleneck, forcing players to move forward as Rogers also states “Bottlenecks can be created to prevent backtracking…” (2010). At this point, the player should feel like they are running down a funnel.

8/9: On each floor, the symmetrical hallway is flooded with yet more infected attracted to the footsteps gaining in numbers, forcing the player further down the stairwell, with each floor more ransacked than the last, earning to comfort to the player. But then they reach the second floor. 

10: Clear of infected with the end of the hallway lit, the player watches outside as the infected run into the main entrance on the ground floor, the stairwell highlighting shadows of infected making their way upstairs. The player is forced to run down into the hall, as he does, two apartments are provide light, now a conditioned signal of danger as the player sees in each apartment, a resident being murdered as they run onwards. This unsettles the player as every direction has an element of danger. They run around the right corner and onto the fire escape stairs still hearing the screams of perusing infected behind them. By this point, the tempo is sky high.

12: The fire escape overlooks the car littered street seen before as well as a shop fully lit and free of infected. Scott Rogers calls this a “Weenie”. “Weenies can be used and landmarks” (2010) as a point of interest or to distinguish a goal or area the player should use as a directional reference. This is also an important point, as it lets the player view the expansive Manchester landscape, hinting a more expansive, but equally dangerous environment, giving players variety and those “Kodak moments…” as Rogers continues to state “Verticality allows variety and Kodak moments” (2010). Through this, the player has only one way to go – down the fire escape stairs (another bottleneck) into the narrow alleyway. Tempo is now at the pinnacle exploding point as the infected are right behind the player.

13: The player reaches the bottom greeted by a large barricade blocking the exit to the alley way. The only way to go is into the open alleyway door of the corresponding building – an empty workshop. At this point, the players control is taken off them as a cut scene shows Chris slam the door behind him, grab a crowbar and jam the door shut as the infected scream and bang on the door. They settle and seemingly run away. Now, the player can relax, but due to danger around every corner, tension is still at a steady level – they have overcome the imminent danger. As the player is directed into the next workshop by the television, again with no signal, they see piled boxes leading up to a small garage window. With the only light originating from this window, they climb up the boxes and climb through, giving them their first introducing the scalable environments.

14: The player lands on the other side of the barricade, but before they know it, the infected are climbing over it and after them, bringing unexpected tempo, leaving them only one way to go. A great example of this pacing twist is “‘All Ghillied Up for Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare” (2010, PCFormat) as Neil Emphonso believes. It’s an effective play on player expectations that shocks players into an emotion. From this, they run into the car littered street with possible freedom in the lit shop directly ahead.

15: Before reaching the street they are greeted with two obstructing industrial bins, then a prompt informing the player then can vault over objects holding the left trigger, introducing players to further parkour gameplay whilst increasing the tempo further. Successfully completing the vault, they are in the street, running towards the shop, but as they soon notice, dozens of infected are closing in on either side as the shop owner is murdered. There are two reason for this milestone in the level. One, the disjointed, angular environment of the crashed vehicle unsettles the player as the infected close in – they feel like a rat in a maze as Rogers states ““You can use lighting, sound effects and geometry to make a level look foreboding” (2010). And two, it tells them the shop is off bounds for now. As this death takes place, the left hand alley way illuminates through flickering lights -0 the player heads down there with no guarantee of an escape. 

16: As the player runs down the hallway, they see there is only a blind corner to the right. They turn, with the infected seconds behind them, seeing heavy double doors in the distance and a set of ladders – both are highlighting with a waypoint. This final section gives the player two options, both with the same eventual outcome (inside the store). Why do this? As Techradar states, large open game worlds like Grand Theft Auto’s Liberty City “opens up possibilities for gameplay at every turn” (2008, Techradar). With a game as centrally focussed around exploration and environments scaling as this, the statement by Techradar proves curricula. In addition, this section also teaches them there last basic lesson, multiple escape points that provide uncertain outcomes. As Cleff Bazinksi states “advantages and disadvantages of multiple routes” (2008, Techradar) is an effective and meaningful design aspect. They enter the room, they are seemingly stranded but gain a weapon. They climb the ladders, they are free to assess the situation but they have no weapon.

        And so the tutorial level ends, providing the thrills, tension and anticipation any horror and action game should have. This introducing level is linear and brings the player into the gamer into the world with a atmospheric, carefully orchestrated bang. It was important that the level wasn’t a non-stop thrill ride, but gave player small moments to relax. Granted, these relaxation points where scares and short, but only as an atmospheric mood setter as if to say “You’re never safe in this game world”  But the game itself is a sandbox post-apocalyptic Manchester, giving large sections of relaxation, using divided space to distinguish areas and landmarks to trigger emotions. These divided spaces are ripe with varied environments and architecture, crucial story set pieces and optional set pieces, not there to be seen, but here to be experienced as each area provides different atmosphere, scares and in some case’s stories. It is at these points, that the free roam parkour is built into the level design. Rather than indirect control through lighting and sound, red highlights around climbable objects indicate exploration as Rogers states “If it look like the player can go there, they should” (2010). However, this is not to say that lighting and sound won’t be used to heighten tensions and excitements for those orchestrated events. One thing that will evoke emotions and atmospheric moods though is the visual styles and audio tracks played passively throughout the game.

      There are four divides spaces in Revenants’ sandbox environment – the City Center, Industrial Estates, 
Farming Country Landscapes and finally the labs. All of the aforementioned have a distinct style and
mood. The level above follows the city centre visual style, shown in the first images to the right.
The first image is the inspiration for the apartments / hotels room in the level detailed. Each flat allows for a stark contrast between the great and the terrible – setting the atmosphere. The second image shows the style many of the alley ways will adopt, including the one in the level – rustic, abandoned, gutter streets filled with industrial bins and claustrophobic geometry. This represents the urban side of Manchester – the side that reflect the ordinary contrasting nature most Hollywood like games wouldn’t have. The final image of the three shows the landscape of Revenants – Salford and Manchester. With high-rise building and expansive environments, the player can always see his / her surrounding whilst easily identifying that the city is indeed Manchester. An empty destroyed one at that. It is important to note that the majority of the environments are dull in colour, neglecting any glossy presentation that detracts from the realism of the themes and premise of the game.

      The next three images reflect the style of the Living Estates, the area Chris travels to find his family, the Farming Estates and the Euphoric Labs. Firstly, we have the living estate image that reflects the intended style quite accurately, only less dramatic with the damage. The goal would be to litter the streets with paper, clothes, glass from broken terrace and car windows and very few abandoned cars. Secondly, the next image represents the colourful and peaceful environment of the Farming Estates – the areas the player is most safe. The goal would be to keep this as simple and as expansive as possible, with it only be the conduit for one action set piece. The final image would become the style for the penultimate setting – the Euphoric Labs. Designed to be simplistic and pleasing to the yes, the labs are supposed to look  euphoric and interesting, rather than the typically clichéd white labs scenario.

     The key to making the visual style however is, destroying them whilst keeping their defining  landmarks and characteristics intact. This takes the reality of the setting, twists it and highlights the horror of the “What if” situations. Game’s should always provide “What if?” situations – that  is why people play game, to experience those impossible experiences.

     The music couples visuals in key areas, “Kodak moments” and events. As stated quondam, Revenants is a realistic take on the apocalypse, but creating peaceful moments is key to making the horror a reality. Thus, most music with be simplistic, ambient and relaxing, creating euphoria and spectacle. Key pieces of music are detailed below.

The Search for Jim (John Murphy) – This eerie 28 Days Later track will be the almost natural but unpredictable backing track player as the payer explores the apartment and workshop.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XWwoFFn9J7E

Abide with Me (Emeli Sande) – as the player enters the apartment with the deceased elderly man, this religious hymn plays. This sad, thought, thought provoking yet calm music contrast the chaos of the environment, letting the player focus on the moment and situation.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DCbuqXZ0Gfo

Ave Maria (Perri Alleyn) – playing before the final chapter, Chris drives across the farmland roads enjoying the momentary piece it offers. This positive sounding music with the child singing lets the player enjoy the moment and focus on the good things as they use the driving mechanics to explore the world.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ieqk9CzO3VM

Franks Death Soldiers – The moment Sunny, Chris’s only hope, becomes infected, this heart felt orchestral piece plays as the horror takes place slowly but excruciatingly as well as when Chris realises the cause of his mother’s death and the source of the infection.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e2lfkrS42eQ

An Ending (Ascent) Brian Endo – The unexpected, contrasting theme for Revenants, played at the main menu but featured in-game when the player reaches the empty, untouched farming fields area where nothing peaceful wildlife roam unaware. The stretching fields, natural sunlight, breeze and swaying trees coupled with this music highlights the horror back in Manchester City centre.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=It4WxQ6dnn0

Then There Were 2 (John Murphy) – played when entering the living districts of revenants when the usually life ripe estates are empty. The music exaggerates this point with its simplistic, bare sound.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BXO1a2U7C4

       The music and visuals convey the horror and feeling the player ‘should’ feel if not evoke that emotion. However although this soundtrack is fitting for Revenants emotional theme and concept, in most cases, gameplay is filled with complete silence, only to be understated with the tweeting of boards and slight breeze.

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