I spent a while in the library today looking at books for reference's relating to the subject of my research, and this is what I found.
SMITH, B.L (2006), Foundation 3DS Max 8 Architectural Visualisations p263
"Lighting can have a dramatic effect on the composition of your scene. It can convey a specific mood or inspire the viewers to feel a particular way"
BYRNE, E (2005), Game level design pxxiv
Story telling (effects of books and films not as strong as games)
"Level design is a unique position in game development where you can determine exactly what the player sees, hears and feels in the game"
Same as above, p11
"Very commonly, a game's levels are set up in a narrative fashion, telling a story within a story. The player character enters level, explores his surroundings, encountering increasing challenges and dangers along the way until the end is reached.
Most games have some form of story or narrative that draws the players along, and and many games use levels as a book would chapters - dividing the story into segments allowing story arcs, the introduction of new characters, resolutions of goals, unexpected return of old enemies, and so on. In many cases, a level is like a novella - a short, self-contained story that has an introduction, a series of encounters and challenges, and a final resolution. As games start to create broader, less linear story lines, levels begin to contain many story possibilities."
Same as above, p58
"Asking a game developer to define "fun" is like asking a chef to define "taste". In the end, it's such a subjective concept - there is no true definition other than what you know but cannot put into words properly. This is instinct - and as a level designer, you'll need to trust your instincts so you can deliver the kind of fun the game requires.
For instance, the fun in a first-person shooter (FPS) may simply be in successfully dodging your opponents shots while returning fire accurately and destroying him. Much like tennis, the fun is in the give-and-take action that doesn't end until someone loses. It's the kind of fun you feel with your whole body, actually physically, moving closer to the screen when in combat, or jumping when an opponent races around a corner in front of you.
On the flip side, a game like the Sims (c) is an entirely different experience for fans. Balancing the needs of their avatar, trying to maintain an optimum level of comfort, career, and environment, finally purchasing an item for their virtual home that they had wanted for ages, or manipulating the complex social relationships between characters, are all fun yet entirely different from the fun playing a shooter"
Thursday, 15 October 2009
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