Perceptual elements affecting navigation of players in first person games

Sammanfattning: Context. This thesis’ goal was to test whether or not perceptual elements which do not intrude on player movement were reliable methods of leading the player through an environment without specifically telling them where to go, focusing on players already accustomed to first person perspective(FPP) games. This was a remake of an older experiment in the hopes of finding different results than last time it was tested, by making improvements to the test chambers, and altering the application of these different elements which were used to test the participants navigation. Objectives. In the user study, the player was forced to pick between two mirrored pathways with a specific variable distinguishing them in the hopes that the players will follow a predictable pattern. By proving that none heads up display(HUD) elements were reliable tools for player navigation, it could introduce new ideas for level designers and artists working within the industry to guide player pathing in a first person perspective game. Methods. This experiment was constructed using different soft-wares commonly used in the game industry, and was made to be easily repeatable by other who would like to expand on the subject. References used were mostly scientific articles which could be found using google scholar, ACM library and researchgate. The articles in question were sourced by their use as references and the validity was assessed by their abstract, discussion thought process and own references used. Results. Using 17 different students from Blekinge institute of technology as participants in three different test scenarios where they had to navigate their surroundings by choosing between one of two pathways. The results show promising indications for further research in the subject, with the large majority of people picking the predicted path. Conclusions.While the data collected by the participants show promising results in favor of reliable means of navigation through the environmental effects used in the experiment, there were many altering factors at play which potentially could have altered the results. The topic of player navigation in games are a widely contested area with many factors at play. More research is necessary to reach a more conclusive answer, but shows great potential judging by the results.