b2.1 dph68 "yes i can" - labyrinth report

7/29/2019 B2.1 DPH68 "Yes I Can" - Labyrinth Report

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Bram de Vogel / B2.1 / s114960 / Coach: A.G.G.E. Nmeth


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The contents of this report describe Laby-

rinth, a psychological serious game I made

within the specifications of DPH68 Yes I

Can. It is a first-person PC game with the

main focus on exploration and platforming.

The game tries to aid the player in breaking

a depressive thinking pattern commonly as-

sociated with (mild) depressions.

This report contains three main sections,

detailing vision, concept and research (1),

product specifications (2) as well as the cur-

rent state of the product and evaluation (3).

Most of the articles are written with the

emphasis on the introcution and conclusion

or summary, where the core of the article

can be grasped. More elaborate details can

be found in the parts in between them.

A bibliograpy of some of the works I stud-

ied, as well as an appendix containing a user

test setup can be found at the end of the

document.

/ A B S T R A C T


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Project description derived from Playful Inter-

actions project descriptions semester 1 2012-

2013.

/ D E S C R I P T I O N

Digital games have the potential to offer us

interesting what-if scenarios. Within the

safe confines of the fantasy world we can

enact different roles and try out different ac-

tions to attain a goal. As the player identifies

with the avatar and internalizes his or her

motivations, the game becomes conducive to

instill attitudinal change. Here, you will try to

use this potentially beneficial characteristic

of games to engender positive emancipation.

In this project you will have to design and

create a computer game that helps a player

cope with societal or peer pressures. The

idea is to improve a players feeling of self-

worth, so that a person from an underprivi-

leged group playing your game will subse-

quently have the confidence to do a certain

task in real life or be an active member of

society. Think, for instance, of a game to

help teenagers cope with bullying, addicts

with their addiction, homosexual people to

be who they really are, or underachieving

students to gain the confidence that studying

hard will help them to attain a diploma.

The game will be developed for digital

screens, i.e. computers or mobile devices.

Students can use an existing platform like

Gamemaker, but also use software like

Blender or Flash, or even the level editor of

an existing game. The aim of the project is to

connect interesting gameplay to meaningful

content.

/ D E S I G N C H A L L E N G E S / R E -S E A R C H Q U E S T I O N S

The research challenge will be to discern

what confidence actually entails, and to find

out what the underlying psychological mech-

anisms are that build up or undermine con-

fidence and feelings of self-worth. There-

fore you will learn about concepts related

to self-perception, self-determination and

motivation to play games. Moreover, you will

need to translate this into compelling game

design mechanisms and levels. Engendering

a desired experience through the form, mo-

dality and progression of elements a player

encounters.

Very little is known scientifically on how

P r o j e c t D P H 6 8 Y E S I C A N


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Labyrinth is a genre-defying game that aims

to let the player break through a depressive

thinking pattern. The game tries to empower

the player by overcoming abstracted chal-

lenges related to the real world. The confi-

dence gained by triumphing in the game and

the reflection at the end may give the playerthe push to have a more positive outlook and

break out of a depressive thinking pattern.

In the game, the player travels through his

subconscious in a story grounded on Dante

Alighieris La Divina Commedia.

The players subconscious has long been

the players refuge when he wanted to es-

cape from his troubles in the real world.

However, one day, the players mind can no

longer bear the piled-up inner problems of

the player. The subconscious now challeng-

es the player to face his demons and get his

things sorted out.

Labyrinth may be a genre-defying game.

It combines platform elements with game

parts where no gameplay elements appear to

be present at first, resulting in a remarkable

game experience. The game features mod-

ernist and minimalist, abstract architectural

landscapes representing the players sub-

conscious.

The game has been developed to a certain

phase for distribution on Windows using the

award-winning Unreal Engine, the same en-

gine that powers most of todays world AAA

titles. It is suitable for play with mouse and

keyboard as well with the Xbox 360 Control-

ler for Windows.


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After I had begun extensive research on

known psychological issues, I began to focus

after a while on depression. Most individuals

have suffered from one or more depressions

during their lifetime, varying in severity. Af-

ter realizing the widespread occurrence of

this issue, to me it seemed a wonderful op-

portunity to try and create a game that would

help people suffering from this condition.

After diving in even more on the subject, I

stumbled upon some interesting articles that

suggested an interesting cause for some of

the less severe depressions; ourselves. Or,

better said, our mindset, the way we think.

We seem to hold more power over our own

mental state than we think. Combating de-

pressive thinking by regaining control over

your way of thinking and empowering your-

self may help some persons to fight their

own way out of depression.

/ O U R P E R C E P T I O N O F D E -P R E S S I O N

Lets first focus on what depression is,

something that appears to be actually quite

hard to say. Most of us think to know what

it is and what its like, yet at the same time

we find it hard to properly define it. In fact,

this appears to be very much correct. Highly

differing types of depression exist, such as

mood disorder, depression or simply de-

spair, as well as the major mental disor-

der. Each of these three different conditions

branches out into different directions, based

on cause, severity, biochemical factors

etc. Because there is such a difference be-

tween the multiple depression types, differ-

ent patients may require completely different

treatments or approaches for their condition.

Severe patients may only be helped through

the use of medicine and qualified experts,

whereas others find relief within the em-

brace of their friends and loved ones. It is,

however, interesting to note that a number

of the cases may not require (hospital) psy-

chiatrists or the products of pharmaceutical

companies. Do we always need these strong

solutions, also considering the not inconsid-

erate amount of adverse reactions some of

the antidepressive products may cause? Is

it necessary to automatically grab the bottle

of pills? Or, more interesting, to what degree

may people be depressed when they say they

are depressed?

It seems that in our western society we

talk more easily and readily about depression

with people within our social circles, such

as our friends, coworkers, family (Burton

2012). As a result, we may be more likely to

interpret our stress and anxiety as depres-

sion, and may seek diagnosis or help faster.

Groups with vested interest such as phar-

maceutical companies and mental health ex-

perts promote the idea that an eternal state

of mind of happiness and joy is a natural

mental state; human distress, however, is


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labeled a mental disorder. We may seem to

forget that for the most part these moments

of distress are relatively mild and short-lived

and can be interpreted in the context of our

life circumstances, human nature or the hu-

man condition.

On the other hand, Burton describes an

incident surrounding pregnant Punjabi wom-

en, from the regions of Pakistan and India,

who had recently migrated to the UK. Afterthey had given birth, they were baffled when

asked by a health visitor if they felt depressed

after the events. Not only had they never

considered the possibility that giving birth

could be anything but a joyous event, they did

not even have a word to translate the con-

cept of depression into Punjabi. Apparently,

depression as we think to know it does not

exist in these mothers home region, or may

there be interpreted in an entirely different

way. However, sociocultural cognitive and

behavioral patterns are acquired by learning

them after birth and are not hard-coded into

our genes, nor in other parts of our body. It

thus seems that some (gradations of) psy-

chological conditions may evolve only in the

context and patterns of certain societies or

social environments; they may only evolve

within a certain mindset. This has some radi-

cal implications, the most important one be-

ing that our mindset, the way we think, can

be responsible for a mental condition such

as depression.

/ T H E V I C I O U S C Y C L E O FD E P R E S S I V E T H I N K I N G

When we consider the relation between the

way we think and depression, we may see

new opportunities arise to help us free our-

selves from some of our psychological con-

ditions. We humans are capable of changing

our thinking patterns and our point of view on

situations; therefore, we are capable to influ-

ence our mood or a depression. It is there-

fore important to consider how you think

and interpret events, for your mindset may

either help you to get out of a depression,

or may drag you into one; depressive think-

ing (Knaus, Defeating Depressive Thinking

2012). Of course, this applies only to those

persons who are mostly going through a

period of distress that has more to do with

regards to their current personal (life) con-

text, than those patients who have suffered

severe emotional trauma or experience de-

pression out of biological origin etc. These

persons require professional aid; however,

the first group suffering mostly from more

ordinary moments of distress may actually

have a good chance of relieving themselves

from their condition by changing their nega-

tive mindset.

Depressive thinking may be a major fac-

tor in depressions. However, before I go into

more detail on ways that may help combating

depressive thinking, it is important to consid-

er what it is exactly. When you think depres-

sively, you layer needless mental miseries

onto a (already) painful mood. For example,

you may interpret your situation differently,

more negative than otherwise; you may feel

that you are powerless to do anything against

the depression youre in; you may exaggerate

and overgeneralize or hold irrational beliefs

about the depression that youre in. Or, like

Shakespeare so eloquently wrote in Hamlet,

Act 2, Scene 2; [...] for there is nothing ei-

ther good or bad, but thinking makes it so: to

me it is a prison.

It is important for people in a distressed

mood to understand and accept depressive

thinking as a usual factor in their depression.

It is even more important that these people

understand that they still hold the ability to

override their negative mindset. Once they

realize they have this negative outlook, they

may begin to object to the distorted view in

which they may see the world; they may start

thinking clearly again. Once they do, they

may be more likely to shorten the intensity

and the duration of the depression.

A depressed person usually has several

types of cognitive signatures related to thepersons depression. There are hopeless-

ness signatures, e.g. I will never stop feel-

ing this way and there are worthlessness

signatures such as Im no good at all. These

negative thoughts can weigh down on a per-

son. In this state, believing you cant cope

with your depression and believing that you

cant escape it, means that you are mislead-

ing yourself and you are actually prolonging

the depression. It is important to understand

that you are capable of ending your own de-

pression; you are in control.

/ T H I N G S T H A T H E L P

There are several techniques to become

aware of your depressive thinking pattern

and how to defuse it.

Notice your negativity. Be aware of what

you say or think and how negative it can be.

Identification of your negativity is essential

to change.

Identify the purpose of your pessimism. Is it

because you think you can always do things

better? (perfectionism) Do you not want to

get hurt?

Depressive thinking is a vicious cycle . If you

think you cant get out of the depression, you

wont. One might say the night is darkest be-

fore dawn; it is important to realize there is

always a way out, that you will not be stuck

in this situation forever.

You are in control of depressive thinking.

You can choose to defuse the cognitive sig-

natures of depression. Again, identification

of these cognitive signatures is key.

You cant change the past, but you can

change the present. Every step will help to


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break out of the vicious cycle. Learning from

past mistakes is a good thing, but it is impor-

tant not to get stuck in reminding yourself of

every misstep youve ever made.

By acting as if you could cope, you may find

yourself coping. Even if you dont honestly

feel like you can escape from your situation,

try to act like you can. You may compare it to

Search for positive aspects of situations.

Even when moments seem grim, it is im-

portant to try and see multiple sides of the

equation. Almost nothing in life is completely

black and white, as shades of grey can be

found almost anywhere. When you realize

the positive sides of things, you may begin to

focus on these opportunities and find solu-

tions.

(Przeworski 2012) (Knaus, Defeating De-

pressive Thinking 2012) (Knaus, Combating

Depression 2012) (Knaus, Emotions and De-

pression 2012)

It is also important to take care of other

aspects in your life. Although you are in con-

trol of your thinking pattern and you can take

steps to defuse depressive thinking, there

are more factors at play. Body and mind are

in connection with each other. The old Latin

proverb mens sana in corpore sane still ap-

plies; a healthy mind in a healthy body. Take

good care of yourself. A good nights sleep

and a proper sleeping pattern as well as

physical exercise go a long way to making

you feel better every day. Its also important

to consider not just yourself, but your social

environment, too. Taking the initiative to re-

solve relationship issues can help to get a lof

of stress off your back. Plenty of social inter-

action is also recommended to feeling more

appreciated and energized to take on life.

/ A L W A Y S L O O K O N T H EB R I G H T S I D E O F L I F E

As a final note, a depression may not always

have to be something evil. There are several

feelings and sensations with multiple mean-

ings attached to them. We can feel physical

pain to warn us that we are in danger, hurt-

ing ourselves or place ourselves at risk of

injury. Although pain generally generates

negative feedback, the benefits of its pre-

ventive working far outweigh the stress it

initially generates. When we see depression

in that way as well, as a mental pain, then

maybe the depressive position has evolved

to protect us from distressing, damaging or

futile situations. The solitude of the adoption

of the depressive position lets us take a step

back and see the bigger picture, by giving us

the time to think and feel about ourselves. We

may begin to re-evaluate ourselves, prioritize

our needs and develop a realistic plan to ful-

fill those needs. It may thus become a period

of rediscovering your identity, who we really

are, and through that give deeper meaning to

our lives. (Burton 2012) However, in order to

do so, it is important to start thinking clearly to see this

positive side of depression.

When we look at all what we have discussed so far,

it appears there is a major chance that a depression

can be influenced by your mindset, partly because of

your sociocultural background and your everyday so-

cial environment. The depressive thinking pattern that

may emerge out of these and personal circumstances,

is a vicious cycle that can keep you locked in a depres-

sion. It is important, however, to realize that you arestill in control of your thoughts and that you have the

power to break out of this pattern. Through doing so,

you may find relief and in the process even gain more;

finding moments of reflection and getting to know more

about yourself. In our eternal pursuit of happiness, it

might be a good time to start believing again in our own

strengths and capabilities.


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The main goal of Labyrinth is to help players

break the cycle of depressive thinking through

various methods, mainly the identification of

their negative mindset and by empowering

them. By doing so they might overcome their

depression. Can such a thinking pattern be

changed by a game? I personally believe that

change of the state of mind should and can only

come from the individual himself, instead of

someone or something else. Instead, the game

should be the players stepping stone, to guide

him in the right d irection. The player must re-

discover his own mental strength, that he has

the ability to break out of the depression.

/ I N C E P T I O N : I M P L A N T I N GI D E A S

I believe that a good way to inspire a change

in cognitive and subsequent behavioral pat-

terns is featured in the movie Inception

(Nolan 2010). This movie, inspired by lucid

dreaming, is set inside the subconscious of

people. It is based for a large part on the way

actions on the subconscious level influence

the conscious level. In the film, the concept

of inception is described as the implantation

of an idea or thought into a persons mind

while their mind is subconscious. Instead of

trying to reason with the person himself, the

characters reason with the persons subcon-

scious representation; a method that, in the

movie, proves to be successful. The subcon-

scious mind has been reasoned with, given

an idea, and without the involved person

knowing it, this idea is then passed onto his

conscious level. Here the idea grows more

concrete, and actions can be made in the line

of the original idea, without the actor fully

aware of the abstract, true motivation of his

actions.

I would like to apply the same principle in

my game. Instead of directly engaging the

player on the conscious level, I want to en-gage his subconscious. I want to plant a seed

in their mind that grows slowly, like a plant,

and finally comes to fruition. I want to give

them the idea, the feeling, that they may be

able to overcome their depression with their

own strength; I want to give them a sense

of power and hint to the mental toolset they

have at their disposal to beat their condition.

/ C A T H A R S I S : E M O T I O N A LR E L E A S E A N D P U R I F I C A T I O N

The player must believe he is able to cope

with and overcome his problems that may be

causing the depression. I want to do that by

abstracting into the game those things that

depress people in the real world. Although

confronting people with the negativity they

already experience in their daily world seems

counterproductive, in the end I hope the play-

er gains more. Through this confrontational

experience I want to let the player experi-

ence the state of mind called catharsis. Ca-

tharsis is a term that has been around since


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the Ancient Greeks, and the exact meaning

of the term has been debated ever since.

According to Aristotle, a catharsis is when

the human soul is purged of its excessive

passions, whereas the more recent psycho-

analytic theory describes it as an emotional

release, linked to a need to release uncon-

scious conflicts. (Keesey 1978) Generally, it

seems to indicate a state after which you feel

renewed, ready to move on and meet new

challenges. One way of achieving catharsis

is by putting the player through the process

of expressing some of the original emotions

of depression; sadness, anxiety, anger etc.

This method appears to be working accord-

ing to a recent study, where youngsters who

were confronted with violent images experi-

enced a decrease in hostility. Through their

confrontation with violence, they became

less violent. (Ferguson and Rueda 2010) I

hope to achieve the same effect with depres-

sion. I want to let the player experience these

emotions in the game.

/ L A D I V I N A C O M M E D I A :H E L L O F A S T O R Y

In the 14th century, the Italian writer Dante

Alighieri wrote what would become the mas-

terpiece of his work: La Divina Commedia,

or the Divine Comedy. In this work, Dante

travels through the hereafter; Inferno (Hell),

Purgatorio (Purgatory) and finally arriving in

Paradiso (Paradise). He travels through the

blackest pits of hell, confronts the seven sins

in Purgatory and finally reaches Paradise.

The story has many underlying messages, of

which one is an allegory for the journey of

the soul to come closer to God.

In my game, I wish for the player to expe-

rience a likewise travel. He does not travel

closer to God, however, but trvaels closer to

himself. The game will take place inside the

mind, the subconscious of the player. He willtravel through his dark thoughts inside the

Abyss, embark on the Voyage to overcome

his problems and reach the Summit, where

the player comes to terms with himself and

reflects on his play through.

However, I realized that the original story

arc of La Divina Commedia may not be per-

fectly suited towards the (video game) au-

dience. I decided to adapt the story accord-

ing to more modern storytelling techniques,

with clever use of rising and falling action

throughout the entire story;

1. The player first enjoys a seemingly

positive journey,

2. Is thrown back,

3. Finds his way back up and

4. Near the end crashes down one more

time,

5. After which he finally manages to beat

the game.

Although this may seem a rather clich

way of storytelling, the technique is tried-

and-true. Genre-defying, highly innovative

games such as Journey feature the same

basic story arc as Hollywood blockbusters.

And, through clever pacing and surprising

environments and gameplay, they succeed in

their storytelling to date. (Harper 2012)

In the game, the player will take control of

an unnamed person, presumably the playerhimself, who always seeks refuge inside

his own mind to escape from the real world.

However, this time, his alternate reality, his

own mind, refuses to let him reside in his

dream world and do nothing with his real

problems; since the piling up of problems

causes even more stress and depression.

The player at first wont notice that his dream

world has changed that much (1). However,

after a while he falls down into the Abyss, a

dark and dreary place where he is confronted

by the negative thoughts of the darker cor-

ners of his mind (2). By solving challenges

and confrontations in this environment, the

player finds his way up again (3) and contin-

ues his path towards the Summit. However,

just before the end, he is thrown back one

last time, in a blacker pit than ever (4) before

finally escaping and rising up to the Summit

in rapid flight (5). The player, floating high

above the Earth on the Summit, now has the

choice to take the jump off the platform to

show hes ready to face the real world once


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again, or enter the door on the platform to in-

dicate hes not done yet and wants or needs

to replay the game. With the emotions related

to depression finally conquered, I hope a ca-

tharsis will ensue.

/ L A B Y R I N T H : J O U R N E YT H R O U G H T H E M I N D

Labyrinth is a journey of confronting and

conquering your fears, coming to termswith yourself and building up confidence to

conquer your demons and ultimately your

depression outside of the virtual realm.

Through the experience and expression

of emotions you encounter throughout the

game and releasing them, I hope a cathar-

sis will ensue. Afterwards, there should be a

moment of self-reflection, in which you take

the time to reflect on what you have done;

how it matters to you, to your daily life and

how you now perceive your situation. It is

at this point that I hope the inception will

begin to come to fruition. Throughout the

game, you have confronted and overcome

encounters of abstracted problems of the

real world. You were able to cope with and

overcome the (abstracted) problems in the

game and build up confidence along the way.

If you were able to find ways to deal with the

abstracted problems, then why not with the

problems in the real world? That is the idea I

want to plant in the players mind.

With depressive thinking, you think that

you cannot do things (good), or that the situ-

ation will never improve; you may have had

a negative outlook on life. However, empow-

ered by the success achieved in the games

challenges, that you have the power to do so,

you stop the pattern of depressive thinking.

By breaking away from that mindset, you

may be able to finally climb out of your de-

pression by yourself. And that is the purpose

of my game.


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The story of Labyrinth is partially based on

Dante Alighieris La Divina Commedia, in-

fused with the modern arc of storytelling. I

have envisioned five main episodes or chap-

ters within the game. They tell the story of an

unnamed man, presumable the player, who

tries to find refuge within his own mind when

he perceives the world he lives in as too de-

pressive. However, after so many visits, his

mind cant take it anymore and decides to

challenge him, force him to undertake ac-

tions and face his demons. I have numbered

the chapters to match the five stages of the

storytelling arc.

0 . S T A S I S

Labyrinth takes place inside the mind of the

player. In the very beginning of the game the

player finds himself in a vague, desolate liv-

ing room. Its a dreary night, with only the

blank faces of newsanchors to keep him

company whilst they deliver to his living

room their daily report on agony and vio-

lence throughout the world. Its the world the

player tries to escape from. He falls asleep

and enters the surreal world that is his sub-

conscious, his own sanctuary and refuge.

1 . P A S S A G E

The player finds himself in the in-between

world between the real world and his sub-

conscious; a bridge world, one might say.

Its completely empty, besides the giant gate

that draws him toward the deeper parts of

his mind.

When he enters the gate, he does not en-

ter the world he used to visit. Instead of the

green fields and blue skies he used to find

when he arrived, he finds himself trapped

within a surreal construction. It seems that

the world has changed. He encounters the

first challenges; it feels as if the world wants

to test him.

Finally he makes his way out to see the

sun setting above the ocean. He finds a plat-

form that he activates and appears to be ele-

vated into the clouds at first, but after he has

risen several meters, the platform collapses

and the player falls into the dark shaft that

lay underneath the platform.

2 . A B Y S S ( I N F E R N O )

At the bottom of the shaft, the player finds

himself trapped in The Abyss. This dark place

holds his negative thoughts, experiences and

memories. Its tunnel-like construction is cold

and constructed of unforgiving concrete,

providing only glimpses of outside light andhope that may be found elsewhere. The play-

er finds himself with only one option to get

out; to undertake the journey past all nega-

tive things residing inside his psyche, to visit

his own personal hell. The gravity seems to

pull harder to objects in this environment

and the walls seem to close in on you when


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you walk, sometimes presenting grotesque,

twisted environments and weird light and

shadow plays as the player progresses.

The player reaches the Acheron, a dark,

long highway of platforms and blocks speed-

ing throughout the dark ravines and depths

of the Abyss. The player embarks on the

high-velocity high-tension ride, to eventually

reach the City of Dis. Enormous monoliths

and constructions of cubes formed together,the size of black skyscrapers, present an al-

most urban-metropolis-like labyrinth. There

are broad yet lifeless block boulevards in

between the impersonal blocks and hateful

voices whisper like winds in between the

narrow gaps of blind alleyways. The play-

er has entered the labyrinth of depressive

thinking. Will he find a way out, or will he

remain stuck forever in this limbo, trapped

in his dark, frightening thoughts and fears?

Finally, empowering thoughts enlighten the

route to exit the City of Dis and the player

manages to escape the Abyss.

The depressing environment of the Abyss

has been separated from the other areas of

the players subconscious. When the playerhas recovered from the bright light when he

exited the Abyss, he finds that he will have

to traverse a deep ravine to reach the lands

across. There is no bridge across the gap-

ing hole and without any guidance, the play-

er will have to overcome his fear and take a

step into the unknown. As soon as he steps

over the edge of the cliff, he finds that he is

not plunging into the black depths of the ra-

vine. Instead, a surface has appeared under

his feet and platforms emerge from the deep

to help him get across. Gravity has let go its

tight grip on the player, who finds he is ca-

pable of jumping further than before, some-

times even floating for a brief time.

3 . J O U R N E Y ( P U R G A T O R I O )

At the other side, a large mountain is visible

in the distance, with a bright light emanat-

ing from its summit, inviting the player to

progress. The player progresses upwards

and encounters reassuring voices and more

positive experiences.

4 . B L A C K O U T

The closer the player gets to the top, the

harder it seems to progress further. Ex-

haustion of the journey begins to take its

toll, and the player is thrown into the black-

est depths of the Abyss, in complete dark-

ness. The player is lost, and finds himself

stranded in the dark of an obsidian desert.

However, a light shines through the dark and

lets the player rise through the deep while

it crumbles and falls to pieces underneath

his ascent. The player floats up to the world

above and shoots through to the summit of

the mountain.

5 . S U M M I T ( P A R A D I S O )

At the summit, the player finds himself in be-

tween the clouds, with fantastic, light objects

slowly yet joyously floating, as though grav-

ity has no longer effect on them. The game

asks the player if he is ready to face the

world and take a leap of faith into the world

below. The player may also choose to enter

the gate behind him and embark upon the

journey once more if he doesnt feel ready.

If the player chooses to face the world and

step off the platform, he falls down, straight

through the skies, until the screen fades out

to white, with only the sound of the wind

shooting by the player. The credits roll as a

sunrise illuminates the sky, after which eve-

rything fades out.

0 . G E N E S I S

If the player waits long enough, when the

music ends, he sees the vague surroundings

of his living room appear before him again.

Night has passed and made way for the ra-

diant light of the rising sun, illuminating the

apartment in a golden glow. Game over.


14/47

Like movies, games feature emotional

scenes involving death, loss or love. How-

ever, when the fragile strings kick in with G-

major chords to emphasize the drama, these

sequences often fail to emotionally connect

to the viewer or the gamer. You understand

that it is a sad moment, but may find it hard

to honestly care about the unfolding events

and the characters involved. What is go-

ing on? Why dont you feel the appropriate

emotional response the producer intended to

provoke? Labyrinth, especially, has to deal

with this issue. The player has to undergo

the process of expressing his or her original

emotions to undergo the intended catharsis.

If the multi-million dollar entertainment in-

dustry still doesnt seem to have the answer

to make as many production emotionally in-

tense, why would I?

/ S P A T I A L A W A R E N E S S A N DP R E S E N C E

An oft-discussed aspect of videogames

closely related to emotional connection is

immersion. Immersion can be described in

various ways, yet I believe that one of the

most fitting ways to describe it is as spatial

awareness and presence; when the player

perceives the sensation of being spatially lo-

cated in the environment presented to them.

You dont feel like you are sitting on a chair

on your attic or the couch, but instead reside

in the world the action and drama present

on your television or monitor. This moment,

when all your senses are immersed in this

new virtual universe and the real world has

been left behind, is the moment that you may

become emotionally involved in the world

you now inhabit. There are some games that

people describe as being very impressive,

whereas people do not feel this way when

they play other games. This does not neces-

sarily have to be bad, as non-immersive ti-

tles can still be hugely fun to play. However,

I believe that eventual success of Labyrinth

depends largely on the amount of immersion

the player experiences.

Madigan describes a simplified ver-

sion of Wirth et al.s theory on spatial

presence.

Players form a representation in their

minds of the space or world with

which the game is presenting them.

Players begin to favor the media-

based space (i.e. the game world)

as their point of reference for where

they are (or to put it in psychological

jargon, their primary ego reference

frame)

H o w c a n a v i d e o g a m e i m m e r s e a n d e m o t i o n a l l y c o n n e c t t o

t h e p l a y e r ?


15/47

Profit!

(Madigan 2010)

In the beginning the player forms a mental

model of the world he is presented, based on

the various clues discovered in the environ-

ment and the assumptions about the (behav-

ior of the) world based on those clues. When

the player has created this mental model, he

has to decide (consciously or subconscious-

ly) if he feels like he is in the imaginary world

or the real one. This process can be really

quick or slowly over time, and the player may

even continuously journey between the two

worlds.

Madigan then goes on to describe two dif-

ferent game concepts that lead individually

to immersion in video games. First, there are

the games that generate a rich mental model

of the environment and secondly, the games

that create consistency between all objects

and characters in the environment. The first

game concept delivers a virtual world that

has been meticulously modeled to include

as many as possible aspects we encounter

in our daily lives. This is the most thorough,

labor-intensive approach of the two. Devel-

opers will go as far to confirm almost any

logical assumption you have come to expect

from the world. Birds may fly overhead in

the sky, but they may also shriek, decide to

touch down on the ground or ascend into the

dynamic clouds covering the digital skies.

The environment is cognitively demanding

as it holds many sources of (potential) in-

formation. This also means that your mind

will be constantly engaged in analyzing and

observing the environment, mental powers

that otherwise may have been used to spot

irregularities and anomalies in the virtual

world. Holding it all together is a strong nar-

rative, pushing the game concept forward

and maintaining the interest of the player in

the world he inhabits. This concept of the

rich mental model of the game environment

is too extensive and ambitious to achieve by

myself. Therefore, I intend to use the game

model related to consistency. I will not im-

plement any incongruous visual clues in

the game world. These are elements that

you would not expect in (dream) life, such

as head-up displays, tutorial numbers or life

bars. I do not wish to use any of these as-

pects, as they take you out of the experience.

The other important factor is related to the

presentation of the game world. It should be

a fluid, cohesive environment, without any

obstructions or sudden stops such as load-

ing screens. With loading screens, the game

world disappears for a few seconds or even

minutes and immediately breaks the immer-

sion and the player cant feel immersed in

something that isnt there.

However, none of these aspects can guar-

antee immersion. This is something very

personal; some people may see the digital

environment with skeptical, critical eyes

and may find it hard to lose themselves in it.

Other people, however, really want to try to

be inside the game world and suspend their

bias quickly. To further aid the immersion, I

want to create an environment unlike players

have seen before in games. An environment

that they may not immediately relate to, but

that contains clues of its identity. I hope that

these moments of wonder or surprise help

captivate and therefore aid the immersion of

the players while they try to understand what

they see on the screen.

/ S E R E N I T Y

Many AAA game titles from the major pub-

lishers and developers feature one action-

packed sequence after another. This can be

the fast platforming characteristic for Nin-

tendos legendary Super Mario franchise,

Call of Dutys fast-paced, frantic gunfights or

the thrill when you overtake an opponents

car at breakneck speeds in Gran Turismo.

These are often rather satisfying actions,

delivering continuous adrenaline kicks as

you make split-second reactions to emerge

victorious out of the on-screen carnage.

These actions require constant physical

player input and focus to control the play-

ers avatar action. However, this means that

there is no brain processing power left to

think, reflect or just enjoy the environments

you cross. If you think about most memora-

ble game sequences, what were they? Was

it finding yourself in the next shooting alley,

that other on-rails car chase or the buildings

you blew up? Or could the most silent parts

of the game actually be more interesting?

The Uncharted video game series by

Naughty Dogs is one of the most acclaimed

series of the current generation consoles.

Besides the, admittedly, grand and monu-

mental set pieces, gratifying gunplay and

jaw-dropping graphics, those aspects of thegame that I remember most fondly are the

parts where I just had to explore. I walked

through ancient tombs and ruins of ancient

civilizations and, once, found myself strand-

ed in the desert. Crashed and without trans-

port, all by myself, with only the scorching

heat emanating from the endless sand dunes

under the cloudless, bright blue sky. Sudden-

ly, I had no enemies to fight, no clear direc-

tion as to where to go now and struggled to

climb up and down the bright orange dunes

of the desert. The days turned into night, fata

morganas appeared and vanished in the pul-

sating thick, warm air. It was at that point

that I noticed I was no longer worrying about

protagonist Nathan Drake, but was thinking

Jeez, how am I going to get myself out of

here? The more distant perspective of the

huge gunfights, with which I could not iden-

tify myself, had been replaced by complete

immersion where I felt like I was actually in

the game.

The epitome of some games is not their


16/47

epic story, set pieces nor the well-written

interaction between lead characters. Some-

times, what it takes is but the serene calm

and loneliness of a sequence devoid of the

usual gameplay, action and drama. That feel-

ing is exactly the one I wish players to ex-

perience on their play through of Labyrinth.

/ E X P E R I E N C I N G G A M E P L A YM E C H A N I C S : D E F Y I N G G R A V -

I T Y

Although story progression as well as char-

acter and emotional development are already

indicated within the game by the five main

chapters, I also want the player to experience

this progression by changing basic gameplay

mechanics. Labyrinth is a game that fea-

tures the exploration and navigation of the

environment as its core gameplay elements.

These are rather simple gameplay mechan-

ics, yet I hope to invoke a strong emotional

response in many ways, of which one is the

feeling of movement within the virtual world.

Navigating the environment in Labyrinth

requires only a simple set of input: direc-

tional / movement keys, player camera con-trol as well as a jump action. These inputs

translate into the virtual world via predefined

parameters. These parameters control the

speed at which the player character is able

to make a change in movement and camera

position (inertia / reaction speed), but also

how high and long the player can jump, in-

cluding the gravitational pull on the player

(buoyancy). By changing these parameters,

it becomes possible to change the experi-

ence of the player.

What emotional response do different set-

tings of core gameplay parameters invoke?

If the player finds himself immersed in the

game world, he may relate the type of move-

ment to real-world conditions. For example,

if the character may only move slowly, isquickly exhausted and the camera can only

be moved slowly, the player may feel as if he

is incredibly heavy, that there is some burden

resting on him. However, when movement is

unrealistically sped up and enormous jumps

can be made, the player may feel as if he has

been gifted supernatural powers; he may

feel more capable than he ever was before.

By changing core gameplay controls, we can

change the entire experience of the player.

The differences parameter tweaks can

make for the complete experience can be

found in many current games. As an exam-

ple, we may compare two games of the same

genre: first-person shooters. Lets take a look

at Killzone 2. In this game, the player findshimself as a soldier of an invasion that goes

terribly wrong. The entire planet is hostile

and even its ecosystem seems threatening,

with its bugs and ever-dark and rusty brown

skies. All the while, friendly forces are taking

heavy losses and the player character loses

friends himself. We may conclude that this

game has a serious tone, is about loss and

the heavy burden that rests upon the shoul-

ders of the games protagonist. These ele-

ments are reflected in the gameplay, which

feels very heavy; your assault rifle swings

slowly when you aim from left to right, the

weapon recoil vigorously kicks against your

characters shoulder and the entire display

shakes slowly and violently when you run,

all to induce the experience of a soldier with

both heavy physical and emotional load.

Now, lets shift to another end of the spec-

trum and compare Killzone 2 and its mechan-

ics with the popular Call of Duty game series.

This series has found its success mostly in

its innovative multiplayer and generally fast

gameplay. The player takes on the role of

mostly anonymous or shallow soldiers and

races across the globe and firefights like a

supernatural super soldier. You find yourself

in situations ranging from nuclear missile

silos and collapsing skyscrapers with the

only thing really holding everything together

being the overwhelming amount of fire and

explosions. This game is about quick, action-

packed sequences that focuses more on the

aesthetic and joy of destruction than story

or character progression. This is reflected

in the gunplay by the flawless motion when

moving your weapon from left to right, the

incredibly fast reloading and the light impact

explosions and weapon recoil appear to have

on the character. Call of Duty and Killzone

2 are two games within the same genre,

but with a different concept, and as a re-

sult, different gameplay. Killzone 2 focuses

on heavy, more mature issues which cor-

responds with a heavy feeling of weapon

handling and movement. Call of Duty is about

fast, action-packed sequences, which inte-

grates with gameplay mechanics that feel

more arcade-y, and generally, just really fast.

The tweaking of parameters of basic game-

play elements can create an experience that

enhances and fits better with a game con-

cept.

One major part of the d ifferences between

the two games I mentioned was the differ-

ence between light and heavy. Killzone 2

with its heavy gameplay gives the player a

feeling that he is competent, but has to take

into account this speed handicap; the player

feels powerful, yet vulnerable at the same

time. Call of Duty, with its lightning quick

response, gives the player a more omnipo-

tent feeling; when you can perform combat

actions this fast, there neednt be much to

worry about. Heavy and light gameplay in-

fluence the feeling of competency and capa-

bility the player has; or rather, the perception

of weight and gravity does.

When we apply the concept of gravity in

relation to competency and capability to Lab-

yrinth, many opportunities arise. I can link

the amount of gravity and jump buoyancy to

the different stages in the game, to express


17/47

one of Labyrinths underlying messages in

a rather literal sense: get rid of your men-

tal burden, empower yourself and enlighten

your state of mind.

Our real-world bodies are compressed

with fat, muscles, sinews and organs. They

are easy prey for the gravity that pins them to

the ground, unable to escape its pull for more

than half a second. However, in a game we

are not just put into an avatar, but into a newexperience of weight. The game may allow

us to live our escapist fantasies of flight, lev-

itation and zero gravity. Mankind has always

dreamt of leaving the soil we walk on. We

dream of Heaven, a place in the skies where

we float alongside God, with winged angels

capable of flight. When we use drugs we ref-

erence to the experience as getting high and

when we dont feel good we feel down. In

fact, depressed can also mean close to the

ground, put down. Is it a coincidence that Hell

is often someplace deep beneath the ground,

as gravitys terminal station? When we fall

down we may hurt ourselves, yet when we

look from a higher place, we may see things

from a new perspective. In their pursuit of

wisdom and enlightenment, the monks in the

Himalaya built their monasteries high in the

mountains, so they could see far into the dis-

tance and see the clouds moving through the

valleys below them.

Related to gravity is its inherent

downward movement, whereas the escape

of gravity and enlightenment may be more

related to upward movement. This vertical

progress, combined with the gravity settings,

can be implemented into Labyrinth in the fol-

lowing ways;

1. Passage: normal gravity.

2. Abyss: heavy gravity. Jumping lifts

you only a bit off the ground and your

airtime is short. Mostly downward

movement, descending stairs and hills,

falling down shafts and tunnels. Tall,

narrow structures to make the player

feel he is at the bottom.

3. Journey: increasingly lighter gravity,

longer jumps to make the player feel

he is continually progressing further.

Open environment.

4. Blackout: jumping capability is com-

pletely gone; the player is pinned to

the ground.

5. Summit: Very light gravity to no grav-

ity at all.

Labyrinth tries to offer to the player an

immersive game experience in all aspects.

Storywise, the player is led to a catharsis,

with the gameplay elements evolving along-

side the storyline. The gravity of the world

and the gameplay controls adapt to each

chapters setting, emotional message and at-

mosphere. The players perception changes

with the different response in gameplay, so

that he may better feel and experience each

different level. Overall, the player will find

himself in a serene, dreamlike world that

encourages exploration and engages the

players mind and imagination with minimal

game actions and controls. In this game, less

gameplay may be more.


18/47

The impact of Labyrinth depends for a large

part on the emotional response the game

provokes with the player. This depends on

multiple factors, of which one of the most

important is immersion. I try to achieve im-

mersion by offering a consistent game world,

without incongruous visual cues and by en-

gaging the players mind. This means that the

player has to be able to connect to the en-

vironment and be able to give meaning to it

himself. In Labyrinth, the player experiences

a journey through the subconscious, where

he encounters situations that may seem like

abstracted versions of reality.

In the game, the player experiences a

journey through his own subconscious. The

subconscious is something that we arent

even fully aware of, which makes it at the

same time difficult as well as easier to visu-

alize it. Difficult, because there is no gener-

ally accepted and thus recognizable visuali-

zation; yet it makes the process easier, too,

because it allows for a wider degree of ar-

tistic freedom. We can see the subconscious

as a dream world, in which nothing is real

and structures are constantly changing and

bending the reality. A great example of a

game that manages to pull this off is the re-

cent DmC: Devil May Cry game. In this game,

the player constantly shifts between the

real world and Limbo, its perverted, trans-

formed reflection. However, this approach

requires many custom 3D-models to be de-

signed; something that is simply not possible

with my means and given time. Also, its en-

vironments are usually designed as staging

areas for fighting waves of enemies, which

does not suit my gameplay at all.

However, in the subconscious I intend to

implement abstracted versions of reality. It

is in that abstracted way that I wish to con-

tinue.

The human mind can be imagined and vis-

ualized in many ways. I have decided to rep-

resent it as an architectural landscape, with

different environments representing differ-

ent parts of the (state of) mind of a person.

The player has to be able to connect with the

environment and give meaning to it in order

to lose himself in the game. Therefore, I have

decided to keep the style as minimal as pos-

sible. I have deliberately chosen not to try and

mimick our real world. I believe that when

we are shown a picture that tries to come

as close to reality as possible, we start look-

ing for artifacts and small things that identify

that picture as being artificial. Because there

is nothing for the player to imagine (parts of)

the world he is shown, the mind uses thispower instead to define the environment

as fake, resulting in a loss of immersion.

Instead, I want to create an almost surreal

environment, devoid of those elements that

we see in our everyday lives. By creating

such a deliberate artificial environment, the

player is thrown off balance, may want to ex-


19/47

plore and immerse himself in this world that

he has never seen before. I do not wish to

portray all the familiar elements we encoun-

ter in our daily lives; furniture, recognizable

structures and buildings, people, plants etc.

Instead, I want to merely suggest their exist-

ence in the game world by providing sound,

color and other elements we normally link to

these entities. By providing all proof of these

things being there, but there are not visible,

we may try to imagine them being there.

When we try to imagine those items being

there, we may lose ourselves in the environ-

ment, even though it is purely virtual. I want

to make use of this paradox; when a surreal

world is seen as more real and vivid than a

realistic world.

The Modernist movements and architects

of the 20th century deliver a perfect blend

of minimalism, abstract and usability for

the architectural, surreal landscapes I wish

to create. The villas of le Corbusier between

1923 and 1934; the Bauhaus masters Walter

Gropius and Mies van der Rohe; the works

of Richard Neutra and their contemporary

counterparts, in more particular the Japa-

nese architect Tadao Ando.

Their view on aesthetics, where beauty

is derived from the structure of the building

and the bare construction materials, their of-

ten rectangular shapes (and use of prefabs)

offer not only a very characteristic style and

more abstract surroundings, but are also

easier to create in 3D software. By using only

a limited color palette and material selec-

tion, comprising mainly bare walls, concrete,

steel and glass, I will have to spend less time

on creating the environments. Instead, I will

be able to focus more on the ambiance and

mood of the environments through post-pro-

cessing effects such as god rays, fog, depth

of field, color grading and light and shadow

compositions.

Some games have already taken this ap-

proach, with good results. Fine examples

are Assassins Creed: Revelations (AC:R) and

Mirrors Edge. AC:R contains several chap-

ters in which the protagonist moves through

his own personal history, or the history of

project 16. Concrete, cyber elements and the

mixture of geometric structures with nature

to create surreal landscapes are used to

great effect to achieve the feeling that you

are in a computer program inside your head.

Mirrors Edge takes place in a dystopian fu-

ture where the protagonist moves through

a future, all-white city with some brightly-

colored elements. In downloadable content

released for the game, the world is further

abstracted into only geometric shapes with-

out any texture or element that relates to the

real world. In both games, this approach led

to a special kind of immersion experienced

by the player.

To create the best immersive environment

that represents the subconscious the player

travels through, I will create abstract archi-

tectural landscapes inspired by the 20th cen-

tury Modernism. I believe this approach best

fits my concept and is also easier to create

with my current skills in 3D software and the

timeframe we have for this project.


20/47

M O O D B O A R D S

I created several moodboards to enhance my vi-

sion for Labyrinth. They also provided with me

with a reference for the eventual level designs.


21/47


22/47


23/47


24/47

1 . 1 . N U M B E R O F L O C A T I O NS

In Labyrinth the player will travel through

three different stages, inspired by Dante

Alighieris journey through the underworld.

In Dantes Divina Commedia, these three

worlds are Inferno, Purgatorio and Paradiso.

I would like to recreate my interpretation of

these three worlds as well in the context of

the game.

In total, there will be six locations, one per

story chapter.

1. Stasis

2. Passage

3. Abyss

4. Journey

5. Blackout

6. Summit

1 . 3 N U M B E R O F N P C S

The game will not feature NPCs that can be

interacted with.

1 . 4 N U M B E R O F W E A P O N S &T O O L S

The game will not feature weapons, nor

tools. The only thing the player really has to

do is navigating his environment. (Less isMore Gameplay)

1 . G a m e o v e r v i e w : P r o j e c t S c o p e

2 .1 G A M E P L A Y

Game progression

The game progresses in a linear fashion.

When the player has come to the end of a

level, he is transported to the next level.

Objectives

The objective of the game is to give the play-

er the idea that has the power and capability

to overcome a depressive thinking pattern.

The player will overcome challenges and

puzzles represented abstracted situations of

his daily life.

The game will progress in linear structure,

where the player will have to reach the end

of a level in order to progress to the next one.

2 . 2 M E C H A N I C S

What are the rules for the game, both implicit

and explicit. This is the model of the universe

the game works under. Think of it as a simu-

lation of a world, how do all the pieces in-

teract?

Physics

Labyrinth places players inside their own

mind. In this dreamlike world, not all the laws

of physics have to apply, although I think it

is important to have players inside a world

with ordinary physics for the better part of

the game; if the game becomes too unreal-

istic it might affect the level of immersion

they feel.

In the game, I may play with gravity (high,low and zero gravity, or changes of the direc-

tion of the gravity) and walking against walls

to create interesting gameplay scenarios.

Movement

General movement

In the first-person perspective, the player

2 G a m e p l a y a n d M e c h a n i c s


25/47

has the freedom to walk, look around, jump

and run.

Other movement

The player may jump onto platforms, float

around or fly in zero gravity situations. These

are simply controlled by the game engine. I

may implement swimmable water volumes.

The player may also move on moving objects.

These objects can be elevators or platforms.

Objects

Picking up objects

There wont be an inventory the player can

carry around in the game.

Moving objects

Some objects can move after triggering an

event; other objects can move when the

player touches the object.

Act ion s

Switches and buttons

Throughout the game, the player will enter

environments with challenges that will re-

quire player interaction to overcome thesechallenges. The player may have to move

to and stand in defined areas to trigger an

event.

Picking up, carrying and dropping

I do not see the need to relevance of this

function in the current game and have there-

fore left it out.

Talking

Labyrinth will not feature conversations.

However, there will be certain points in the

game when a voice-over will deliver spoken

text in the form of a monologue to drive the

story forward. Some environments will also

have ambient dialogue, i.e. whispers, laugh-

ter, chatter etc. without revealing the origin

of the sounds.

Reading

There will be moments in the game when

(shards of) text are shown. However, there

wont be large amounts of text present in the

game.

Combat

The game will not exhibit combat - however,

the intention is to give the player the feeling

that hes fighting something (his depressive

thinking) without displaying literal combat;

its more like fighting the world youre in, the

fight to push forward.

2 . 3 R E P L A Y I N G A N D S A V I N G

Labyrinth will provide multiple checkpoints

throughout the game. These checkpoints will

generally be placed after a certain amount

of distance has been travelled, before, in or

after a challenge. A checkpoint is essentially

a location where the player can spawn. When

a player reaches a checkpoint, this spawn

point is activated and should the player fail,

he will spawn at the latest checkpoint.

The engine allows for a manual save sys-

tem to be implemented, however, this is sim-

ply too much work for me to implement right

now.

2 . 4 C H E A T S A N D E A S T E RE G G S

The game engine has an in-game console

that allows for command input. These are

used mainly for debugging but also for taking

screenshots. It also contains several com-

mands that can be seen as cheats. Examples:

God (god mode), Fly, Ghost (go through walls

and fly) etc. It is possible to dynamically im-

plement these commands in the game (when

the player activates a trigger).

There are and will be no real easter eggs.

3 . I n t e r f a c e

3 .1 V I S U A L S Y S T E M

HUD

The game will not feature a HUD. I believe

that a HUD detracts from the experience, as

it shows you information and visual cues you

would not normally see in the real world or

in this particular virtual world; it is an incon-

gruous visual cue. I think that implementing

a HUD may therefore cause a loss of immer-

sion for the player. When some contextual

actions are required, the game may display a

subtle hint in the form of text.

Menus

I had envisioned two different menus for

Labyrinth.

1. Main menu

The main menu is the menu that is

shown when the game is started.

Resume playing (from the last reached

checkpoint if possible, otherwise will

go to current state Limbo Labyrinth)

Start a new game (if I have the time)

Options: screen resolution, no de-

tail options for geometry and texture,

choose DX9 or DX11 render mode (may

or may not implement this)

2. In-game menu

When the player presses ESC this menu ap-

pears. The game is not paused; instead, the

menu is shown as a discreet overlay of the


26/47

current game world.

Resume playing

Return to main menu

Options (see main menu)

Quit game. Exit Labyrinth and return

to desktop.

Rendering system

3D Rendering

The in-engine UDK Lightmass system han-

dles the rendering of all 3D objects. It allows

for high-quality precision lighting on static

objects via pre-rendering all static lights and

shadows. Dynamic real-time shadows and

post-processing, including (screenspace)

ambient occlusion are standard as well. It

is possible to import pre-baked lightmaps in

the engine, but this is not useful for me.

In-game graphics

Menus can be rendered by the game engine

in various ways.

1. Native coding (via Kismet or Unre-alscript) - quite easy and robust, yet

not very graphically refined. There is

some documentation available and the

process is quite easy.

2. Scaleform / Flash - The entire pow-

er of Flash can be utilized, including

3D menu effects, via Scaleform. It is

integrated in the game-engine, more

powerful, yet requires ActionScript 3

knowledge.

3 . 2 C O N T R O L S Y S T E M

The player can control the game via the

game-standard WASD keyboard combina-

tion and may use the spacebar to jump. The

mouse can be used to look around, the Eserves as action key and SHIFT to run. The

engine supports the Xbox360 controller for

Windows as well. Left analog stick for look-

ing around, right analog stick for movement,

A for jumping, and left analog stick press to

run.

3 . 3 A U D I O

Ambient sound effects and sound cues will

be used in the game, as well as action-spe-

cific sounds. These sounds are the sounds

the player expects when he interacts with

the world, and are therefore required to im-

prove the player immersion.

Player sounds

Walking

Running

Breathing and panting

Jumping

Object sounds (differs per material)

Grinding

Falling

etc.

Ambient sounds

Whispering

Laughing

Chatter

Traffic

White noise

Footsteps

Wind and other environmental sounds

etc.

I will use the BBC sounds library to acquire

these sound effects.

3 . 4 M U S I C

I may add a musical score at some part in the

game, but I will have to test it to see if this

adds or detracts from the experience.

3 . 5 H E L P S Y S T E M

In the very beginning of the game, some mes-

sages may be displayed onscreen to help the

player familiarize with the control scheme.

However, since the target group consists of

persons who are likely to play games, I as-

sume most people will already know the con-

trol scheme. I will not provide a tutorial level,

unless testing proves me wrong.

4 . A R T I F I C I A L I N T E L L I G E N C E

There will be no NPCs or AI present in Laby-

rinth. Instead, there will be scripted moments

of interaction that do not require AI coding.


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5 .1 T A R G E T H A R D W A R E

Most likely I will be unable to fully optimize the game, which means that the game is recom-

mended to be run only on more recent computer systems. The game is made using the UDK,

the non-commercial version of the Unreal Engine 3, which offers support for Windows (XP

or higher), Mac OS X, Playstation 3 and Xbox 360, although the latter two require developer

licenses and developer consoles from their respective manufacturers.

Although Labyrinth will use some DirectX11 effects such as bokeh depth-of-field, it can be

easily adapted to run on DirectX9 systems and OpenGL by using a non-bokeh depth-of-field.

WindowsXPSP3orhigher,MacOSX10.6Lionorhigher

Quad-coreCPU

NVIDIAGeforce8800orhigher(orAMDequivalent)withDirectX11

2GbRAM

3GbHDDSpace

The engine supports iOS as well. However, the Mobile OpenGL renderer differs a lot from

the DirectX and desktop OpenGL counterparts and has different behavior in e.g. shadow

system and material editor. I will also have to take into account the lower performance and

memory specifications of mobile devices. If I would ever develop the game for iOS, it would

cost me a few extra months to fully optimize it for the mobile device; I may even have to alter

the gameplay to suit small touchscreens. However, it is definitely something to keep in mind.

Maybe when the project is finished, I will create an iOS version as an SDL activity.

The commercial version of the engine also offers Flash support, making the game device

agnostic and offering unprecedent distribution options. However, I work with the free non-

commercial version of the game and bandwidth issues for a multiple gigabyte game would

create additional problems.

For now, the game will be compatible only with Windows.


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5 . 2 D E V E L O P ME N T H A R D W A R E A N D S O F T W A R E

Hardware

Labyrinth is developed on my university-issued 2011 Lenovo Thinkpad W520.

IntelQ2760M2.0GHzquadcore

NVIDIAQuadro1000M

4GBDDR3RAM

1600x900LCDdisplay

The Quadro GPU is the main bottleneck of the system. I have tried playing games on it and

although it is a capable card, it is not meant for gaming. DX11 performance is the equivalent

of a current GPU entry model (NVIDIA GT550M). Additionally, the laptop cooling is insuf-

ficient. When playing games, the GPU may reach 90C after which it underclocks to prevent

hardware damage. This downthrottling from 900MHz to 12MHz results in framedrops down

to 1-5fps for several seconds. For some reason, this appears to occur more with Unreal

Engine games than with games created with other engines. For example, Crysis 2 ran with

console-like framerates of 25-30fps at native 1600x900 resolution at high spec. For reasons

I have been unable to find out yet, the UDK, which utilizes the Unreal Engine, doesnt seem to

overheat my system (yet..) although performance with complex scenes can become a little

sluggy. Another bottleneck is my 4Gb RAM; 8Gb is a more realistic requirement for game

creation (16Gb is ideal when designing really big worlds). The 5400RPM harddrive isnt great

either, but suffices for the most part.

Software

The software I have used in the development of Labyrinth:

UDK(UnrealDevelopmentKit):gameengine

Photoshop:texturecreationandbasicediting

nDO2:texturecreation,especiallynormalmaps

I have found pen and paper to have been the most important assets in development, be-

sides the game engine itself.

5 . 3 D E V E L O P M E N T P R O C E D U R E S A N D S TA N D A R D S

I have developed a certain working flow while working on Labyrinth.

1. Design level - Draw level and imagine the gameplay. This results in a map with details

of the events, encounters, and how it looks.

2. Rapid whiteboxing in engine - Using BSP brushes, the essential geometry of the level

is created in the engine.

3. Gameplay - Basic gameplay elements are added to the level; not only challenges, but

also the environment that allow the player to pass through at an optimal pace. Fast

iteration and testing to ensure gameplay, interactive elements and gameflow of the

level is correct. The level must simply work.

4. Additional detail, texturing and lighting - Extra geometry is added to provide more

interesting and complex environments. The BSP blocks are textured and the lighting is

setup properly to enrich the scenes and provide a greater sense of immersion.

5. Post-processing- Adds the extra eye candy that really breathe life and character into

the scene.

Bloom; god rays; light shafts; depth of field; color grading; advanced shadows; more com-

plex shaders for the materials (distortion, refraction, reflection; these are all optional); time

of day effects; decals; fog etc. This phase has the possibility to go on forever, and must beworked on mostly near the end of the process

5 . 4 G A M E E N G I N E : U D K

Labyrinth will be built using the UDK. The Unreal Development Kit is the editor environment

for the public using the renowned Unreal Engine 3 toolset. It is available for free for non-


29/47

commercial use and deployment on Windows, Mac OS X and iOS. The difference between

the UDK and the Unreal Engine 3, is that although the UDK grants the same toolset used

by AAA developer studios, it does not grant access to the C++ source and thus cannot be

modified or extended with plugins. The commercial version of the UDK grants the possibility

to sell games for a one-time 99$ fee, royalty-free until 50,000$. The engine fully supports

Playstation 3 and Xbox360, however in order to develop for these platforms the respective

manufacturers have to grant you access to developer accounts and console development

kits. Afterwards, deployment to these platforms is possible.

The UDK offers robust and tested tools for the creation of both interior and grand outside

scenes. With built-in global illumination, real-time dynamic shadows, DirectX11 features suchas depth of field, APEX clothing and tessellation, incredible eyecandy can be created. It also

has a built-in physics system powered by NVIDIA PhysX that allows for easy implementation

of physics and the creation of interactive high-quality water. Programming games can be

done visually using flowcharts in Kismet, or can be written in the Java-based UnrealScript

language. Geometry can be imported in many ways, however, my art style suffices with the

built-in whiteboxing capabilities of the engine. The whiteboxing tools, or BSP brushes, offer

the opportunity for rapid geometry creation and prototyping. The material editor supports

diffuse, normal, specular and bump maps. It offers incredible flexibility to create almost any

material possible. There is a wide array of post-processing options to enhance scenes and

achieve the desired effects or look.


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/ P R O G R E S S O F G A M E /B U I L D S T A T U S

I knew that it was impossible for me to com-

pletely build Labyrinth the way I had intended

to. Therefore, for the game that I wished to

show at the Final Exhibition, I chose to focus

on the beginning of the game. I thought this

was the best way to introduce the game; I

had played game demos from major publish-

ers before and their demos always startedwith the beginning of the game (although

they probably do this mostly so they wont

spoil the game for the player).

I have built the first chapters of the game;

Stasis and Passage. Passage is not yet ful-

ly completed, as it lacks the transition into

Abyss. Other areas have been envisioned

by me, but not yet built. I lacked the time to

create custom game menus, as I gave game-

play and levels priority. For the story, I have

recorded myself several parts of voice-over.

However, I lacked the time to fully implement

them into the game, as sound editing in the

engine wasnt as straightforward as I had

thought. I have not been able to implement

the BBC sound effects for the same reasonas well as conversion issues.

The December 2012 (final exhibition)

Build of Labyrinth has been compiled into a

.EXE installer for convenient distribution and

evaluation.

/ U D K D E V E L O P M E N T

Although I had a fairly solid development

process, as can be read in section 5.3 of the

previous chapter, development was night-

marish at times. Although the UDK is almost

an industry standard in the field of current-

gen game engines, it was not completely

built to fulfill my particular needs.

The UDK is meant as a game engine only

and should not be used extensively as a

primitive 3D editor. Although it has support

for whiteboxing, primitive 3D brush editing,

it is not optimized for the task. However,

since I wanted to limit the learning curve

needed for Labyrinth, I had decided to rely

solely on the UDK and create all my levels

using brushes. As the whitebox complexity

increased as I progressed in the level design,

so did the instability of the engine. Perfor-

mance drops made level creation ever more

slowly and often the UDK would suddenly

crash. Later on I learned ways to optimize

the 3D brushes I made using whiteboxing,

however, I learned this very late in the pro-

cess. I guess that the time that I have lost is

approximately half of my complete develop-

ment time, because of dropped performance,

crashes and the resulting erased progress. It

is fair to say that the process has been whol-

ly inefficient. It was only when I had learnt

the tricks to optimize whiteboxing that these

time losses were cut to under ten percent of

development time.

TOP: Stasis

BOTTOM: Passage


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Fortunately, other aspects of the en-

gine were absolutely amazing and wonder-

fully fast. Creating animations was a fairly

straightforward task, as was applying post-

process filters. Gameplay iterations can be

made fast and the lightning-fast post-pro-

cessing really gives atmosphere and a dis-

tinct feeling to each level.

Should I continue development of Laby-

rinth in the future, I will seriously considerlearning dedicated 3D software to create

(more complex) assets for my level design.

Anything else, the UDK offers a reasonable

development experience with outstanding

game visuals. Even though I had hoped to

limit development time by utilizing a very

minimalist art style, the environments were

still very complex since they were built in

3D. I think the most important lesson I have

learned in this aspect is that the amount of

time needed to build a few simple levels is

much larger than I had originally anticipated.

With my current knowledge I estimate the

time I need to build a level for Labyrinth in a

normal work week is about 1,5 month.

/ F I N A L E X H I B I T I O N

For the Final Exhibition, I had intended to

show off a demo of Labyrinth, i.e. show a

few of the levels instead of the entire game.

I thought that this approach was possible for

me to develop and still get people to get a

feeling of the experience. I developed Sta-

sis and Passage and connected the levels

to each other. I also implemented Xbox 360

controls, so people would be able to play the

game on the television without having to use

a mouse and keyboard on the couch. For the

Final Exhibition, my main target was to see

if people would enjoy a game with limited

gameplay, enjoyed the art direction (VOID;)

and would get a good perception of the final

intended experience. I had intended the Ex-

hibition as my first real user test.

During the Exhibition, I received a fair

amount of visitors. I received plenty remarks

on the looks of the game; many felt it was

similar to either Assassins Creed or Mirrors

Edge. The challenge in the passage level

with the moving platform was experienced

by many as too difficult. Another thing I no-

ticed was that people were struggling with

the general video game controls. There was

a clear split between gamers and non-

gamers, i.e. people familiar with current-gen

computer and console games. The gamers

played the game a tad faster than I had in-

tended, whereas the non-gamers progressed

with much difficulty; the analog sticks of the

Xbox 360 posed a big challenge for them

and they were often disoriented when they

mistakenly adjusted the player camera. The

lack of a musical score was also noted, as

this could add considerably to the overall at-

LEFT & RIGHT: Passage


33/47

mosphere and story of the game. The most

important feedback I received, however, was

about the entire demo. Because I had shown

only the beginning of the game, visitors were

unable to comprehend the entire story and

gameplay development of the game. It would

therefore have been better if I had shown

snapshots of the game, i.e. show the first

level, than a level in the middle of the game

followed by the final level. Had I done so, the

entire game concept may have been bet-

ter comprehended and experienced. Since

Labyrinth is a game that is focused more

on the journey than the final goal, this ap-

proach would have fitted the game much bet-

ter. Now, people were sometimes unable to

grasp the overall concept and picture of the

game.

Out of the feedback I received during the

Final Exhibition, I was able to draw several

conclusions.

Aesthetics: Overall art style was

praised, although some felt it was

similar to Assassins Creed and Mir-

rors Edge. Some environments could

be even more abstract, e.g. with more

floating, surreal geometry. The envi-

ronment also invited to explore, one of

the main goals of the concept. Visu-

ally, the game was very positively re-

viewed.

Gameplay: The difficulty of the chal-

lenge was too hard. I should better test

and tweak challenges next time.

Story: Overall story progression could

not be indicated from the game. More-

over, without my commentary, people

would likely not have known what to

do. I should better indicate story pro-

gression. I can do this via voice-over,

but also by implementing floating text

or text projected on objects. I believethis would not be an incongruous vis-

ual cue, it may even feel as if the game

world is talking to you.

Accessibility: If I want to make the

game more accessible to non-gamers,

I will have to research how these peo-

ple normally play games. A fine way

to test this would be to let them play

different, existing games and find out

how they react to the instructions and

hints the game offers. I can then also

watch the way they play and adapt the

game levels to these results to create a

game that is enjoyable for both gamers

and non-gamers. Another challenge

would be distribution and awareness

of the game for non-gamers; however,

that is an entirely different topic.

Music: I should try to implement mu-

sic next time. It really adds a lot to the

game atmosphere. However, I believe

a true musical score may be an incon-

LEFT & RIGHT: Passage


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BOTTOM: Passage (contd.

b2.1 dph68 "yes i can" - labyrinth report

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