For those of you who play computer games, specifically zombie shooters, you will be very well conversed with this. As I have been researching how players 'wayfind' inside computer games I set up a observation experiment where I oversaw individual people playing Left 4 Dead 2 (L4D2). In this observation I aimed to critically analyse how the game Left for Dead 2 communicated with the user in telling them where they were to go. The objective for the test subjects was simple... they were told the controls, then told to make their way through a level to the finish point. L4D2 is a notoriously hard game to orientate if you A) aren't really a gamer and B) have never played it before, so in my evilness I decided that it was best to choose as many people that were either A, B or both. I thought in this way the player would have to really concentrate on what the game was telling them and not have a innate sense of where to go through having experience of playing lots of computer games.
As a part of my course I have to write a 300 word evaluation of the artifact which I will post in another post after this one, as I feel 300 words isn't enough to describe my findings.
During my observation of each player working their way through different scenarios/level segments on the game, I started to pick out common traits that players were picking up on aid their progression. Here are a few of the things that I figured out that players are hypersensitive to whilst playing L4D2 for the first time.
Screen indications of damage give a visual feed to players to let them know they have to move or take action.
On screen objectives points shown on the head up display over highlighted objects or points on the map.
Green exit lights in dark areas clearly highlight way points for players to move towards.
The novelty of killing zombies draws players into areas that they previously haven't explored, thus drawing them to the correct path by process of elimination. Dead zombie bodies in areas also let players know they have previously been in that direction.
Symbols integrated into the textures on the walls show players the direction of the safe house.
None player characters move to and talk to players about locations and items in avertedly directing players towards nearby goodies and the safe houses/ finish point.
Special enemies such as Boomers, Spitters and Smokers tend to come from the direction where you need to go to finish the level, drawing players to where they need to go through the act of killing.
Suitable lighting draws players to move towards them as its easier than travelling through darker areas with just the flash light.
Music and sounds indicate to a player what kind of challenge they have to face, as most special enemies have their own unique sound. one players have worked out how to beat individual units they set themselves up in the appropriate manor. certain music cues tell the player a horde of zombies are about to ambush them or that they are close to a extra dangerous enemy. I found that sound cues however were frequently missed when sometimes they held vital information on either where to go or what enemy they had to face, but given some experience on the game I think players would take this in subconsciously to think about what they need to do next to progress.
Characters talk to the player telling them they are hurting, in combination to heart beat sounds, indicate their health is low and that they should heal or look for health.
These were the things that I noticed whist the test subject played. Quotations in the evaluation written up afterwards by the people doing the test, shed more light on what they used from the game to help them think about what they needed to do.
"As I progressed it was much easier to predict what routes I had to follow, for example, if there was a closed door or a set of stairs. Another visual aid that helped in the mission (a part where I actually got lost) was a helicopter passing by a window, which showed zombies on the street below. This aid made it clear which route I had to take by jumping out of the window."
"I was helped at times by the "pathways" that things like buildings and cars etc created."
"You can normally tell which direction you need to be heading in by hints such as lights in levels such as the dark swamp map I played on, and the direction from which the zombies attack from normally lead to a path to the next section of the level."
" The computer AI's fighting with you will rarely help guide the way to the next section but they will sometimes run towards buildings where helpful items/weapons will be found to help on the way."
"Onscreen advice telling you where to go or which direction with an arrow key eg: Turn the alarm off"
"The lighting on the level helps when finding your way through it, the next place to go is usually fairly clear."
To bring this post to its conclusion before my 300 word evaluation post, not every player picked up on every aspect of orientation the game presented to them and sometimes this resulted in the player dying. L4D2 in my experience becomes easier to play as in time you start to adapt to how to work your way through certain scenarios. On an easier difficulties the game helps the player more in the way of where to go, to accommodate for players new to first person shooters. For example, after being lost for a certain amount of time the game displays a directional counter to point them in the right direction. Weighing this up however, designers would have to be careful not to take the challenge away from the game, as doing so would quickly wear off the novelty of owning zombies.
