Game Theory

In order to successfully achieve this ridiculous dream, a certain amount of game theory needs to be applied. Applying theory to your design decisions is not only a way of backing up your decisions, but can also help successfully justify and articulate what you are trying to achieve.

Over time I’ll be submitting my thoughts on certain elements of game design and applying them to my current projects, as well as comparing to more mainstream titles.

‘Off-screen’ space and immersive gameplay environments.

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First off, I am in no way an ‘expert’ in the area of photography and film, but the theory of ‘off-screen’ space is a concept that is simple to get your head around and can improve the way in which you consider your game play environments. If you wish to contribute your thoughts to this theory, then feel free to do so.

Each of my projects to date has had one thing in common, they’re usually large scale environments. The first two projects were based upon real-world locations, the Natural History Museum was a confined, static space, whilst Westminster Bridge required not only an accurate replication of the interactive game play environment, but also the surrounding area. Whilst replicating the obvious landmarks was important, from the outset of the project I knew that in order to succeed in my intentions I needed to spend a significant amount of time supporting the centerpiece of the map by creating the surrounding areas.

In order to fully justify the necessity of the surrounding environment to enhance the central, playable area, we can look into the world of film theory, and in particular ‘off-screen’ space.

“One of the many elements shared by film, television, and videogames is the use of on-screen and off-screen space in the creation of a diagetic world…Technical as well as aesthetic factors influence the design and use of space in the video game.”

Wolf, Mark J.P. - The Medium of the Video Game, University of Texas Press (2002)

Defining off-screen space.

In the simplest of terms, ‘off-screen’ can be attributed to 6 areas around a framed scene, to the left and right, top and bottom, behind the camera, and behind the set.

When relating to the composition of a video game environment, we can consider the ‘set’ as the immediate interactive area of the environment. When applied to designing game play environments, this area differs depending on the genre, or overall purpose of the environment. For example, a game like Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks, 2008) has a constantly changing ‘set’, but if the overall world is designed correctly, we can still define each area around the set. However, a racing game has a defined space in which the player is can interact with the environment, meaning that composing the space around the set is made slightly easier as all viewing angles and possibilities are pre-determined.

The ultimate goal of successfully utilizing the ‘off-screen’ space is to make the player feel that there is more to the scene than is currently visible. Expansive outdoor environments in games use visual cues, and games such as Fallout 3 rely on them as a way of encouraging the player to explore.

At this point it’s worth noting that audio cues are also a fundamental part of effectively using off-screen space, but for now I’m only going to look at the visual aspect.

Fallout 3 (Bethesda Softworks, 2008) relies on distant landmarks to encourage the player to explore the wastelands.

Static Environments

In static environments, as previously mentioned, the ‘set’ is more clearly defined, so that when it comes to designing the environment we can control exactly what the viewer will be seeing. When composing the final renders for the Natural History Museum scene, I carefully chose angles that not only showed off the key elements of the space, but also made use of ‘off-screen’ space to give the illusion that there was more to environment than that what existed in frame, when in fact behind the camera there was nothing.

The key part of this render is the dinosaur, however almost each other part of the shot alludes to the off-screen space. The cylindrical pillars closest to the camera are cut off from about quarter of the way up, however the pillars further away from the camera, which are not cut off, suggest to the viewer that there is more to the scene than is currently visible.

From this angle we have a closer view of the dinosaur, which again is not in it’s complete form. The repetitive archway structures are not directly framing the scene, which is also a way of effectively using off-screen space.

Interactive Game play environments.

The difficulty with designing the off-screen space in game play environments is that the immediate interactive area is constantly changing. Depending on the genre of game, considering the off-screen space is a different process. Games with a structured linear path and defined game play environments can rely on the fact that they know what the player can see at all points of the game. A game such as Grand Theft Auto 4 however is at the mercy of the player , meaning they must design an environment which always effectively uses the ‘off-screen’ space.

CTF-Westminster (UT3 Map).

As previously mentioned, designing a UT3 map around Westminster Bridge meant I needed to not only carefully consider how the player would interact with the environment, but how the game play environment would be supported by the non-interactive areas.

When designing the Westminster map, it was clear that the size of the non-interactive areas around the map would have to be substantially larger than the interactive areas.

If we look at the above screenshot we can see that a significant part of the south bank is represented. However, the area in which the player can interact with the environment is significantly smaller. The areas highlighted in pink in the image below signifiy the interactive areas of the environment.

When viewed from a different angle, we can see that the view down the river offers the opportunity to create a strong supporting area around the map. The main goal of this project was to successfully create a well-realised large scale environment based on a real world location.

‘Off-Screen’ space as a narrative device.

Another way of effectively using off-screen space is by using it in a way that is in context with the narrative of the game, whilst also being in context with the artistic design.

Portal (Valve Software, 2008)

Throughout the early ‘test chamber’ environments in Portal there are a series of ‘observation’ rooms that overlook the progress of the player. The observation rooms are important on a number of levels. Firstly, they are in context with the environment, whilst also offering an aesthetic value by acting as a break to the tiled walls of the test chambers. They are also the only use of ‘off-screen’ space available during the early stages of the game. The most important role they play though is by acting as a subliminal cue into the overarching narrative through the fact that the observation chambers are always empty, which help to enhance the solitary nature of the experience. As the player progresses through the game, they are also rewarded the opportunity to view the test chambers from the other side of the glass, which in context to the unfolding plot, signifies the initial importance of their inclusion in the environment.

Half-Life 2 (Valve Software, 2004)

Staying with Valve, one of the most iconic moments of Half-Life 2 is provided through the effective use of off-screen space. The towering Citadel is the ever present structure as the player makes their way through City-17, and is the first thing that the player sees as they enter the streets of City-17. The size and scale of the building signify the importance of the citadel. Through placing the Citadel in the off-screen space of the game world makes the player feel as though they are part of an oppressive world and constantly being watch.

Canabalt (Adam Atomic, 2009)

Looking at traditional 2D platform games, we can see that it is also possible to use off-screen space as a way of driving narrative. The background environment in Canabalt justifies the motivation of the player in their impossible escape through the city. Without the background, the player is simply jumping from one collapsing building over another.