Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
spatial Design
As games become more immersive and allow more depth to become visible and
steerable, navigation (or
wayinding
)—physically moving through space—takes
on greater importance. The term
spatial design
literally means designing the
spaces, or environments, where the gameplay will take players.
Early games like
Colossal Cave Adventure
were played through text, which
included written descriptions of the environment, such as this: “You are in
a maze of twisty little passages, all alike.” When visuals became part of the
game design and enhanced technology allowed for bigger and faster games to
be developed, that written description of the twisty little passages became a
terrain that the player could actually see and traverse.
For the most part, using an input device such as the controller, keyboard, or
mouse allows a player to move their avatar through the environment by walking,
running, flying, swimming, and so on. The player traverses the worlds, or virtual
environments (VEs), by moving directly through the surroundings using visual
and audio references that guide them. This method is often referred to as
memory-
based navigation
and tends to occur when a player is in a familiar area. At other
times, the player may use a map or written directions to find their way. This
type of navigation is sometimes referred to as
map-based
and tends to happen
when the player needs to travel to someplace new.
With so many games providing full 3D gameplay or 2D environments that
display a sense of depth, a top-down map may be provided to help orient the
player and guide them through the game space. These top-down maps may
scroll as the player moves through environments, particularly in 3D games
such as
World of Warcraft
. Other games that have used them effectively are
Populous
,
Sid Meier's Gettysburg!
, and
Seven Cities of Gold
. They're invaluable
tools to help guide the player in the right direction and avoid the frustration
that can happen from getting lost while en route to a new place or trying to
retrace steps.
Many players appreciate maps in games. Maps help provide a sense of order
and are critical for those who play strategy games. As the amount and complex-
ity of traversable space increases in games, coming up with map designs has
become a significant challenge to designers. As we discovered with the naviga-
tion screens that are created for games, for the most part, they tend to have a
design and look similar to the game itself.
The
hub-and-spoke
method for creating spatial design has been very popular
with designers, so much so that we'll discuss it in more depth in the next section.
