Project Idea Theories

After identifying the elements that I enjoy and find interesting within the previously mentioned domains, here I've begun to mould them into research questions, and plot out routes that I could investigate in depth as part of that idea. This will hopefully identify how substantial an idea is to me, in no particular order.

How can game aesthetics affect gameplay, story, and player experience?

• Are players more immersive when the aesthetics are more interesting? Does it make a lasting impact, make the game and story feel more like a believable world, or make the game more memorable than if the aesthetics were limited?
• Do players launch straight into gameplay or spend time taking in the environment? Does this change between low or high aesthetics?
• How much do players care about what their character looks like? Does this change between having a pre-set option and character customisation, or the ability to change outfits?
• If players were given the ability to change their character or environment, does that make them care more about them?
• Do players think differently about aesthetics for characters and environments? Would they prefer one with high quality over the other, or a balance of both?
• How much can aesthetic lead gameplay or story? Is this genre dependant?
• How much does initial impressions of the aesthetics affect the player in decisions to buy the game?

Is there a balance between aesthetics and practicality for designs in games?

• Is there a balance of making a character or environment originally appealing yet believable in practicality?
• Is there a balance between acceptable extravagance in character design and going overboard? When does it become too overdone?
• How dependent on genre is the level of extravagance in character design?
• What makes a character more memorable visually; the physical features like the body, face and hair, or the fashion design?
• What makes an environment memorable without a character to back it up?
• When do designs become too cliché? Is there a balance between stereotypes and originality?
• How do aesthetics affect gameplay mechanics? e.g. Assassin's Creed, climbing materials. Is it better to have them blend in to be seamless in environments, or stand out to be easier to use?
• Is there a difference in aesthetics between the main environments and optional or side ones? Is more detail given to main areas? Between open world and enclosed areas?

How important is character and environment design in creating a cultural style and world in games?

• How useful is it to be able to identify characters based on their design in relation to their environment and expectation of interaction, and vice versa?
• What is the balance between functionality and aesthetics, in both anatomy and fashion? Is a character's design fit for their purpose? i.e. Their occupation, the environment they live in?
• How can a non-existent character or environment be believable, and what breaks the sense of disbelief? How far can real world physics go before fantasy and imagination comes in?
• How can an environment or character's personality be portrayed through their design? How much does this depend on our expectations, and how far can this go before they become stereotypical?
• Does visual style effect the appeal of a character or environment? How dependant is this on genre, and our expectations of a genre specific style?
• How can a character be appealing to a large audience? How effective is the design, before the character become animated? Outside of story, how can their personality be shown?
• How important is visual consistency between characters and environments in making the game world believable?

How important is customisation to gamers?

• How important is personal appearance to gamers when dealing with their characters or environment?
• Having customisation in a game, does it make it more immersive by putting the gamer's own stamp on things?
• How much time is spent on customising? Is there set levels? i.e. gamers who dabble then gamers who spend hours doing so?
• Is there a balance between elements looking good and still having good gameplay? With a customisation option, do players constantly change things, or is customisation focused on until it reaches its peak, then never changed?
• Are there distinctions in dedication when it comes to the scale of customisation? i.e. Loads of time spent on characters, but not on designing a large environment.

How would a constant interactive NPC companion affect gameplay?

• Would this make the game more immersive if the companion's welfare and life depend on the player, instead of just their own character's, especially if there were repercussions?
• Would this break the sense of disbelief in a game world, or make it feel more lifelike?
• Would the game world be more believable if you could switch point of view between the characters, or would it be better to see things only through one pair of eyes?
• Would companion be preferred over an AI to relay how to play the game and feed information to the player?
• Would people enjoy a companion or find them annoying? Can there be a balance?
• What if the entire game is based around the companion, and you as the player, are the helper instead of the main character? Your actions would influence the world, but only through the companion. It's their story being told, not yours.
• Is one companion preferred to a larger team of characters? Is it more personal?

What are the important factors in design and gameplay between main characters, interactive NPCs, and normal NPCs?

• How important is it to have a game world culture and looking unified between playable and non-playable character types?
• Is it more preferable to have the main character blend in with NPCs, or stand out? Or with interactive NPCs against non-interactive NPCs? Is there a balance to making sure they belong to the same world?
• How dependent is character variation on file size restrictions?
• What is the limit of the number of character variations before it's noticed it's becoming repetitive? Is it a solution to have the same models but use different textures and colouring? How important is having variation to the believability of the game?
• How important is it to have realistic NPC reactions and interactions? How strong is the impact of NPCs in the believability of the game?

Is using morality as a mechanic useful to allow the player to make the game their own?

• How would morality affect the design of characters and environments? Would it be preferred for the design to be pre-written, or should the player's decision affect it? Would this make the game more realistic?
• Can the design of characters or environments affect the expectations of the player?
• Would players take more care in their decisions if their actions made a direct affect on the design of the environment or character?
• Is it more immersive with consequences, not just in design, but in the story ending?

How does level design and storytelling in terms of quantity effect gameplay?

• Is there a balance in the size of the world and it's story, where the player is satisfied but still challenged?
• At what point does it become too much? i.e. Very high levels of detail can become an overload of information and not completely taken in or remembered.
• When does it become too stretched that the player forgets NPC names, where they can find them, of places they need to go when it's by word of mouth and memory. Is this a simple case of the UI having all these details, or does that make it less personal and make it obvious you're playing a game?
• Would people prefer more areas to explore and less story, or smaller areas and a deeper story? Is this genre dependent?

Is there a set structure to character classes in games? Why?

• Are there set archetypes for character classes; classics that are always used?
• How do you keep classes from getting repetitive and boring? What can you do to make them feel modern? When doing so, how much do you keep familiar, and how much is original?
• Is there a gender bias in character classes? i.e. Only males are the muscled heavy weight type? Can this be changed positively?
• Are definitions actually necessary in games that allow you to learn any skill, instead of only those that fall within your class? If not, why are they used?
• How strongly are classes defined by the balance of roles between characters? i.e. A team of three have to have one of each rather than all the same type.
• Are the same personality types always assigned to certain classes or roles? When does this become too cliché?
• How dependent on genre are games with classes ? Or are they just not defined as strongly?

Is there a set structure to environments? Why?

• Are there set archetypes for environments; classics that are always used? i.e. enemy dungeons, character's home etc.
• How do you keep dungeons from getting repetitive and boring? If games can be so big, why not make the worlds smaller and use file size for varied environments instead of reusing them?
• Can there be a balance of repetitive environments before they become over used? Is there a simple solution of using the same models, but changing the textures and lighting?
• Are there stereotypical expectations from certain environment designs? How far can this go before it's cliché?
• How do you take a classic environment and make it modern? When doing so, how much do you keep familiar, and how much is original?
• Are certain environments always used for the same roles?

In games with large worlds and information, how would a dedicated UI effect gameplay?

• Would players prefer menu systems with information sections to refer to if needed, or be annoyed at such a quantity of menus?
• Would it be a case of dependency on design? Make it blend into the story, like an interactive journal or computer screen, rather than an obvious game menu.
• Would such provided information improve gameplay or immersion in cases when players forget information and want to refresh themselves, or when they enjoy reading on story elements?
• E.G. -
• How to play: Instructions to remind players of skills.
• Characters: A list and description of all the quest related characters you've met.
• Places: A list and description of all the places you've visited.
• Bestiary: A list and description of creatures and foes you've faced.