DEFINITION

Guidance

The player is special, because they need to see things which are critical to their mission, that no one lese cares about, but we build the world for them. Therefore, build the world so that it naturaly guides the player along their critical mission path.

<aside> 👉 Focal Points

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The player must be able to intuitively identify where they are, where they can and should be going. Contrasting easily identifiable elements in the world help the player create their mind map, and be naturally directed to where is interesting to go.

• Contrasting structures which are easy to remember and situate (size, altitude...)
• Contrasting elements at the scale of a room which create interest (shape, density, colour, texture, movement...)

<aside> 🎇 Size, Elevation & Clutter

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<aside> 💠 Pattern, Logic & Shape

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<aside> 🇧🇦 Light & Color

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• hot vs. cold

<aside> ⛷️ Movement

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• direction, speed

<aside> 👉 Visual language

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Patterns which repeat themselves can be learned. Give the player a language which make them understand where they are and what they're looking at.

• Clearly defined areas and paths (colour-coded, thematically distinct...)
• Family of entrances which share similar patterns
• Color coded interactibles

Example of God of War 2018's visual language: all climbable surfaces are painted gold.

<aside> 👉 Light

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People are naturaly attracted by light and repelled by shadows. Players are less likely to take a path if it is cut by a surface of shadow. Planning the orientation of the level (north/south) and planning for critical paths to be well lit should be one of the first steps in the design.

• Orientation to natural light
• Artificial light to grab interest
• Shadow surfaces to block attention off less-critical paths