First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes

Alexander Muscat; William Goddard; Jonathan Duckworth; Jussi Holopainen

First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes

Alexander Muscat, William Goddard, Jonathan Duckworth, Jussi Holopainen

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

13 Citations (Scopus)

Abstract

The First-Person Walker genre is defined by minimal player interactions, a deliberate slow pacing of the game play, and ambiguous goals. These distinct characteristics of First-Person Walkers challenge how we may consider a digital game. As such, there is a gap in understanding the design attributes that contribute to the unique game experiences afforded by 'Walkers'. We conduct a player experience study of four Walker games, Gone Home, Dear Esther, Proteus, and The Stanley Parable. From our analysis we discuss four distinct design themes specific to the Walker game experience: 1) player interaction, 2) temporal space, 3) player focus, and 4) ambiguity. We consider how each of these themes can be used to enhance the design of First-Person Walker player experiences. © 2016 Authors. Personal and educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, commercial use requires specific permission from the author.

Original language	English
Title of host publication	Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016
Publisher	Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA)
Publication status	Published - 2016
Externally published	Yes
Event	1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016 - Dundee, United Kingdom Duration: 1 Aug 2016 → 6 Aug 2016 http://www.digra.org/digital-library/forums/13-digra-fdg2106/

Publication series

Name	Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016

Conference

Conference	1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016
Place	United Kingdom
City	Dundee
Period	1/08/16 → 6/08/16
Internet address	http://www.digra.org/digital-library/forums/13-digra-fdg2106/

Bibliographical note

Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

Research Keywords

First-Person Walker
Game Design
Game Mechanics
Virtual Environments

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Muscat, A., Goddard, W., Duckworth, J., & Holopainen, J. (2016). First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes. In Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016 (Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016). Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA).

Muscat, Alexander ; Goddard, William ; Duckworth, Jonathan et al. / First-Person Walkers : Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes. Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016. Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), 2016. (Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016).

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title = "First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes",

abstract = "The First-Person Walker genre is defined by minimal player interactions, a deliberate slow pacing of the game play, and ambiguous goals. These distinct characteristics of First-Person Walkers challenge how we may consider a digital game. As such, there is a gap in understanding the design attributes that contribute to the unique game experiences afforded by 'Walkers'. We conduct a player experience study of four Walker games, Gone Home, Dear Esther, Proteus, and The Stanley Parable. From our analysis we discuss four distinct design themes specific to the Walker game experience: 1) player interaction, 2) temporal space, 3) player focus, and 4) ambiguity. We consider how each of these themes can be used to enhance the design of First-Person Walker player experiences. {\textcopyright} 2016 Authors. Personal and educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, commercial use requires specific permission from the author.",

keywords = "First-Person Walker, Game Design, Game Mechanics, Virtual Environments",

author = "Alexander Muscat and William Goddard and Jonathan Duckworth and Jussi Holopainen",

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Muscat, A, Goddard, W, Duckworth, J & Holopainen, J 2016, First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes. in Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016. Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016, Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016, Dundee, United Kingdom, 1/08/16.

First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes. / Muscat, Alexander; Goddard, William; Duckworth, Jonathan et al.
Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016. Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA), 2016. (Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016).

Research output: Chapters, Conference Papers, Creative and Literary Works › RGC 32 - Refereed conference paper (with host publication) › peer-review

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AU - Duckworth, Jonathan

AU - Holopainen, Jussi

N1 - Publication details (e.g. title, author(s), publication statuses and dates) are captured on an “AS IS” and “AS AVAILABLE” basis at the time of record harvesting from the data source. Suggestions for further amendments or supplementary information can be sent to [email protected].

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AB - The First-Person Walker genre is defined by minimal player interactions, a deliberate slow pacing of the game play, and ambiguous goals. These distinct characteristics of First-Person Walkers challenge how we may consider a digital game. As such, there is a gap in understanding the design attributes that contribute to the unique game experiences afforded by 'Walkers'. We conduct a player experience study of four Walker games, Gone Home, Dear Esther, Proteus, and The Stanley Parable. From our analysis we discuss four distinct design themes specific to the Walker game experience: 1) player interaction, 2) temporal space, 3) player focus, and 4) ambiguity. We consider how each of these themes can be used to enhance the design of First-Person Walker player experiences. © 2016 Authors. Personal and educational classroom use of this paper is allowed, commercial use requires specific permission from the author.

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KW - Game Mechanics

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ER -

Muscat A, Goddard W, Duckworth J, Holopainen J. First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes. In Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016. Digital Games Research Association (DiGRA). 2016. (Proceedings of the 1st Joint International Conference of Digital Games Research Association and Foundation of Digital Games, DiGRA/FDG 2016).

First-Person Walkers: Understanding the Walker Experience through Four Design Themes

Abstract

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Bibliographical note

Research Keywords

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