Library Play through

 Testing 

Library scenes By Yasmine Brough

   For the test I got a player to play through the old and the new scene and asked and interviewed them on the emotional response from them both separately and then as a comparison between the two. 

First Library

  For the first (older) scene, she described it as very plain and basic visually, however could tell what the items were meant to represent; especially with the narrative aid. She did feel that the emotional impact and intrigue of the narrative and desire for exploration were impacted by the visuals. She detailed that it was a small space with lots to interact with, however felt this was detrimental to the transition area as it was an overwhelming amount of information to take in, in such a small area. This, she said, was problematic as transition areas reflect the pacing of other areas as well. Making the player want to avoid exploring with these things would possibly reduce interest in the world that it is supposed to be promoting. 

Second Library

  The second one she felt was a lot better in both layout and visuals.  She stated that despite this version of the scene had more in it, it felt less overwhelming due to it being more spacious. The rounded effect and corridor going upwards gave the player a good sense of direction with freedom to explore. As an aspiring lighting artist she felt that the colors and lighting gave this scene a much better sense of magic and wonder. However she did feel that the red rug in the center was distracting and disconnected to the magic theme as the contrast disconnected it with the theme.  

Final thoughts on comparison

   I asked her; in regards to her thoughts on the two scenes, how did she feel the visuals impacted this. She believed that the first scene would have improved a lot with more visual details like in the second. However she stated that the overall design and layout along side the visuals all contributed to the improved atmosphere. 

Conclusion and Reflection

After this project I feel that the visuals can impact the overall emotional impact gauged by the player to a degree that the other areas I was testing have been affected. My current style of project is reflected by the visuals, in that since they are tests rather than produced works, they have a more abstract feel. This however does not mean this style is inevitably detrimental to the projects. In projects such 'a sense of self' I used this style in a different way, inspired by games such as the 'Beginners Guide' that use abstract visuals as a way of enhancing the emotional impact. In my next project I am going to look more in to this concept.