| Session Name: | Stop Getting Lost: Make Cognitive Maps, Not Levels |
| Speaker(s): | Nicolas Oueijan |
| Company Name(s): | thatgamecompany |
| Track / Format: | Design |
| Overview: | Unless a game is explicitly about navigation, getting lost in it will almost always result in an awkward and frustrating experience. This age-old problem plagued architects and urban planners long before it plagued designers in the game industry. Luckily, level designers and environment artists have the opportunity to learn valuable lessons from these more experienced disciplines. This talk will leverage cognitive science, anthropological, and urbanism research to explore what it means to get lost and how spaces can be designed to prevent this from happening. By identifying elements in the built environment that contribute to more comprehensive cognitive maps, developers can start creating virtual environments that are more navigable, memorable, and less likely to disorient players. |
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