Research Article
Visual Abstraction for Games on Large Public Displays
@INPROCEEDINGS{10.1007/978-3-319-49616-0_27, author={David Gullick and Daniel Burnett and Paul Coulton}, title={Visual Abstraction for Games on Large Public Displays}, proceedings={Intelligent Technologies for Interactive Entertainment. 8th International Conference, INTETAIN 2016, Utrecht, The Netherlands, June 28--30, 2016, Revised Selected Papers}, proceedings_a={INTETAIN}, year={2017}, month={1}, keywords={Game design Graphics Abstraction Realism Resolution}, doi={10.1007/978-3-319-49616-0_27} }- David Gullick
Daniel Burnett
Paul Coulton
Year: 2017
Visual Abstraction for Games on Large Public Displays
INTETAIN
Springer
DOI: 10.1007/978-3-319-49616-0_27
Abstract
From its earliest developments video game design has arguably been closely coupled to technological evolution particularly in relation to graphics. In very early games the limitations of technology led to highly abstracted graphics but as technology improved, abstraction has largely been left behind as developers strive towards ever-greater realism. Thus, games are generally drawing from conventions established in the mediums of film and television, and potentially limiting themselves from the possibilities abstraction may offer. In this research, we consider whether highly abstracted graphics are perceived as detrimental to gameplay and learnability by current gamers through the creation of a game using very low-resolution display that would accommodate a range of display options in a playable city. The results of trialing the game at a citywide light festival event where it was played by over 150 people indicated that abstraction made little difference to their sense of engagement with the game, however it did foster communication between players and suggests abstraction is a viable game design option for playable city displays.
