The decisions a player makes whilst playing a game are one of the key aspects of contemplation amongst game designers. When a player chooses to interact (makes a decision) with an element in a game they are manipulating the mechanics set in place by the designer. The interaction between the player and the mechanics, known as gameplay is integral to the design of a game.
A level will be created to test methods which influence a player’s range of choice towards making decisions which the designer deems appropriate for the situation at hand. A variety of methods will be employed to achieve desired results from the tests, such as constraints set in place through game mechanics, visual cues in the environment and art style of the level and auditory elements. Permutations of the level will be tested by groups of testers to give quantifiable data which will parsed to determine the most effective methods used.
Ultimately, the purpose of this project is to ascertain the best methods of persuading a player to make decisions the designer intended, which in turn allows the designer to create sequences of events which are probable to happen.