Environment
Centered
Gameplay
Josh Antolovic
a diagram organizing the research
this poster is accessible online at: https://joshantolovic.com/research-poster
an abstract
Let’s consider how environments and elements of nature are portrayed within mainstream media. At the core, nature becomes static background fodder as part of staging. Taking a cue from television and film, games use repeating backgrounds or assets to build up faux environmental depth. In some instances, nature is used for destroying enemies via elemental spells, a source for endless resource extraction, or a display of power through utter environmental destruction. On the flip side, environments are also portrayed as places to learn, grow, and heal. While some games have made a conscious attempt to center the environment (as seen in the associated research handbook), there has yet to be a mainstream movement or trend that positions the core of a game’s identity on environmental aspects.
The conditions that define environment centered gameplay aren’t fixed. I start with the ground whereas someone else might start with clouds. The associated research handbook discusses gameplay where environmental themes affect the experience in non-traditional ways. In other words, the environment moves from being a backdrop to a significant influence on the gameplay experience. This approach is radical, as most environmental game design tools are intended solely for visual enhancement. Landscapes are commonly programmed to be static and/or loop a one-dimensional animation.
I aim to treat players as gardeners, creating transient experiences of watching a digital environment shift over time in response to a player’s actions. In some way, shape or form, I hope that what they learn from digital environments can translate back to care and appreciation of real environments.
This is a sketch on taking the pixel graphic framework a few steps further. To add visual depth, I’ve used pixels as coordinates to spawn new elements. I mimic a shader to develop a gradient over the course of a few pixels and use vectors that appear as wavy lines. My belief is that this sketch and method embody the aesthetic quality of an ecosystem.
In this sketch, I imagine a player picking up a sapling and moving it close to the water. If next to the water, then the sprout will flower. A time element would be applied so that the sprout does not immediately flower. This can be seen as an open world gardening sand box game.
I use the notion that it takes 10,000 hours to become an expert at something and try to connect it to forest time or tree time. A player can install the game on their phone, starting with either an asphalt parking lot or a nearly black screen. As the game remains open, time will be accounted for, and pixels of green will begin to appear. Over time, the asphalt lot will crack, become a meadow, and eventually transform into a forest.
questions
How have environments been rendered throughout time? What differences have there been that affect game mechanics?
How are ecocritical effects on a player defined and when do they occur?
If we shift our goal from realism and focus on providing new frameworks for environment centered gameplay, what compromises and/or constraints will form?
What holds the player? What is the world? Do I need to show all things on screen, or can I allude to them? Is there dialogue? Is it a toy or a game?
What amount of digital interactive systems depth is required to mimic ecosystem depth?
Does having biological parameters that are displayed within gameplay enhance ecosystem immersion?