ABSTRACT
The predigital era of film depended on the facade of the moving image; that a series of still photographs, when sped at a sufficiently high frame rate, provide the illusion of motion. Similarly, a narrative-driven game must sustain the illusion not of motion, but of free will. Effectively, a successful game must hide the contrivances of its level design: go down this corridor and not that one, open this door but not that one, and so on, without making the player feel his or her hand is forced. However, whereas the illusion of motion in film is a trick of the brain that works every time, hiding the artifice in a game depends on distraction and psychological suggestion utilizing both specific techniques of level design and narrative direction. Arguably, it is as important that a player is directed through the level as it is that the player feels he or she is choosing the direction. A hallway that would otherwise be freely available to explore in reality may, in a game, result in a dead end with an impenetrable locked door, be conveniently blocked by misplaced furniture, or perhaps most unimpressive, by apparently impenetrable yellow police tape as seen in 206Warner Bros’ Batman: Arkham Origins (2013). Having the path blocked by such a flimsy excuse takes the player out of the experience with the reminder that this is a game and that rules may be arbitrarily imposed. But there are better ways to accomplish this task and sustain the illusion that the gamer is in control.
