Article about pacing in single player games.

[Coulianos]

Hello everyone!
I'm currently writing an article about a method to analyze and perfect pacing in single player games based upon some stuff I came up with while developing Project 25.
Its designed in such a way that it can help you guys out planning and executing your own singleplayer projects and ensure that pacing and variation is consistent throughout the experience.

I would love to get some feedback about the article before i finish it. You can get it here:
http://www.filip.coulianos.se/files/Fil ... pacing.pdf

[F0xHunter]

Nice "leaflet"!

Thogh there are some things I noticed:

- The picture on the third page, is waay to small. I needed to zoom in to read the text in it.
- You should change the "Arena/Boss"- color to red, since its the most stressing color of the four. (And the of course "Soft Resistance" to yellow.)

Other than that, this leaflet will be stored nicely in my HL2MODDING-folder!

[WizardExt]

The colors should be different, just as F0xHunter stated.

Red - High stress
Yellow - Low stress


I feel that the article looks too much into gameplay and the variation of gameplay elements. I think pacing and gameplay are different things and should have different charts.

Gameplay: Puzzle, Vehicle, Combat, Navigation, (None) - (Colors: White, Blue, Red, Green, (Grey))
Pacing: High stress, Mid stress, Low stress, (No stress) - (Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, (Grey))

Thanks for sharing the article. Very interesting. Good tips about the testing the product. Would love to read more of similar stuff, concerning single player experiences and development.

Good job Coulianos!

[WizardExt]

I think the pacing in your article can benefit from using a temperature theme. So it's easier to follow without knowing what the different colors actually stand for. A transition from the high stress color to the low stress color. You can also simplify the article by just using what degree of stress the player experiences - high, mid, low.

[Major Banter]

It needs a point-by-point summary, with some of the following wildcards

- Never frustrate

- Playtest, playtest, playtest

- Menial tasks always piss off

[Coulianos]

The colors should be different, just as F0xHunter stated.

Red - High stress
Yellow - Low stress


I feel that the article looks too much into gameplay and the variation of gameplay elements. I think pacing and gameplay are different things and should have different charts.

Gameplay: Puzzle, Vehicle, Combat, Navigation, (None) - (Colors: White, Blue, Red, Green, (Grey))
Pacing: High stress, Mid stress, Low stress, (No stress) - (Colors: Red, Orange, Yellow, (Grey))

Thanks for sharing the article. Very interesting. Good tips about the testing the product. Would love to read more of similar stuff, concerning single player experiences and development.

Good job Coulianos!

I both agree and disagree on your comment .

In half-life 2 pacing and gameplay elements are pretty much treated the same way, for instance puzzles and dialogue always have low pace, and arenas always have high pace. Collecting both a stress curve AND gameplay elements at least when doing an analysis of an existing game can be way to painful, however I suggest adding a stresscurve in the summary chapter (last page) if one finds it necessary. I didn't find it necessary in Project 25.

Whatever colors one would want to use is very individual I think. For me orange is more alarming than red, but you can use whatever color your want to. I'm not enforcing anything . Using gradients instead of colours would be interesting though, ill try that.

Rotinaj:
Thank you for your comment, however I do believe I mention the things you mention but in a more subtle way in the summary chapter perhaps i should make it more obvious...
Thanks anyways!