I am a PhD Candidate at Simon Fraser University School of Interactive Arts and Technology (SIAT) which is part of the Faculty of Communication, Art and Technology. Within SIAT I am a member of the EMIIE Lab (Engage Me in Interactive Experience) which is led by my Supervisor, Magy Seif El-Nasr. Previously I received a Masters in Design Studies degree at Harvard University Graduate School of Design (GSD) and a Bachelors degree in Architecture at the University of Southern California (USC).
My research is based on the the premise that what we see and how we play video games is conditioned by expertise. Game and level designers compose what we see and nudge us to action through the visual composition for instance to highlight important elements or guide behavior within engaging settings. Unfortunately, perceptual breakdowns occur when players misperceive characteristics or cues within the environment, an action, or decision-making step.
The focus of the research looks at visual composition in 3D games in relationship to perceptual breakdowns. I built a prototype to test how the expressive properties of camera view and motion affect what we see and how we play. The target audience is for novice players who are less accustomed to 3D games. Mixed methods are used to triangulate quantitative performance and eye tracked metrics along with qualitative player self report. The contribution of this thesis extracts visual composition design lessons to minimize frustration, retain player investment, and expand the accessibility of 3D games.The following image is a word cloud of my thesis (*so far).
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