Visual motion in a railed shooter game: A designer study

Visual design in games is a complex, but important, area of study, as it affects the player’s experience. Previous games research applied knowledge in visual attention to understand visual designs, for instance through cues and lighting to influence players’ behaviors and feelings. However, these approaches overlook how the visual design changes over time. In this paper, we focus on visual motion as an unexplored aspect of visual design, defined by a theory of visual perception as features associated with game elements. In particular, we consider the speed, size, and density of game elements in motion. Towards this goal, we developed a simple railed shooter game with a tool that allowed 8 expert game designers to manipulate perceptual features over time. Based on analysis of results collected through designers using this tool, as well as qualitative reviews, we present several perception-based design principles, stated as formulae of intended perceptual effects.