Stop Getting Lost: Make Cognitive Maps, Not Levels

Comments · 239

• KR

  @krevetka9744 · 3 years ago

  Basically why I hate The Witcher's map and never really explored the world. And if you try to play the game with no map you WILL suffer.

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• DC

  @DctrBread · 4 years ago

  I find it funny that you mentioned designing with no navigational HUD. I remember hearing a study many years ago which concluded that playing a game with a dynamic minimap caused long-term atrophy of the player's ability to navigate and memorize 2d graphs in general

  1K

• KR

  @Krash954 · 4 years ago

  A certain degree of "where the hell am I...?" or "how do I move forward?" can encourage exploration and ultimately enhance the experience... as long as the player doesn't stay lost for too long... because then they've become stuck. which sucks. Think of it as creating environmental tension and release.

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• ME

  @metasamsara · 4 years ago

  What made Morrowind such a great game with no minimap is that whenever you get lost is when you discover new interesting stuff! And they make finding your destination that much rewarding! I miss it so much!

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• AL

  @AlligatorTower · 4 years ago

  This is chock full of things it felt like I "knew." But you've given me much better words and mental-scaffolding to be able to articulate them. You're a great educator Nicolas, I'll be looking for more of your talks.

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• MO

  @morgierwin6641 · 4 years ago (edited)

  I take this away from his talk: Design a level not by focusing on its manifestation in pixels, but by focusing on the cognitive image or map that is going to be formed in players' minds. From this perspective you can first design functionally, and then expand.

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• QU

  @Quarine1 · 4 years ago

  The cognitive mapping of Elden Ring comes to mind when you mentioned both landmarks and districts. The Erdtree for example can be seen from everywhere in the world and acts as an anchor in the story and in the way the player navigates the world.

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• PA

  @patrickj · 3 years ago

  The first Gothic games applied this really well, there&apos;s no minimap, compass or other navigational HuD, when dropped into the world, you&apos;re just given a path to follow and the information that there&apos;s a huge camp further down the road. Following that road down the mountain it leads into a larger open area, and from the top of the cliff you&apos;re already able to see said camp, establishing it as both a landmark and a hub district. <br><br>Dialogue with NPCs then establishes names and desciptions for specific locations and minor landmarks within, like the main and south gate, the entrance to the fortress at the center of the camp, the arena and trade district, with quest givers referencing all those points of interest, combined with &quot;real&quot; directions, like the third hut left of the main gate, or that one hut set back against the fortress wall.<br><br>Pointing to locations outside of the hub works much the same, with descriptions using established paths, landmarks and terrain to keep you on track, ever expanding your known area. As for the much longer journeys to one of the other hubs, there are NPCs that will escort you through the wilderness, thus letting you learn the right path and experience all the wayside landmarks yourself.<br><br>Even later on when you actually aquire a map, those are kind of low detail, unlabeled, hand-drawn maps that focus heavily on paths, landmarks and terrain. It&apos;s not a replacement for your mental map of the world, but an enhancement, like a memory aid to help assure you where exactly you are, if in doubt.<br><br>While rather small for an open world, It is quite the testament to these games&apos; organic feeling world design, that to this day I&apos;m having a harder time laying out the path to most locations on the ingame map, rather than imagining the way by chaning together landmarks, paths and directions.

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• LU

  @lukkkasz323 · 4 years ago (edited)

  I recommend paying more attention to this point <a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q1Tczf8vxCM&amp;t=900">15:00</a>, because it can easily go unnoticed how useful it is. This can be used for a lot of things, like for example caches of ammo in classic FPS design. Grouping loot to specific spots makes it much more meaningful than just throwing several pieces of it around the level. I remember Doom 3 doing a great job at this.

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• OW

  @OwlMoovement · 4 years ago

  When I read Image of the City 12 years ago I spent a lot of time thinking about how it applied to world design in games. &nbsp;It makes a lot of sense in games like Shadow of the Colossus. &nbsp;Another great read on the topic is in Edmund Bacon&apos;s (if you&apos;re wondering, one degree. He was Kevin&apos;s uncle) Design of Cities. The way pilgrimages instrumentally structured the cities he covered are a great reference for those who want to design game worlds that teach the player navigation without a map. &nbsp;Thank you for making this video.

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• GA

  @gamongames · 4 years ago

  a real pity these video-conference talks dont allow for questions.<br><br>this one is so rich and to the point that Im sure it could benefit from a generous QA section at the end

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• DA

  @darbyburbidge8976 · 4 years ago

  Just wanted to say while watching this talk, all I could think about is how most From Software games hit these notes so well. Really illustrates why great level design has been a hallmark of their games.

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