Designing Ambiguous Navigable Worlds
summary
WORLD4 is a layered first‑person exploration prototype that runs four simultaneous views so players triangulate a fragmented environment with no objectives; the claim is that ambiguity—created by information gaps, withheld feedback, repeated assets and spatial tricks—drives curiosity rather than frustration. Built through iterative experiments, public playtests and recordings, the project yields four concrete design strategies (use partial, conflicting views; remove some feedback; hide/reveal with layout; seed misinformation). It earns festival nominations and is now being redeveloped for commercial release.
AI-written summary · about
chapters (10)
- 0:00Start
- 3:17(part) experiment (part) research
- 7:45(research) investigations
- 13:58(knowledge) limitations (aka) motivation
- 17:03layered, branching
- 19:14research research -research
- 21:11Use multiple sets of incomplete information to support investigation
- 24:55Remove feedback to compel spatial questions
- 29:37Use Spatial Tricks to Withhold Environmental Reveal
- 34:23Use misinformation to disrupt clear understandings
related talks
59mHow to build (un)believable worlds?
44mAnother World, a Beautiful Lesson in Software Architecture
44mWorld Building: From Narrative to Design
49mMessy characters and breadcrumb trails: Designing player investment
45mTips and Tricks on Developing an Open World Game
38mSpatial Communication in Level Design - Dreams
38mWalking Around The Quest for lost Gameplay
55mYour online world is a...