Game setting

Game Settings

Every game has its unique and attractive settings that are used to attract a selected audience. These settings can be adjusted by the player and they can include: Physical, Temporal, Environmental, Emotional and Ethical.

Physical Settings

This is the place in which the current story is being played. For example, if you were playing a horror game, the setting would be dark and bleak to emphasise the theme of the game. This also immerses the player into the game as they would feel in fear in these settings. It is important that game designers choose the appropriate physical settings as it would not be very good to see contrasting settings and themes in the same game, it would just not make any sense. Imagine playing a horror game and the physical setting has a bright and happy theme.

Temporal Settings

This refers to the time period in which the current story is being played. It is important that game designers choose the right time period in which the game is played since it will look a bit odd. For example, if the game were set in the 1800s such as Assassin's creed, seeing computers and TVs would just be unacceptable for some gamers as they would want the 1800s style setting as they would be more immersed in it.

Environmental settings

This type of setting refers to the weather conditions of the game. For example, in a horror game the environment would quite dark, there would be lots of rain and some thunder to appropriately set the scene. In some games, the environmental settings actually affect the game play. For example, in Formula 1 games when there is rain the cars slow down and they are slippery and players need to change the wheel type just like in real life. The screen would also be quite blurry as the helmet of the driver gets very wet. Also, cars need to have a red light on at the back since accidents are more likely in this weather so they would happen more often. This setting creates a more realistic theme to the game and is important because it creates a better feel in the game. It would be quite boring to just have an environment that is only sunny.

Emotional setting

This setting's job is to consider the player's feelings during the game. Games need to get into the player's emotional side so that they are more attached to the virtual characters of the game which would turn into more enjoyment and a more realistic feel for the gamer. If players are more immersed in the game, they are more likely to continue playing it so it is important.

Ethical setting

This setting is what allows players to do whatever they want in a game. For example, in GTA 5 the player can absolutely do anything in the game, whether it is stealing cars, kill innocent people or hijack a plane. This needs to be considered by the designers as they need to get the right age rating for the game they are making. It would be quite bad if a game that is rated 3+ or 7+ suddenly have mass murder scenes or a lot of swearing. This would create a bad impression of the designers and the audience would be quite angered. Also, some people think that violent games encourages for a more violent generation of kids and teenagers.