I got two people to play through the same scene (isolated, one after the other, without seeing each other's actions or choices) and I presented them with a quick overview of the backstory in the form of this questionnaire sheet;
Participant experiment - "Finger Cutting Scene"
Backstory
The protagonist is Ethan Mars, a 30-something father who's son Shawn has been kidnapped by the serial killer dubbed as the "Origami Killer".
The killer is testing Ethan by leaving him a series of clues in the form of origami figures. When the figures are unfolded they contain clues to a series of traumatic and dangerous trials, which Ethan must chose whether to endure and complete in order to gain further information regarding where his son his being held, before the time is up and his son is killed.
The Test
This test involves a play-through of a single trial in which the player has a 5:00 minute time scale to chose whether to sacrifice something in order to gain more information about the whereabouts of his son. There will be a variety of objects scattered in the environment to aid the participant, and they can chose at any point within the 5:00 slot not to complete the trial. This will result in the trial being failed and no information will be gained from it.
This test involves a play-through of a single trial in which the player has a 5:00 minute time scale to chose whether to sacrifice something in order to gain more information about the whereabouts of his son. There will be a variety of objects scattered in the environment to aid the participant, and they can chose at any point within the 5:00 slot not to complete the trial. This will result in the trial being failed and no information will be gained from it.
Evaluation:
Did you complete the trial?
If No, why?
If Yes, why?
Which of the objects did you select and why?
What guided you to select these particular objects?
If No, why?
If Yes, why?
Which of the objects did you select and why?
What guided you to select these particular objects?
What did you feel during the trial? eg stress, anxiety, calm, focus.
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings?
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc.
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot?
Why?
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings?
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc.
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot?
Why?
Both Participants were non-gamers, that is to say, playing computer games is not something they chose to do on a regular basis. It may be worthwhile conducting another small focus group test with participants who have more experience in playing computer games, but have not yet played through Heavy Rain.
Participant 1 took a very direct route, heading straight for the chair and sitting down and pressing the play button. After the recorded message was played, they got up and pretty much went for the first object they could see which was the giant knife stuck in the wall.
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings?
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc. It just looked really dirty and I wanted to get out as soon as you could, no messing about. It was dead enclosed, and there was nobody to help you
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot?
Why? The broken wooden floors, holes in the wall all added to the distress of him lost his child - it's like it reflected his stress at the situation.
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So I didn't immediately sit down in the chair, I took the opportunity to walk around the environment at my leisure, and investigated all the rooms in the dingy flat. I walked around and examined everything from the disinfectant in the medicine cupboard in the bathroom, to the hipflask in the cupboard in the kitchen, I even washed my hands at the sink. (albiet, by accident)
It may also be useful to allow participants to first play through a "tutorial" scene in order to get them more familiarized with the controls as these proved to be a problem for the non-gamer group, and admittedly was something I should have considered.
Both participants were heavily influenced by the control interface, they relied on the white symbol buttons to highlight usable objects to them rather than taking time to scout the environment in their own steed.
Participant 1
Participant 1 took a very direct route, heading straight for the chair and sitting down and pressing the play button. After the recorded message was played, they got up and pretty much went for the first object they could see which was the giant knife stuck in the wall.
Evaluation:
Did you complete the trial? Yes
If No, why?
If Yes, why? Because it asked me to, and I wanted to find my son.
Which of the objects did you select and why? Giant knife stuck in the wall, because it was the first thing I saw
What guided you to select these particular objects? Turned that way and saw it in the wall, and when I turned towards it the wee white symbol thing popped up.
If No, why?
If Yes, why? Because it asked me to, and I wanted to find my son.
Which of the objects did you select and why? Giant knife stuck in the wall, because it was the first thing I saw
What guided you to select these particular objects? Turned that way and saw it in the wall, and when I turned towards it the wee white symbol thing popped up.
What did you feel during the trial? eg stress, anxiety, calm, focus. Confusion, didn't really care about Ethan because he's not real and a pixelated man, the timer counting down was stressful and I didn't really understand so was even more confused.
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings? It was dingy, made you feel dirty and in a place you really didn't want to be in. It looked boggin and was all burnt.
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc. It was dull, hardly any light - lead to more confusion, couldnt see a bloody thing. Colour - everything was dark and the same. Textures - looked like everything was falling apart, and elements of my life were falling apart.
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot? yes
Why? pretty much all the reasons I said before. The white arrows were good at showing you where to go and what to do, they helped you see what was right.
I didn't want to mess about and go in other rooms cause I wasn't sure of controls and was pressured by the countdown timer. The knife was huge and in the wall at eye level so I saw it first.
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings? It was dingy, made you feel dirty and in a place you really didn't want to be in. It looked boggin and was all burnt.
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc. It was dull, hardly any light - lead to more confusion, couldnt see a bloody thing. Colour - everything was dark and the same. Textures - looked like everything was falling apart, and elements of my life were falling apart.
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot? yes
Why? pretty much all the reasons I said before. The white arrows were good at showing you where to go and what to do, they helped you see what was right.
I didn't want to mess about and go in other rooms cause I wasn't sure of controls and was pressured by the countdown timer. The knife was huge and in the wall at eye level so I saw it first.
Spotted a saw after I'd picked the knife up but didn't go for it cause it was serrated and would have taken longer. And I didn't know how to stand up...
The music built up the tension too.
Participant 2
Walked straight to the chair and sat down and pressed play, didn't have a look around. After recorded message, walked into bathroom and found the medicine cabinet, opened it and found a bottle which they assumed were painkillers, brings it to the table and sets it down. Turned round and spotted pliers by the wrecked tv, picked them up and set them down on table. Turned and went into the other room - the kitchen. Immediately spotted the hipflask due to camera angle. Didn't go for it. Washed hands at sink "to be clean"
Walked around the main room looking for objects, picked up saw and put it down on table. Sits down at table and used what they thought were painkillers - it was actually disinfectant, which worked out well. Selects pliers over saw and goes through with cutting off finger. Immediately says "A wee swig of the brandy from the kitchen would have been good for him"
Evaluation:
Did you complete the trial? Yes
If No, why?
If Yes, why? Cause thats what the game told me to do and I wanted to find my son.
Which of the objects did you select and why? Pliers, saw and disinfectant. I should have picked up the hip flask from the kitchen too.
What guided you to select these particular objects? Spotted the pliers and the saw because their green handles were brighter than the rest of the room so were more distinctive, and thats what attracted me to them. They were near the table too. Saw the scissors in the sink when i went to look at the medicine cabinet, spotted it because of the wee white symbol that appeared above it when I walked past. Saw the scissors in the sink but I didn't want them cause they were wee cheap scissors, common knowledge. I thought the disinfectant were painkillers and he would need them cause it would be sore.
If No, why?
If Yes, why? Cause thats what the game told me to do and I wanted to find my son.
Which of the objects did you select and why? Pliers, saw and disinfectant. I should have picked up the hip flask from the kitchen too.
What guided you to select these particular objects? Spotted the pliers and the saw because their green handles were brighter than the rest of the room so were more distinctive, and thats what attracted me to them. They were near the table too. Saw the scissors in the sink when i went to look at the medicine cabinet, spotted it because of the wee white symbol that appeared above it when I walked past. Saw the scissors in the sink but I didn't want them cause they were wee cheap scissors, common knowledge. I thought the disinfectant were painkillers and he would need them cause it would be sore.
I went into the kitchen cause I thought that's where all the sharp objects usually are. Noticed the hipflask in the cupboard cause of the camera angle, didn't think itd be useful but after I realised it would have been handy
What did you feel during the trial? eg stress, anxiety, calm, focus. Stressed when the countdown started, I wanted to save the child
Do you feel the environment in any way contributed to these feelings?
If so, what elements? eg colour, lighting, textures, contrast, props etc. It just looked really dirty and I wanted to get out as soon as you could, no messing about. It was dead enclosed, and there was nobody to help you
Do you feel the virtual environment/scene aided the plot?
Why? The broken wooden floors, holes in the wall all added to the distress of him lost his child - it's like it reflected his stress at the situation.
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Being more of an experienced player of games, when I first played the game I chose a different route which was more than likely influenced by my previous knowledge and understanding of games, and especially how games of this particular genre tend to play out. Either that or I was just putting off sitting in the chair and starting the trial cause I felt uneasy (probably that one...)I recognised that sitting down in the chair and pressing play on the monitor would trigger some sort of task-related event, and drawing upon my experience of how the previous trials panned out, and the dank and oppressive nature of the environment I was currently in - I knew it wouldn't be pretty.
So I didn't immediately sit down in the chair, I took the opportunity to walk around the environment at my leisure, and investigated all the rooms in the dingy flat. I walked around and examined everything from the disinfectant in the medicine cupboard in the bathroom, to the hipflask in the cupboard in the kitchen, I even washed my hands at the sink. (albiet, by accident)
Previous scenes of the aftermath of Ethan's trials and Madison patching him up, lead me to believe that the "sacrifice" the trial entailed would most likely be something painful for Ethan, and judging by the amount of sharp and crude objects scattered around the environment, it was going to be physical and it was going to be traumatic.
With this knowledge in hand I had an inkling of what I would have to do so I sat down in front of the monitor and hit the play button.
Sure enough, the sacrifice was to cut off a section of your finger within a five minute time scale in order to prove your love for your son, and show your determination to gain further information from the killer.
Not gonna lie, I'm squeamish so even going through this in a virtual sence was freaking me out. However I'd already scouted the area for objects and I knew exactly what I'd need.
I went straight for the disinfectant in the medicine cupboard, which I only noticed at first partly because every other bathroom in the game had featured one, and also due to the shiny white handle on it which stood out from the rest of the dirty dark bathroom, acting as a beacon.
Once I had that in hand I went back to the table and set it down, then I went for the hip flask which I assumed would be full of alcohol - which in this situation, one would need either as another disinfectant if the first ran out, or for some dutch courage. I noticed that there didnt seem to be any numbing medicine or painkillers - this made sense since the killer obviously wanted Ethan to feel everything that was happening to him, and test his conviction.
Medical supplies gathered I now had to think about which object I was going to use to cut off his finger, and the cool female voice constantly reminding me how much time I had left, heightened my stress levels.
The big knife in the wall and the saw were obvious choices but I didn't go for them, the knife because it could have been blunt and might have taken more than one go to chop the finger off, and the saw because it was serrated and would take longer and be far more painful than a clean break. The scissors in the sink where no use either. Then I spotted the green handle of the pliers beside the battered TV, their slightly brighter tone helped distinguish them from the rest of the environment, much like the saw.
I brought the pliers to the table, thinking that once big forceful snap from them should be enough to break off his finger. Just thinking about that made me feel a bit ill, and there again was the woman telling me how little time I had to let to chop off my own finger. I felt like chopping off her head.
Sitting down, I used the disinfectant, then had Ethan take a swig from the hip flask, then had a brief moment where I sat back and knew that I could back out and not go through with it, but ultimately that everything else he'd gone through would have been for nothing without this information which could save his son. So with the vibrations in the controller increasing and making me feel even shakier, and the stupid woman again counting down the time, and the buttons jumping all over the place I went through it and had him chop off his own finger. Adrenaline jumping through me I felt horrible, not as horrible as Ethan who was writhing about in pain with half of his pinky finger missing but still pretty freaked out.
CONCLUSIONS
I'll need to do the test again with other participants, if possible, people who are experienced at playing games but have not yet played Heavy Rain. I will also allow them to play through a more instructive tutorial level instead of just explaining the controls and hoping they understood.
Next time I will also revise my questions by running them past my supervisor first and getting their opinion on what to improve, add, or change about them.
Next time I will also revise my questions by running them past my supervisor first and getting their opinion on what to improve, add, or change about them.
