Effects of Field-Of-View in First-Person Video Games a Study on Camera Field-Of-View in Relation to Game Design
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Effects of Field-of-View in First-Person Video Games A Study on Camera Field-of-View in Relation to Game Design Kenth Ljung Faculty of Arts Department of Game Design Bachelor’s Thesis in Game Design, 15 hp Program: Game Design and Programming Supervisors: Jakob Berglund Rogert, Masaki Hayashi Examiner: Mikael Fridenfalk June, 2015 Abstract Field of view in virtual environments such as games is the angular cone-of-vision a camera uses to display content on screen, and is subject to various characteristics and effects. Some of these effects have been documented based on simulation. However little to no research is readily available regarding video games. This paper set out to document and verify if field of view can reliably be used to affect potential game design aspects, particularly for first-person cameras. Several factors were identified and tests constructed which had participants play through a virtual first-person environment on regular computer hardware (no head-mounted display or other viewing mediums). The measured properties were distance, scale and speed as a function of field of view. According to the results, distances appear longer, objects appear smaller and movement faster at higher field of view, however at varying amounts depending on the context, scenario and viewing angle of the camera. In addition it was also shown that text readability and peripheral vision were significantly affected. It was concluded that field of view can be used within games and virtual applications to enable certain game design elements, and that field of view also should be a consideration in designing a game as it may be interpreted differently given a different field of view. Keywords: field of view, camera, video games, game design, first-person, PC Table of Contents Glossary 1. Introduction ............................................................................................................................ 1 2. Background ............................................................................................................................ 3 Field of View Characteristics .......................................................................................... 3 Field of View in Virtual Environments ........................................................................... 5 2.2.1. Technical Details ...................................................................................................... 5 2.2.2. Existing Problems and Research ............................................................................... 7 Field of View in Games ................................................................................................... 7 2.3.1. PC and Consoles ....................................................................................................... 7 2.3.2. Effects ....................................................................................................................... 8 Field of View in Photography and Cinematography ....................................................... 8 3. Method ................................................................................................................................... 9 Tools and Environments .................................................................................................. 9 Tests ................................................................................................................................. 9 3.2.1. Text Readability Test ................................................................................................ 9 3.2.2. Peripheral Vision Test ............................................................................................. 10 3.2.3. Perception of Distance Test .................................................................................... 11 3.2.4. Perception of Scale Test .......................................................................................... 12 3.2.5. Perception of Speed Test ........................................................................................ 13 3.2.6. Combined Perception Test ...................................................................................... 14 4. Results .................................................................................................................................. 15 Text Readability ............................................................................................................ 15 Peripheral Vision ........................................................................................................... 17 Perception of Distance ................................................................................................... 18 Perception of Scale ........................................................................................................ 22 Perception of Speed ....................................................................................................... 24 Combined Perception .................................................................................................... 27 Test Summary ................................................................................................................ 29 5. Analysis ................................................................................................................................ 31 Text Readability ............................................................................................................ 31 Peripheral Vision ........................................................................................................... 31 Perceptual Tests ............................................................................................................. 31 5.3.1. Distance ................................................................................................................... 31 5.3.2. Scale ........................................................................................................................ 32 5.3.3. Speed ....................................................................................................................... 32 5.3.4. Combined ................................................................................................................ 33 6. Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 34 References ................................................................................................................................ 35 Appendix A: Question Form .................................................................................................... 36 Appendix B: Raw Form Answer Data ..................................................................................... 39 Appendix C: Raw Distance 3 Results ...................................................................................... 41 Appendix D: Raw Dodging Results ......................................................................................... 42 Glossary Term Description FoV Field-of-View; the angle of the perspective camera model used to display content in a virtual environment. Unless otherwise stated, FoV denotes here horizontal field of view. FPS First-Person-Shooter; a game term for where a camera is placed and moved to simulate the eyes of a virtual avatar, contrary to third- person where the avatar is visible on screen. For historical reason “shooter” is included, though the term has been generalized to not necessarily require shooting as part of the game mechanics. PC Personal Computer. Used here to indicate a platform environment common for desktop usage, with one or several monitors typically less than 30 inches in size and viewed from less than a meter away. Virtual Environment/Scene A virtual environment in this paper defines an environment generated and rendered by a computer, as opposed to an environment set in reality. Virtual environments have a range of dynamic properties and options (such as field of view) which all affects the final image displayed on a computer screen. “Scene” is used to describe a particular section of a virtual environment. Interactive Environment Similar to a virtual environment, with the addition that the final screen image is not static and react to input and activities from a user. At the very least it is assumed in this paper that an interactive environment features constant camera movement, which produces additional characteristics beyond static imagery. 1. Introduction Field of view, or simply FoV, is an angular measurement of the perspective of a camera. A 90° field of view indicates that the viewing medium (usually a camera lens) can capture the environment within a 90° imaginary cone in front if it (see Figure 1). Figure 1: Field of view visualization Everything inside the field of view cone in Figure 1 will be rendered and visible in the final image (except when obstructed, as is the case with the small square to the right of the circle), which in virtual environments usually is the image that is shown on screen. There exist no uniform field of view value suitable for every virtual environments. Different aspects such as screen resolution and viewing distance may determine a field of view value that is the closest representative of the real size the screen occupies of a human’s actual vision, as if the screen was simply a window. This is however not always desired or possible, and other factors may drive the choice of field