MQP MBJ-1701 & 1702 / JRW AA6L VELUM: A 3D Puzzle/Exploration Game Designed Using Crowdsourced AI Facial Analysis A Major Qualifying Project Report submitted to the faculty of Worcester Polytechnic Institute in partial fulfillment of the Degree of Bachelor of Science Nicholas Chaput, CS August Beers, IMGD/CS Connor Mattson, IMGD Connor Thornberg, IMGD Jie Weng, IMGD Submitted April 27, 2017 Advisors: Professors Brian Moriarty and Ralph Sutter, IMGD Professor Jacob Whitehill, CS This report represents the work of WPI undergraduate students submitted to the faculty as evidence of completion of a degree requirement. WPI routinely publishes these reports on its website without editorial or peer review. For more information about the projects program at WPI, please see http://www.wpi.edu/academics/ugradstudies/project-learning.html. Abstract Velum is a first-person 3D puzzle/exploration game set in a timeless version of the Boston Public Garden. The project’s narrative framework and aesthetics are based on one of the Garden’s most prominent features, the Ether Monument, which commemorates the 1846 discovery of diethyl ether’s effectiveness as a medical anesthetic. A sequence of nine abstract challenges is rewarded by a progressive revelation of the player’s mysterious identity and purpose. The puzzle design was informed by the use of crowdsourced playtesting involving 300+ volunteers, combining standard data telemetry with AI-based facial image analysis capable of mapping player emotions to gameplay events. Acknowledgements Our team would like to extend a special thanks to the following individuals for their continuous support throughout our project. Project advisors Brian Moriarty, Professor of Practice, IMGD Ralph Sutter, Instructor / Lecturer, IMGD Jacob Whitehill, Assistant Professor, Computer Science PAX East IQP team Dean O’Donnell, faculty advisor Eric Cerini, Matthew Szpunar and Kelly Zhang, coordinators Special thanks John Thornberg Mike Voorhis Contents 1. Introduction ....................................................................................................................................................... 1 2. Development ..................................................................................................................................................... 5 2.1. Game design ...................................................................................................................................................... 6 2.1.1. Theme and inspirations .............................................................................................................................. 6 2.1.2. Experience goal .......................................................................................................................................... 9 2.1.3. Narrative design ....................................................................................................................................... 10 2.1.4. Puzzle design ............................................................................................................................................ 11 2.1.5. Player interaction ..................................................................................................................................... 15 2.2. Visual art .......................................................................................................................................................... 17 2.3. Audio and music ............................................................................................................................................... 25 2.3.1. Artistic focus ............................................................................................................................................. 25 2.3.2. Music selection ........................................................................................................................................ 27 2.3.3. Sound design ............................................................................................................................................ 28 2.4. Engineering ...................................................................................................................................................... 31 2.4.1. Choosing an engine .................................................................................................................................. 31 2.4.2. Coding ...................................................................................................................................................... 34 3. Playtesting ....................................................................................................................................................... 39 3.1. Professor Moriarty's class ................................................................................................................................ 39 3.1.1. Playtest results ......................................................................................................................................... 40 3.2. PAX East 2017 .................................................................................................................................................. 42 3.3. Study design ..................................................................................................................................................... 44 3.3.1. Inspiration ................................................................................................................................................ 44 3.4. Experimental design ......................................................................................................................................... 47 3.5. Methodology .................................................................................................................................................... 48 3.6. Hypotheses ....................................................................................................................................................... 54 3.7. Visualization ..................................................................................................................................................... 57 3.8. Log analysis ...................................................................................................................................................... 59 3.9. Facial analysis .................................................................................................................................................. 63 3.10. Replay analysis ............................................................................................................................................... 65 4. Post mortem .................................................................................................................................................... 67 4.1. Connor Mattson ............................................................................................................................................... 67 4.2. August Beers .................................................................................................................................................... 68 4.3. Connor Thornberg ............................................................................................................................................ 71 4.4. Jie Weng ........................................................................................................................................................... 74 4.5. Nicholas Chaput ............................................................................................................................................... 75 Works cited ......................................................................................................................................................... 79 Appendix A: Narrative script ................................................................................................................................ 81 Appendix B: Playtest notes .................................................................................................................................. 82 Appendix C: Playtest survey ................................................................................................................................. 84 Appendix D: PHP scripts ....................................................................................................................................... 94 Appendix E: Raw data in TSV format .................................................................................................................... 98 Appendix F: Sample of formatted log data........................................................................................................... 99 Appendix G: Fear dearg brainstorming notes .................................................................................................... 101 Appendix H: PQP meeting notes ........................................................................................................................ 102 Appendix I: Two-worlds game concept .............................................................................................................. 104 Appendix J: Personal meeting notes .................................................................................................................. 105 Appendix