Water can be a powerful tool in level design, and can change or improve the aesthetic of various areas. It is also a well known fact that some people fear water, especially deep and murky water. I want to see if It’s something I can exploit and embrace in my level, and as such I’ll be dedicating the second section of my survey to it.
For this area, I’ll be providing simple yes/no questions on top of the typical 1-5 rating questions, to get a feel of what the majority of people think about water.
The questions I’ve decided to ask are:
- Does clear water in game levels unsettle/scare you?
- Does murky water in game levels unsettle/scare you?
- Does having to walk through water in levels unsettle/scare you?
- Does having to swim through water in levels unsettle/scare you?
- Rate what scares you the most in water levels – The knowledge of enemies in the water?
- Rate what scares you the most in water levels – The knowledge that there is something in the water?
- Rate what scares you the most in water levels – not knowing what may or may not be in the water?
- Rate what scares you the most in water levels – Being unable to see in the water
- Any other comments (Optional)
My reasoning for these questions is, once again, I feel they’ll cover a broad range of directions I could go with including water (if at all). I’ll expect that clear water won’t bother many, if at all, though I’m banking on murky water being effective. I’ll also assume that not knowing if something may be in there or not – the unknown – being particularly effective, too.