Spaces!!!

Well as the all-knowing Liam Murray once said ...“ya cant talk about game spaces without mentioning GTA” ...so maybe that's the place to start.Grand Theft Auto presents the player with a massive free to foam environment.This enormous game space gives the player the feeling of freedom,the feeling that they can do whatever they want!And thanks to the great folks at Rockstar we pretty much can!Woo-hoo!!!

Another game which I enjoy is SWAT 4,its small game spaces, that of a single house for example is at the opposite end of the spectrum compared to GTA.The player commands two teams of SWAT officers through a given level,with the power of viewing and commanding either team through their head-cams and radios. If the room has multiple exit routes the teams may split up but the commanding player can choose their own path while still maintaining control of his/her squad through an on screen window that displays a view of the game space from one of the team members perspectives. This ability to view the game space from multiple dynamic perspectives simultaneously is an enormously attractive feature in my opinion.

We talked about how the game space in which the game exists contributes to the impact of the game on its players.There are so many features of the game space that impact us, ranging from the size of the space itself to the colors used in the game space, the audio, how it is used to build suspense at times and at other to relax the player, after a big action sequence for example.As in SWAT the levels are usually dark and gloomy,silence builds tension and puts the player on the edge of their seat.Hearing a hostage talking to the perp behind a closed door begging for mercy increases this tension and finally busting through this door into a hostile situation requires all the players focus to provide a positive outcome.It is clear that all of these space related features impact the player significantly.