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So today i'll be looking at some secondary sources for further research into my chosen chapters, direct payment models and dimensions of a game world. In my last post I made an introduction to these topics and in this one we'll be going more in depth into them and how they effect the users experience of the game.

Firstly I found an article relating to the dimensions within a games world

Fundamentals of Game Design: Game Worlds

This article goes into detail on all of the different types of dimensions that are utilised within a game. Usually the only dimension that people think of when relating to games is the scale of the map and in some cases the characters within it however, there's actually more ways that space is utilised in a game, in both an in-game way and in a meta way. For instance there's how big a map looks then there is how big a map really is. To illustrate the difference let me make a comparison, take a look at the video below from Atari game "E.T the Extra-Terrestrial".

Click here for the video

Looks like shit right? This is mutually agreed to be one of the worst games of all time, largely because of its map design. It makes the player feel claustrophobic, as if they're trapped in this box of a level. However this is actually the exact same map layout used in the classic Pokemon games for Nintendo and Gameboy, you control a character that moves in 4 directions around a small level and when you reach the border of the level you enter a new level of identical nature. Why are the Pokemon maps hailed as being some of the greatest of all time with an age defining open world feeling? (achieved without even using 3D by the way) Because it feels a lot bigger then it really is, this can be achieved by using higher quality graphics, depth, time, real world sound effects and unique level design, all of which differentiate the maps of Pokemon and old E.T. The point is, there's more to dimensions then just how big the map is, there's a lot of factors that alter a lot of different things and although I touched on them in my tangent on Pokemon I look forward to going more in-depth on some of the dimension types I named. 

For my research on direct payment models I've looked at this article

The 5 Different Payment Models for Video Games

This article breaks down the different types of payment models in games and goes into detail on what each model means and how it makes profit for the game its implemented into. The five types are as follows Single payment, DLC, Free, Subscription, Kickstarter. Now in my first post I talked about how some of these models implement eachother into the same game, for example single payment games will usually have a small number of large DLC packages that expand the games story and gameplay while free games will lock a part of the game away and will require small payments for small quantities of DLC, usually in-game currency and resources. The relationship between these models is interesting but one thing I am really looking forward to researching is how the popularity of these models have changed over time, usually depending on what model is implemented in the top games of the time (e.g Fortnite spawning a million free battle royale games with microtransactions) and how certain payment models are unsuited and insufficient but strive for alternative reasons (e.g World of Warcraft and its ripoff subscription based model). All of which I want to research even further into in future posts. It is now 1am and I am sleepy so until next time.

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