PATHS IN VIRTUAL SPACES: DESIGNED AND PERCEIVED

The present goal and effort of this thesis is part of a larger forthcoming investigation of the reciprocal influence between architecture and computer games fields. Given the fact that few analytical research investigations have been done on the structure of spatiality in computer games, this paper will examine a finer detail of this topic: paths. The literature on paths is vast in fields such as space planning, but there are limited approaches that study and analyze this particular topic in computer games. Even though the resulting research risks being too specific, it will hopefully provide useful details for works on the broader topic of spatiality in computer games. In addition, this study it will prove the importance of this spatial element for better observing cognitive player behavior, and will provide valuable knowledge to level designers, in particular, for maps and environment virtual space planning.