Pacing in Adventure Games

Abstract

Pacing is seen as an important, if not the most important factor in video games.1 To understand the me-chanics of pacing, one has to understand the principle of tension and release in games; and in comparison, in other media such as films and television series. Based on this knowledge, this thesis tries to answer the questions of how to qualify good pacing and how to achieve it as a developer. Therefor the two third-person action-adventure computer games Assassin’s Creed: Brotherhood 2 and Tomb Raider 3 are analyzed. In this thesis, the two examined games are compared by breaking down the gameplay progression into their distinctively gameplay categories and by assigning scores to these categories based on their tension and tempo. Subsequently, this information is used to create graphs of the games’ pacing. Furthermore, the two pacing graphs are compared to each other and examined in greater detail. Finally, possible future improve-ments and an approach for developing pacing for games are suggested.