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BONDS: an asymmetrical collaborative adventure game on exploring the player's emotional connection and emergent gameplay

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BONDS: an asymmetrical collaborative adventure game on exploring the player's emotional connection and emergent gameplay

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Content BONDS: An Asymmetrical Collaborative Adventure Game
on Exploring the Player's Emotional Connection and Emergent Gameplay
by
Xi Luo
A Thesis Presented to the
FACULTY OF THE USC SCHOOL OF CINEMATIC ARTS
UNIVERSITY OF SOUTHERN CALIFORNIA
In Partial Fulfillment of the
Requirements for the Degree
MASTER OF FINE ARTS
(Interactive Media)
May 2021
Copyright 2021 Xi Luo

ii

Acknowledgements
This project would not have been possible without all the support and help from my thesis
committee, my cohorts, my family, and all my friends who were patient listeners to me talking
through my rough game idea. The most difficult part of this project was never the technical
aspects, but the design questions. I learned a lot and improved a lot through all those discussions
and meetings with them.
I would like to thank my thesis chair, Richard Lemarchand, and faculty advisor, Sean
Bouchard Bloom, for their continuous support and valuable suggestions, not only from a
technical and design perspective but also from an emotional perspective. I struggled a lot during
the production phases when under too much pressure. Thank you for always being there,
encouraging me, and providing insightful suggestions to my project. I would like to thank Chao
Chen and Nicolas Oueijan, my industry advisors, for spending time discussing with me and
answering my design questions.
I also want to express my gratitude to Laird, Carl, Jane, and Danny, for helping with our
thesis class throughout the year. Thank you for keeping us together in this difficult time and
supporting our productions in many aspects. And to my IMGD cohort, though I am half a world
away from you, I still feel we are together just like any of the days in 2018 and 2019. And to Jeff,
the saddest thing for me has been not being able to show you what BONDS is like now, but what
I have learned from you during that semester will always be in my heart, as long as I’m still
exploring this field.
And finally, I want to say thank you to my family, though it’s much harder to say it directly.
I always know you are my strongest support and thank you for always understanding my choices.

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I am always proud of you, and your support will always be the strongest pillar and motivation on
my path of pursuing my dreams.

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Table of Contents

Acknowledgements ..........................................................................................................................ii
List of Figures ................................................................................................................................... v
Abstract .......................................................................................................................................... vii
Chapter 1: Project Overview ........................................................................................................... 1
1.1. Introduction .......................................................................................................................... 1
1.2. Project Overview .................................................................................................................. 2
1.3. Goals & Objectives ............................................................................................................... 4
1.3.1. Experience Goal ............................................................................................................. 4
1.3.2. Design Goal .................................................................................................................... 5
1.4. Motivation & Inspirations ................................................................................................... 6
1.5. Comparable Experience ...................................................................................................... 8
Chapter 2: Game Design and Experimental Features in BONDS .................................................. 12
2.1. Emergent Gameplay and Dynamic Interactions ............................................................... 12
2.1.1 Concept of Emergent Gameplay .................................................................................. 12
2.1.2. Emergent design analysis in BONDS ........................................................................ 13
2.1.3. Emergent design methods in BONDS ...................................................................... 14
2.2. Building emotional connections ......................................................................................... 24
2.2.1. Disconnected situation ................................................................................................ 24
2.2.2. Emotional Arc .............................................................................................................. 26
2.2.3. Universal Language ...................................................................................................... 28
2.2.4. Heuristic Design ........................................................................................................... 31
Chapter 3: Development Process ................................................................................................ 36
3.1. Ideation & Prototype .......................................................................................................... 36
3.2. Preproduction..................................................................................................................... 38
3.3. Alpha and Beta Production ................................................................................................ 39
3.4. Obstacle & Reflection ......................................................................................................... 41
3.5. Current Status & Next Steps ............................................................................................... 43
Chapter 4: Conclusion .................................................................................................................. 45
Bibliography .................................................................................................................................. 47

v

List of Figures
Figure 1-1 Overview information ............................................................................................ 3
Figure 1-2 Major Experience Goal for the two players ........................................................... 5
Figure 1-3 Screenshot from A Way Out .................................................................................. 9
Figure 1-4 Screenshot from Journey ....................................................................................... 9
Figure 1-5 Screenshot from ICO ............................................................................................ 10
Figure 1-6 Screenshot from Unravel Two. ............................................................................ 11
Figure 2-1 Screenshot from Zelda: Breath of the Wild ......................................................... 15
Figure 2-2 One Page Design for the girl's ability. .................................................................. 16
Figure 2-3 Screenshot from BONDS: Crouch in different situations .................................... 16
Figure 2-4: Screenshot from BONDS: Various Interactions .................................................. 17
Figure 2-5: Screenshot from BONDS: Gestures .................................................................... 18
Figure 2-6: One Page Design for the ghost's ability .............................................................. 19
Figure 2-7: Interactable objects by ghost wind .................................................................... 19
Figure 2-8: Screenshot from BONDS: Ghost wind interact with candles and pipes. ............ 20
Figure 2-9: Screenshot from BONDS: Spiritual Eye ............................................................... 21
Figure 2-10: Analysis for the candle mechanic ..................................................................... 22
Figure 2-11 Concept Art from BONDS: A sense of loneliness ............................................... 25
Figure 2-12: Emotional Arc in BONDS ................................................................................... 26
Figure 2-13 Concept art for BONDS ...................................................................................... 27
Figure 2-14 Screenshot from BONDS: Opening animation ................................................... 29
Figure 2-15 Screenshot from BONDS: Different color tone.................................................. 29

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Figure 2-16 Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions ............................................................................ 30
Figure 2-17 Screenshot from BONDS: Ghost Fire to convey information ............................ 32
Figure 2-18 Concept Art from BONDS: Discovering a hidden spot....................................... 33
Figure 3-1 Screenshot from the first and second prototype ................................................ 37
Figure 3-2 Paper Prototype Playtest ..................................................................................... 37
Figure 3-3 Character design for the main character ............................................................. 38

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Abstract
BONDS is a 3D asymmetrical cooperative game focusing on solving collaborative puzzles
while adventuring in an ancient mysterious temple. While most multiplayer digital games use
dialogs and actions to allow the players to interact with each other, BONDS focuses on the case
when there are only highly limited communicative methods. This game aims to discuss players’
motivation and potential for building up relationships in a more pure and primitive way through
game mechanics and player interactions, trying to minimize the influences of language blocks,
communicative misunderstandings, and social anxiety.

1
Chapter 1: Project Overview
1.1. Introduction
Players’ interactions, communications, and relationships are some of the most interesting
elements we witness in the history of games, regardless of the game form. Currently, with the
growing popularity of video games, multiplayer games are also quickly taking over the market.
Different from most single-player games, there are inherent dynamics in multiplayer
games, which originate from the players’ interactions rather than the consistent game contents.
Therefore, players’ experience in multiplayer games is often much less “decided” or “controlled”
than in a single-player game, which adds to their fascinating unpredictability and irreproducibility.
In multiplayer games, players are not only seeking fun and competition; multiplayer
games have become ways to express players’ social needs, connect to other people, meet with
strangers, and make new friends. Especially since 2020, when the world collectively suffered
through COVID-19 and extended quarantine, games have played an important role in connecting
people around the world in the virtual online space, bringing them courage and the assurance
that they are not alone.
I have always been fascinated with these kinds of virtual relationships, but as an introvert,
I am seldom inclined to actively seek and engage in social connections. I enjoy interacting with
other people in games, but also feel anxious and hesitant in multiplayer games, especially in
those where players can hardly experience the game without some kind of social relationship
with other players. In my experience, paying too much attention to performances, words, and
facial expressions can sometimes distract one from other elements of engagement.

2

Conversely, I have found that many people feel more comfortable and eager to engage in
social interactions in games that limit player’s interactive methods to some extent, like Journey,
Animal Crossing, Meadow, and even Dark Souls. Instead of thinking about how to behave
“properly” in actions and sentences, players can concentrate more on the characters and their
relationships, trying to express more with those limited mechanics.
Therefore, this project aims to remove most of the design elements intended to force
players to socialize with each other, instead maintaining the minimum methods for them to
interact and communicate. I believe in the purity and beauty of interpersonal relationships, and
that people are willing to help and be with others. But I want to express this topic in a way that
does not cause social anxiety and doesn’t make people embarrassed — with only the most
impressive moments and sincere concerns being captured and conveyed to the players.
The system and gameplay in BONDS are designed to build players’ connections based on
the characters’ relationships, driven by curiosity and self-will. Through the form of interesting
collaborative puzzles and spontaneous interactions, I hope to find new and creative ways to
present interpersonal relationships and bonds in the game.

1.2. Project Overview
BONDS is a 3D third-person perspective asymmetrical cooperative puzzle game for two
players to play remotely.
It is a game about a little girl who is sent into the temple as a sacrificial offering to the
God, and a ghost who wanders inside the temple; the ghost is actually the remnant of a girl who
was previously sacrificed but is now losing all her memories. The two meet, become curious

3

about each other, gradually become close to each other, and decide to work together through
their adventure inside the temple. While the girl is struggling for survival inside the temple, the
ghost’s goal is to figure out her background, regain her memory and power, and help the girl
escape from this place. This game is designed to witness their changing relationship, recording
the friendship, trust, and understanding they gradually build throughout the journey.
Since the girl is unable to see or touch the ghost, this game is about learning to establish
language and communication among each other with indirect and limited communicative
methods. During the journey, the ghost will also reveal her buried memories, realizing she is what
remains of the previous little girl, who was also helped by an invisible friend before in the same
way, and now facing the same choice of whether to help the next little girl.
BONDS is designed to include six chapters, with a full experience in two hours for each
playthrough. There are two roles with a separate story and flow happening at the same time
when players pair with each other; the whole experience, therefore, consists of two playthroughs,
first as the little girl and then as the ghost.
 Genre
Online 2-player, cooperative game
3D third-person perspective adventure and puzzle game

 Platform
Platform: PC/Mac
Controller: Mouse+Keyboard

 Target Demographic
Age 15-35, all genders and regions
Gamers who love cooperative games and puzzle-solving adventure games, who
are sensitive to subtle emotional experiences.

Figure 1-1 Overview information

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Due to the time limit, the thesis deliverable will only cover the first three levels in the first
chapter, focusing on the first 15 minutes of the whole experience, aiming to establish the
emotional tone and the initial interactive mechanics between players. The rest of the designs and
experiences will be discussed in a preliminary way, after which I hope to experiment deeper in
the future.

1.3. Goals & Objectives
1.3.1. Experience Goal
1.3.1.1. Sense of Connection
The primary experience goal for this game is to let players feel connected with others,
acquiring a sense of companionship and understanding throughout the journey. Here I will cite
the definition from Brené Brown, Professor of Social Work at the University of Houston:
"Connection is the energy that exists between people when they feel seen, heard and valued;
when they can give and receive without judgement; and when they derive sustenance and
strength from the relationship."
Specifically, the sense of connection consists of three parts in BONDS:
 Sense of Acknowledgement: When the players realize their existences are recognized by
the other and their intentions are understood.
 Sense of Significance: When the players realize they are needed by the other and their
presences are significant.

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 Sense of Being Cared For: When the players feel the goodwill and care from the other,
both in a physical way (being helped in some puzzle), or in a mental way (being
accompanied and experiencing the other’s concern).
1.3.1.2. Relationship Advancement
This game aims to provide players with a complete arc of changing relationships, from not
knowing the existence of the other to gradually building up trust and understanding.
Each stage should be perceived by players through the game experience, driven by
spontaneous motivation, rather than being described by cutscenes or texts. Players can be aware
of those subtle emotional moments and sense the actual “progressing” relationship, which is
built and generated through the game flow in a stable and reasonable way.

Figure 1-2 Major Experience Goal for the two players
1.3.2. Design Goal
1.3.2.1. Emergence and player-driven interactions
Players are provided with certain “tools” or “verbs” in the game, while the meaning and
usage of each action and interaction should be decided and given by the two players themselves.
There will be scenarios and puzzles in the game that teach them the basic ways to use these
abilities, but in addition to using them in an “official” way, players can freely use them to express
•Sense of exploration in an adventure platformer game
•Sense of companionship and being cared for by an invisible friend
The Girl
•Sense of observation and guidance, similar to watching a new
streamer's play
•Sense of companionship and witnessing someone grows up
The Ghost

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their feelings in various ways, thus building a unique language and stories only belonging to
themselves.
Dynamic and emergent events stimulated by player’s interactions with each other and
with the environment will always be different, which also increases the replayability of the game,
making the experience always unpredictable and non-repetitive.
1.3.2.2. Universal language in storytelling
Player’s intentions and motivations for social relationships are always common, but there
can be a lot of misunderstandings and misinterpretations caused by different communicative
modes and expressive methods. Therefore, BONDS aims to minimize the narrative elements
relative to text, dialogs, culture, history-based information, and cutscenes. Instead, the game will
focus on using universal visual and audio elements, as well as game feel created by interactions
and control, to create story flow and narrative experience.

1.4. Motivation & Inspirations
I have long been devoted to exploring the potential of games for being able to create
various emotional experiences. Among those emotional moments, one of the most interesting
types is that which we witness in multiplayer games, when complex relationships are generated
between the characters, or the players behind the characters.
People are often seeking a sense of acknowledgment and companionship in games when
playing with other players. The increasing need for the sense of companionship can be defined
as an outcome of the lack of social interaction among modern people trying to find a sense of
belonging in our fast-growing society, filled with pressure and anxiety. The Internet, together

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with online games, has thus become convenient media to fulfill this need. To some extent, we
can observe what Anthony Giddens defined as “disembedding of social systems" in online games,
describing the sociological phenomena of “the ‘lifting out’ of social relations from local contexts
of interaction and their restructuring across indefinite spans of time-space"
1
.
I still remember playing Journey
2
with my friend, trying to guess what the other player
was thinking about behind the screen and enjoying drawing patterns on the sand with our feet
to express greetings. I remember the time when I was playing A Way Out
3
, when I called my
friend who played with me, crying with her as we talked about how deeply we were touched by
the story of our characters in the game. And the time I ran through the world of Meadow
4
,
accompanied by other animals, all using weird gestures and sounds as we tried to express our
mutual concern and goodwill. It was a kind of vague good intent, never so frank or
straightforward, but with the power to touch people’s hearts.
It is interesting to note that although these virtual relationships are never “solid”, they
are still “effective”. Through these games, I could gain strength and ease the anxiety of loneliness,
knowing that there was someone with me and who would like to help me. Therefore, I want to
capture these subtle but impressive elements and reproduce them in my game, creating the
experience for players to interact with each other driven by curiosity rather than fixed game rules,
enjoying the pure and beautiful essence of social connection.

1
Anthony Giddens, The Consequences of Modernity Stanford, Calif: Stanford University Press, 1990.
2
Journey, developed by Thatgamecompany and published in 2012, is an adventure game about a journey to the mountain
peak, which invisibly pairs together players, who can only communicate through movement, chirping, and helpful actions.
3
A Way Out, developed by Hazelight Studios and published in 2018, is an action-adventure game, in which players play as two
convicted prisoners who must break out of prison and stay on the run from authorities.
4
Meadow, developed by Might and Delight and published in 2016, is a multiplayer sandbox walking simulator that allows
players to interact as animals.

8

Compared with other multiplayer games, I chose to focus on a two-player game, as it
helped to decrease the distraction facing multiple interactive targets. Also, with the inspiration
from A Way Out, ICO, the Last Guardian, and Brothers - A Tale of Two Sons, all of which focus on
adventures and stories between two primary characters, I found it more achievable and
controllable to build up an impressive relationship between only two characters, when players
can focus on the direct connection between one and another, thus creating the immersive
experience that influences the players’ relationship.

1.5. Comparable Experience
BONDS is inspired by several game works in specific aspects.
 A Way Out
A Way Out is an action-adventure game, specifically designed with split-screen
mechanics. Players play as two convicted prisoners who try to break out of the prison and
discover the buried truth. The character’s relationship in the game was stably built through their
collaborations and interactions, while players are also experiencing subtle emotional changes
and arcs. Players can have fun seeing how the characters behave differently towards a thing or
an event, while the characters often respond to each other to create really strong characteristics
and immersive relationships. Players can also acquire in-sync excitement when they successfully
collaborate in the puzzles and achieve the goals.

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Figure 1-3 Screenshot from A Way Out:
Building relationships and shaping the character through collaborative puzzles.
 Journey
Journey is an indie adventure game in which players act as a robed figures, exploring in
the desert and trying to reach the mountain in the distance. Players’ interactive methods in this
game are highly limited, but this actually increases their motivation to understand and
accompany each other, thus stimulating various emergent events and stories between players.
The network mechanics are also vaguely presented in the game, while players experience the
curiosity of meeting another character in the game and gradually explore ways to communicate
with them.

Figure 1-4 Screenshot from Journey: Players only have highly limited actions.

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 ICO
ICO is an action-adventure game in which the player acts as ICO to explore the fortress
and escape from the castle with Yorda, a mysterious girl he meets during the adventure. It is
found in this game that an impressive relationship can be created through asymmetrical
character abilities and collaborative puzzles. By focusing on the contrast, difference, but also
collaborative connection between the player’s character and the NPC character, stories and
emotional experiences are described in a strong and intuitive way. Also, the subtracting design it
applied limited the gameplay and interactions to create a high level of immersion, letting players
only focus on the core experience.

Figure 1-5 Screenshot from ICO: Two characters with asymmetrical abilities

 Unravel Two
Unravel Two is a puzzle-platformer game which focuses on two Yarnys (controlled by one
or two players) who work together and use ropes to solve puzzles. Two players experience a close
relationship and strong connection through exploring the level and solving the puzzle together.

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By overcoming the difficulties and helping each other, players acquire a great sense of
satisfaction when their minds are in sync.

Figure 1-6 Screenshot from Unravel Two: Two players collaborate throughout the journey.

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Chapter 2: Game Design and Experimental Features in BONDS
2.1. Emergent Gameplay and Dynamic Interactions
2.1.1 Concept of Emergent Gameplay
From the perspective of the MDA framework, emergence happens in the stage of
“Dynamics”, which refers to the run-time behavior of the mechanics acting on player input and
"cooperating" with other mechanics.
However, like many of the terminologies of game design, there is still a lack of a clear
definition of what emergent gameplay means. Here, we will first take a glance at some common
explanations describing what emergent gameplay is.
In one of the classical definitions of emergence, John Holland describes the term as
follows: “Emergence occurs only when the activities of the parts do not simply sum to give activity
of the whole. For emergence, the whole is indeed more than the sum of its parts. “
Jesper Juul, in his paper “The Open and the Closed: Games of Emergence and Games of
Progression”, introduced emergence in games as: “simple rules combining, leading to variation”.
Juul then proposed three different types of emergence in games, including rule interaction,
combinations, and emergent strategies.
5

Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans also referred to this concept in their book Game
Mechanics, Advanced Game Design, and expanded the discussion on the complex systems and
the structure of emergence.
6
They defined several structural qualities of complex systems,

5
Jesper Juul, “The Open and the Closed: Games of Emergence and Games of Progression”, Computer Games and Digital
Cultures Conference Proceedings, Tampere University Press (2002)
6
Ernest Adams and Joris Dormans, Game Mechanics: Advanced Game Design, New Riders (2012)

13

including active and interconnected parts, feedback loops that can stabilize or destabilize a
system, and different behavioral patterns that emerge at different scales.
In Designing games: a guide to engineering experiences, Tynan Sylvester defines
emergence as “when simple mechanics interact to create complex situations. Leveraging
emergence means crafting mechanics that don’t just add together, but multiply into a rich
universe of possibility.”
7

In The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lenses, “emergent gameplay” is also regarded as
“interesting strategic actions”. Jesse Schell provides five tips to prepare for the creation of
emergence, including “add more verbs”, “verbs that can act on many objects”, “goals that can be
achieved more than one way”, “many subjects” and “side effects that change constraints”
8
.
2.1.2. Emergent design analysis in BONDS
By using emergent design in BONDS, I aim to create a player-driven narrative and
emotional experience. The motivations and understandings of player’s interactions are mostly
driven by the player themselves instead of given in scripted events, thus increasing the
spontaneity and acceptance of interpersonal connections.
Based on the research from former analysis in emergent gameplay, three key features are
extracted to understand the emergence in BONDS.
 Generate dynamic interactions among players and between players and the environment.
 Generate unexpected and unintentional events and outcomes.

7
Tynan Sylvester, Designing games : a guide to engineering experiences (O’Reilly Media, Inc.,2013), 49-50
8
Jesse Schell, The Art of Game Design: A Book of Lense (CRC Press, 2020), 171-172

14

 Generate emergent narrative elements and emotional experiences that are not designed
beforehand.
From another perspective, the emergent mechanics in this project can also be categorized
as player-to-player interactions and player-to-environment interactions.
The environment-to-environment interactions are often witnessed in strategic games
when AI characters follow a certain series of rules and interact with each other. However, due to
the time limit and project focus, this paper will not discuss the interactions among objects in the
environment.
Constrained by the scope limits and other design goals, this project represents only a first
step in this topic. The complexity of the system, as well as the degree of the connection between
elements, are superficial, but still worthy of further experimentation.
2.1.3. Emergent design methods in BONDS
2.1.3.1. Elegant mechanics
According to Tynan Sylvester’s definition of “elegance”, good design means maximizing
the emotional power and variety of play experiences while minimizing players’ comprehension
burden and developers’ effort; this form of efficiency is called elegance.
Sylvester also proposed several features that can be elegant, among which are: “simple
mechanics”, “mechanics that interact with many other mechanics”, “mechanics that can be used
in multiple ways”, “mechanics that don’t overlap one another’s roles”, “mechanics that reuse
established conventions and interfaces”, “mechanics that are reused a lot”, and “mechanics that

15

don’t impose restrictions on content”.
9

When looking into the game design of the Zelda series, we can often find a lot of these
elegant design elements, which give mechanics various uses and trigger dynamic interactions
without needing to teach players a lot of complex maneuvers.

Figure 2-1 Screenshot from Zelda: Breath of the Wild: Players continuously invent new ways of using their abilities.

In BONDS, each character is also given a set of mechanics, described here as “tools”.
Players use these tools in a free and unfixed way to interact with the environment and with the
other player.
The little girl’s ability is basically equivalent to what a “weak” character can do in a puzzle
adventure game, and is divided into three categories.

9
Tynan Sylvester, Designing games : a guide to engineering experiences (O’Reilly Media, Inc.,2013), 52-58

16

 Movement: Including normal walk, sprint, jump, crouch, climb and skip obstacles. These
movement actions mainly support the basic level and puzzle design, aiming to provide
sufficient freedom for exploration. They are also given with additional usage in specific
situations, which encourages players to think of how to use them in a flexible way.
The simplest example may be certain gaps which, while they can be passed in the usual
way like by pushing a box to stand on, can also be jumped over if the player uses sprint
Figure 2-2 One Page Design for the girl's ability.
Figure 2-3 Screenshot from BONDS: Crouch in different situations

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and jump accurately. Likewise, the crouch action can be used to both pass through narrow
spaces and to hide in the grass.
 Interaction: Including pull/push, punch/wave torch, and interact with triggers. These
interaction mechanics provide the main dynamics for the girl’s character. Left mouse click
triggers the punching or waving torch action, depending on whether the player is holding
a torch. Since the girl is intentionally designed to be “weak”, punching is more like
“knocking” things that look interesting than an attack. For example, the huge pipes create
different sounds when they are knocked, and the pots will be broken up when they are
hit. Also, by waving the torch, the girl can burn grass, thorns, or light up fire pits to
illuminate the area and allow her to discover more details.

Figure 2-4: Screenshot from BONDS: Various Interactions
 Gesture: Right mouse click triggers different emotional gestures, including point, wave
hands, shout, and spin. These gestures are designed to be the main communicative
methods between the girl and the ghost, which can be used to express the feeling of the
little girl or as a response to the ghost.

18

Emotional expressions are not intended to have specific usages in puzzles, but are only
optional “toys” that create certain narrative events. In early prototypes, players often
expressed their eagerness to have ways to show their feelings, like gratitude or joy when
being helped by the ghost; thus, these new mechanics are added in the game to support
players’ emotional expression needs.

Figure 2-5: Screenshot from BONDS: Gestures

The ghost’s abilities, on the other hand, can create more dynamic outcomes within the
environment, as its goal is not to explore the environment but to collaborate with the girl. Aside
from the main movement controls and camera controls, the ghost’s abilities are defined as “ghost
fire”, “ghost wind” and “ghost eye”. Ghost fire and ghost wind can both be used in various ways
and can manipulate the environment in different aspects.

19

Figure 2-6: One Page Design for the ghost's ability
 Ghost Wind: Right mouse drag can be used to create a blast of ghost wind. The strength
of the wind is influenced by the distance of the dragged line, creating varying degrees of
effect, but also consuming different amounts of spiritual power. Ghost wind cannot be
directly perceived by the girl, but can influence the environment in various ways.

Figure 2-7: Interactable objects by ghost wind
Blow away
smoke / mist
Extinguish
candle flame /
wave the flame
Sway the
hanged pipes /
crystal chimes
Freeze water
drips to form ice
pick
Trigger whoosh
sound through
crevices
Create ripples
on the water
surface
Sway the
hanged pipes
widely
Sway the
hanged cystal
chimes widely
Blow up the
girl's wings
Move light-
weighted
objects
Drive away
firefly

20

Figure 2-8: Screenshot from BONDS: Ghost wind interact with candles and pipes.
 Ghost Fire: Left mouse drag can be used to create a cluster of ghost fire by consuming
spiritual power. Ghost fire can be directly seen by the girl, therefore acting as a guidance,
a symbol, or a figurative language that can be perceived to represent certain meanings
and emotions. Dynamics in this action are mainly created through frequency and trail.
Although there is no clear definition of what pattern means what, players can often have
a vague idea, triggering interesting feelings.
For example, a series of rapid flames may represent urging, continuous flames in place
may represent a clue -- but the real meanings can only be understood through repeated
experimentation and interactions between the two players, thus creating a unique
language between themselves.
Spiritual power is introduced to set a limitation for players using those abilities. Therefore,
players cannot randomly or endlessly use ghost fire or ghost wind to create meaningless
patterns; they will need to think carefully about each action to conserve spiritual power.

21

This ensures that players are thinking strategically and intentionally of each action, giving
them “meanings” and “affect”.
 Ghost Eye: Ghost eye does not act as an interactive method but as an assistance to the
former two abilities. Players can use the ghost eye feature to see objects that can be
influenced by the spiritual power, thus getting guidance on what they can interact with.

Figure 2-9: Screenshot from BONDS: Spiritual Eye
2.1.3.2. Interconnected mechanics
Many of the mechanics are interconnected with each other, thus creating a network of
connections which yield more possible interactions.
For example, candles inside the temple can be interacted with by both the girl and the
ghost in multiple ways, thus creating various dynamics with different meanings.
These kinds of objects and mechanics create a bridge or platform for the two players to
communicate with each other, like a rough message board. However, because the game uses
simple but universal language, players can still understand each other to some degree. In a basic,

22

intuitive sense, igniting a candle suggests guidance and safety, while blowing out the candle may
warn of a nearby threat or represent a simple joke.

Figure 2-10: Analysis for the candle mechanic

However, precisely because the interconnection and the vague meanings of each
mechanic can bring extreme complexity to the system, I have to be very careful when adding
more subjects into the game within the given development scope. Therefore, there are only a
few abilities as well as a few interactable objects in the environment in order to avoid excessive
growth of complexity and an uncontrolled amount of meaningless contents in the current version.
It is obvious that a wider range of interactable objects in the environment can bring more
dynamic events and emergence in the game, and if I could take this project further in the future,
I would add more mechanics step by step in a stable, controlled manner through sufficient
experiments and playtests.

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2.1.3.3. Flexible solutions and interactions
Although some of the puzzles are designed with only one solution, mainly to introduce
the usage of each mechanic, some of the other situations and puzzles offer enough space for
players to freely explore and attach their own subjective meanings.
Firstly, some of the mechanics are designed to encourage players to play with them,
without being limited by their intention to solve a specific puzzle. These mechanics can provide
good opportunities for the two players to find ways to interact with each other and decide on
their own “language” of communication.
For example, there are two kinds of pipes that can create sounds. During the playtest,
players were often observed to spend a longer time trying to create certain musical notes as a
way to “talk” to the other player. While the ghost can blow wind through the pipes to create
sounds, the girl can also knock the pipe or shout to answer back. Although the mechanic itself
does not contain any information or intention, it is often interesting to see how players try to use
the pipes to play a certain melody or a sequence of musical notes that carry certain information.
Secondly, there are also puzzles that do not have only one solution. The ghost player,
having once occupied the current girl's role, is more familiar with this place and can see different
things through the spiritual eye. If the ghost player can build connections and trust with the girl
in an early stage, the girl player can follow them to explore shortcuts or solve puzzles more easily
with the ghost’s help. For example, the ghost could guide the girl to burn a bunch of grass,
revealing a hidden path behind the wall which takes her to her destination in a much easier way.

24

These kinds of flexible puzzles are designed to encourage players to explore more
strategies and solutions to overcome barriers, with a relative need for enhancing their
connections and communications.

2.2. Building emotional connections
2.2.1. Disconnected situation
The environment in BONDS is designed to be disconnected for the two players, while the
communicative methods are also highly limited. The game is not clearly described as a
multiplayer game for the player at first, as another player’s existence is not immediately evident
when the game starts. It is expected that the players can discover through their interactions
about the existence of the other player.
On the one hand, it is expected that players can focus more on those given methods of
communication, and fully explore their potential to express emotions without feeling too much
pressure to behave “properly”. Interestingly, many people tend to perform better and feel more
comfortable in online social communication than in face-to-face communication, when the
communicative method is limited to text without verbal conversation or facial expressions. More
communicative methods sometimes bring more concerns and pressures, so in BONDS, I decided
to minimize the side effects from redundant interactive methods, only leaving those with
universal meanings, like sounds and simple gestures, in order to reduce the risk of
misinterpretation. Furthermore, since there’s no forced requirement for performing “correctly”,
and players are unlikely to receive negative feedback or comments from their partner, they may

25

enjoy the journey in a free, relaxing manner. In other words, the interactive methods in BONDS
are basically designed to convey positive or neutral meanings rather than negative ones.
However, it is clear that there are still problems: the ghost may become impatient and
disappointed if the girl continues to fail. Indeed, not every girl player will exactly follow their
structure or successfully solve the puzzle in a short time, and because the ghost’s goal and source
of satisfaction mainly come from their interactions with the girl, it can create a sense of
frustration when they feel they are unable to help the girl. In those situations, more work and
prototypes are needed to find ways that won’t discourage the ghost too much.

Figure 2-11 Concept Art from BONDS: A sense of loneliness
On the other hand, a disconnected situation, especially for the girl player, usually creates
a more lonely and insecure experience. The first level is designed to be mysterious and dark in
order to enhance the feeling of loneliness and confusion, causing players to crave emotional
support and social connection with others in search of security and companionship. Thus, when

26

they finally realize their only partner’s existence, it is more likely for them to become close to
each other and accompany each other throughout the journey.

2.2.2. Emotional Arc
In order to reach a certain emotional moment, a reasonable and coherent emotional arc
is necessary. Although the thesis deliverable only focuses on the experience in the first chapter,
it is still worthy to consider the overall story arc of the whole game.

In the first two sections of the game, the relationship between the two players is still weak
and uncertain. The girl may even feel afraid of the ghost fire at first, and may try to escape it.
Designed situations and puzzles that encourage the two players to collaborate will enlighten the
girl of the ghost’s good intentions. Also, it is during this stage that the ghost tries to draw
attention from the little girl, trying to make her aware of its existence and acquire a sense of
satisfaction.
Figure 2-12: Emotional Arc in BONDS

27

In the following levels, the two players are expected to build up a better relationship and
develop mutual trust. On one hand, they are increasing their understanding towards each other,
reaching more tacit agreement and unspoken consensus, enjoying the fun of solving puzzles
together and the anxiety when they collaborate to escape from the guardian; on the other hand,
their emotional bonds also become closer through some “side events”. For example, the ghost
can lead the girl to a remote underground lake, where the girl can jump over rocks and the ghost
can blow up the glowy creatures as the two quietly enjoy the beauty together.

Figure 2-13 Concept art for BONDS

There will also be situations wherein the girl and the ghost are forced to separate from
each other. In the middle or later stages, when the ghost has become significant to the girl both
in an emotional sense and in terms of mechanics, this separation tends to cause a more
pronounced sense of loss, as well as a more impressive moment when they finally find each other
and reunite.

28

The emotional experience of the girl’s player is eventually enhanced through the second
playthrough as the ghost. In the first playthrough, players are locked into playing as the girl. Since
she cannot see or touch the ghost, she will not know what her ghost friend has done to help her,
including its sacrifice.
However, in the second playthrough, players are locked into playing as the ghost. They
have memories of the experience as the little girl, but do not know why they have started the
second playthrough as the ghost. When wandering around the temple, they will meet another
little girl (the other player) and accompany her through the journey, just like what they went
through in the previous playthrough. Now is the time for the ghost to experience the journey
from another perspective, realizing what their previous invisible friend had done for them. It is
expected that players will pass down the goodwill that they have received from the others,
through guiding and helping new players in the same way, including sacrificing themselves to
help the girl player complete her game.

2.2.3. Universal Language
Corresponding to the previous chapters, most of the narrative elements and emotional
experiences are conveyed through universal languages, typically visual, audio, and interactive
elements, to minimize the barriers resulting from language or culture differences.
It was initially planned that the whole opening animation should not contain any texts,
with only images and animations describing the background story. However due to the difficulties
and time limits, I have added a minimum of text to explain the story, while most of the
background is still depicted through visual elements in a form similar to a fairytale picture book.

29

Figure 2-14 Screenshot from BONDS: Opening animation
The contrast between bright and dark, narrow and wide is often used to create a certain
atmosphere. When the girl explores the cave, there are certain places that are dark and bring a
sense of unease, while some places are warmer and more peaceful. When the girl finally steps
into the first main hall, all the color tones and sense of space suddenly change dramatically to
shape the player’s understanding of this mysterious, ancient place.

Figure 2-15 Screenshot from BONDS: Different color tone
Audio and music also play important roles in the game. There are a lot of “foley sounds”
inside the cave and temple, like the sounds of tiny falling rock sounds or water dripping--that
make the environment more realistic, as well as mysterious whispers that echo around the player,
which increase the sense of unease and fright. Music is designed to be adaptive to some degree;
for example, there will be a musical transition when the girl enters the main hall, creating a

30

feeling of exploration; the background music will be layered with a main melody track when the
girl reaches certain points, indicating that she is going to the right place.

As for the design of the interactive methods, no language-based elements are included
either. From the ghost’s side, ghost wind can basically influence the environment, which modifies
the visual elements of brightness, color, or movement. Ghost fire may be a little bit frightening
at first to the girl player, which is also intentionally designed to create a comparison. It is only
when the girl realizes the ghost fire is not harming her, but often helping her, that she can finally
accept her partner.

The girl’s expressional methods are based on simple gestures and voice without language
meanings. According to the emotion wheel, four of the gestures, as well as the voice-over sounds
usually express emotions ranging from anticipation to joy and trust. The emotional expression of
Figure 2-16 Plutchik's Wheel of Emotions

31

fear and surprise are usually triggered by scripts; for instance, when the girl first sees the torches
on the wall lighting up one by one, she will behave as though she were frightened. The rest of
the negative emotions are not included in the experience goal for this project, thus don’t have
corresponding gestures in the game.
The principle of using universal language in BONDS is basically designed to decrease
misunderstandings between the players. Since the players of this game project may come from
different backgrounds, and because one of the experience goals is to minimize the distraction of
social anxiety, I want to extract the most commonly acknowledged elements for players to use,
only keeping the simplest but purest emotional expressions for them to understand.

2.2.4. Heuristic Design
The term “heuristic” I use here refers to the psychological concept that people can use
strategies derived from previous experiences to solve similar problems, using readily accessible,
though loosely applicable information
10
. Heuristics are simple but efficient rules, accumulated or
inculcated by evolutionary processes, that have influenced how people make decisions, come to
judgments, and solve problems typically when facing complex problems or incomplete
information.
Heuristics are widely used in solving usability problems in games, but in this project, those
rules have more instructive meanings when building the players’ relationship. Heuristics are used
to encourage the two players in BONDS to recognize each other’s existence, as well as to guess

10
“Heuristic,”, Wikipedia, last modified Nov, 2020, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Heuristic

32

each other’s intended meanings based on common knowledge and in-game practice. The key
requirement of this concept is uncertain information, corresponding to the highly disconnected
environment in BONDS.
In the simplest example, the appearance of ghost fire can be directly perceived as a
danger, a visual reminder, or things that can ignite candles and firepits. During the play, the girl
player will have a first impression, but will understand the meaning of the ghost fire once she
follows it to discover an effective solution; thus, from there, she will begin to pay more attention
to the pattern of the ghost fire, having the assumption that the ghost fire represents guidance,
or in other cases, represents alert.

Figure 2-17 Screenshot from BONDS: Ghost Fire to convey information
According to the informal or formal models of heuristics, several rules can be applied
when building the relationship between the two players.
Affect heuristics are mental shortcuts which use emotion to influence decisions.
Therefore, in situations that are vital for improving the players’ relationship, context can be
designed to arouse each player’s emotion before leading them to think in certain ways. For

33

example, in a situation when the girl is chased by a guardian enemy, the ghost fire which misleads
the monster may be easier to interpret as a friendly signal.
In other situations, the ghost can play well-known melodies, or guide the girl to
spectacular viewing spots which are irrelevant to the main route as described before. From these
kinds of seemingly meaningless but friendly behaviors, the girl’s player may begin to guess that
the other character is a real player, rather than a computer AI. The peaceful, serene atmosphere
in these scenes also inspires the girl to believe in the ghost player and to be impressed by their
efforts.

Figure 2-18 Concept Art from BONDS: Discovering a hidden spot

34

The introductions of each interactable mechanic are inspired by the rules of the similarity
heuristic, a subset of the representativeness heuristic, which suggests that people make decisions
and judgments on an instance’s category based on its similarity to the others in the category,
trying to maximize efficiency through repeating favorable experiences and avoiding unfavorable
experiences. While the interactable objects are introduced one by one with some degree of
similarity -- like from hanging pipes to hanging crystal chimes, and from hanging crystal chime to
lightable crystal clusters, other designs that don’t fit the rule will be gradually iterated.

Also, according to the rules of “anchoring and adjustment”, which describes people’s
tendency to adjust their decisions based on their initial ideas towards an object, it is important
to consider how to set up the player’s first impression. Although there is a short period during
which the girl should feel frightened about the supernatural phenomena caused by the ghost,
the subsequent interactions should be carefully constructed to impress the girl with the ghost’s
true nature and intentions as soon as possible. Likewise, all the other interactable rules should
also be set up with clear and understandable meanings as soon as possible. For example, the first
few scenes, in which the ghost is taught to use the ghost fire, should at least contain the intention
of leading the girl, even when the girl needs time to realize it, rather than providing purposeless
or negative situations. Because heuristic understandings do not lead to epiphany, but expected
outcomes based on the previously accumulated information, the proposed design for each
interactive mechanic is particularly significant.
However, it is acknowledged that although heuristic rules work well under most situations,
they may lead to systematic errors or cognitive biases in certain cases. Unfortunately, there isn’t

35

enough content to experiment on and test for players’ heuristic performance in the current
version, but it will always be a significant design question to think about how to properly guide
and inspire players with heuristic rules in the future development process.

36

Chapter 3: Development Process
3.1. Ideation & Prototype
BONDS initially began as a class assignment in the course Experimental Interactivity II. For
the assignments, students were asked to describe a game idea with the prompt “What would
you design if you had to decide your thesis project within a week?” From this, an idea jumped
into my mind, just like it would for a little girl adventuring inside a temple with an invisible ghost
trying to help her.
This idea later existed deeply in my mind for a year. When spring 2020 came around, just
as the COVID pandemic began to take over the world and people began to stay at home, this idea
came back to me and I decided to work on it as my thesis immediately. I had always known that
this concept is hard, especially since I knew I wanted to create this emotional connection in a
highly disconnected situation. However, with the hope to experiment on this topic and see the
potential of games carrying and conveying complex emotional experience, I was determined to
take it a step forward.
During the class Interactive Design and Production II, I made three prototypes as early
experiments, focusing on collaborative mechanics and silent communication. The first one was a
two-player lighting firework project, whose aim was to see the dynamic interactions between
players with no verbal communication but a shared goal.
The second prototype was a phone-repairing game, adding in more complex mechanics
and fixed goals to test players’ possibilities to understand each other and collaborate without
communication.

37

These two prototypes did not “seem” like my real project. However, they provided
significant help with witnessing and analyzing players’ interactive and communicative behaviors
in games, which in turn helped me spring forward from my initial idea and experiment on this
topic through various ways. It was because of the interesting observations and feedback I got
from these prototypes that helped me in my conviction and determination of the possibility of
this game.
The third prototype was the paper prototype for the real project, which attempted to
simulate the dungeon map and “help from an invisible player” in a physical version. Most of the
core designs and mechanics were extracted into this paper version to test how it could ultimately
work.

Figure 3-2 Paper Prototype Playtest
Figure 3-1 Screenshot from the first and second prototype

38

Through the feedback from these prototypes, it was even harder than I expected to reach
my experience goal. The collaboration and interactions between players did exist and were
fascinating, thus it was difficult to build this bridge without enough bricks to settle down the
meanings of each action. Players are eager to know what the other player is trying to tell them,
but they did not have any ideas on how they could understand each other.
3.2. Preproduction
Through what I learned with my prototypes, I began to move on working on the vertical
slice and project macro. The artistic tone, main character design, character controller, and simple
network system were implemented at this stage to form the fundamental structure of the game.
The vertical slice was built out in December 2020, and succeeded in the following aspects:
 Develop the network system and main character’s controller, as well as their basic
abilities.
 Set the overall aesthetic tone and audio style.
 Initial trials on building a “limited” interaction between the two players.

Figure 3-3 Character design for the main character

39

However, there were also several problems appeared during the pre-production process,
which required further iteration in the following stages.
 The player’s goal as the ghost is not clear and strong enough as the girl, causing an
imbalanced experience for the two players.
 A stable and reasonable emotional arc for the players may need plenty and various
interactions and environmental storytelling aspects, something that the scope of the
thesis project cannot cover.
 It is more difficult to design how the two characters meet each other and begin their
relationship, compared to the ease of the promotion of their relationship.

3.3. Alpha and Beta Production
It is clear that the emotional arc I planned to build needed a relatively long in-game
experience to achieve, and that the design difficulties are far more complex without reliable prior
arts to refer to. So, considering the time and resource limitations, I decided to only focus on the
first 15-20 minutes of the experience, building the experience from the beginning to the point
when the girl begins to realize the existence of the ghost and becomes curious about her invisible
friend.
The formal production is conducted as individual work, with parts of the art and audio
work being outsourced. The first level is designed to introduce the background and basic
character movements, while the second and third levels demonstrate the characters’ abilities,
stimulating the two players to achieve primitive interactions.

40

Playtests are also organized bi-weekly, aiming to achieve the player-centric design and
always keeping the real player’s feedback as the principle for interaction. However, it is clear that
the playtest for the ghost is far less organized than the girl’s playtest. Since the ghost’s experience
is designed and developed later than of the girl’s, a lot of the early playtests only focus on the
girl’s single perspective. This also caused several problems, such as how to synchronize the two
players’ experience in the same place from two perspectives. After the issue came to light in
February, more work has been put into developing the game experience for the ghost, as well as
two players’ shared experiences.
The iteration process of this project is essentially “learning to compromise”. With all the
time limitations and design difficulties, I realize it’s almost impossible to achieve my initial goal
of “letting the player realize the existence of another from zero”. During the playtests, each
player side worked well as an adventure game, but there was not enough of a connection
between the two players if the game did not push them to collaborate. Once the girl’s player
perceived the game as a single-player game, it necessarily costs far more design work to enlighten
them and drive back their thinking patterns to consider it anything other than that.
In order to address this, more metaphors and scenarios were added to the beginning of
the game to inspire the player to think of the existence of the other player, ultimately making the
interactions between both players more meaningful and intuitive. Game mechanics and puzzles
also encourage the players to take more help from the other side, which partially goes against
my initial goal of not setting too much compulsory collaboration, but is necessary as it lays a more
solid base to build up the relationship between the two players.

41

Without the following chapters of the game experience, the relationship between the girl
and the ghost is indeed only beginning, but interesting interactions and dynamic stories between
them can already be seen in the playtests.
3.4. Obstacle & Reflection
The global pandemic, as well as some personal issues in 2020 brought significant negative
impacts on my thesis, nearly cutting down my normal 100% efficiency to 30% or 40%. Additionally,
difficulties from remote teamwork and playtests, and lack of connections with professors and
cohorts resulted from time zone differences also make the production even harder. In spite of
producing a 15-20 minute polished experience, I have to admit that I did not complete all the
design goals I originally planned to achieve, and in turn the production schedule and project
management work were inevitably influenced. The main pitfalls I distinguished in the production
are as follows:
 Part of the technical issues related to the network systems have existed since the pre-
production stage and remain unsolved. These kinds of core technical problems should be
determined and solved as early as possible to prevent practical obstacles as much as
possible.
 The balance between the two characters’ game experiences was not well tuned -- while
the game flow for the girl is much more polished and smoother, the gameplay for the
ghost still has several usability and design problems. To improve this situation, design
questions should be considered with both characters’ perspectives simultaneously,
instead of deciding one before the other.

42

 Limited by the complexity expansion, each character’s abilities do not include enough
dynamics to play with, leading to insufficient situations to spur and create emergent
interactions. As described in previous sections, emergent gameplay design has become
one of the most complex topics for game design. Although I took a step in exploring these
mechanics, this game still lacks more practice and thought into creating enough elegant
abilities and interactable subjects, which set the foundation for emergent gameplays. This
problem is partly because of the disrupted development schedule that decreased the
design time to meet the production plan. However, if given the possibility to study more,
I would hope to dig deeper in this field, trying to make better game mechanics and create
a more immersive and dynamic experience.
 There were few puzzles that provide a shared goal for the two players to achieve. From
the first and second prototypes, it was clear that players could acquire more sense of
satisfaction when they were collaborating in a disconnected situation but with a common
and visible goal. This design feature was partly missing in the current version. Although
according to the project macro and experience goal, the two characters are not yet really
having a strong collaboration, and there is not supposed to be plenty of goal-oriented
tasks at this point, but lacking of shared objectives still brings down player’s motivation
and satisfaction when interacting with each other. It is still significant to think about the
player’s psychological need when designing the game flow in order to keep them sticking
to their experience.

43

3.5. Current Status & Next Steps
As the final deliverable of my thesis, as well as my three years of study at USC, I finished
the first three levels of this game, achieving part of my initial goal and also realizing more design
challenges regarding this topic.
From the perspective of a third-person perspective puzzle action game, I have successfully
built and polished the first part of the game experience, having the opportunity to work on and
think about action game design, levels, puzzles, and narrative design in games. Both the character
controllers and character abilities were implemented in the game, together with three polished
levels with high-quality graphics and audio design.
And, from the perspective of an experimental collaborative game, this is still just the
beginning of the exploration. But still, the design questions and the experiments I have been
working on definitely improved my understanding and abilities as a game designer and as a game
developer. Furthermore, I was able to really think about how to use comprehensive elements
and mechanics to achieve those subtle experience goals.
More importantly, this experience allowed me to take important steps toward my initial
goal of becoming a game designer—to design impressive emotional moments that touch a
player’s heart. They can be just short moments, but take a long journey and a lot of work to reach.
But, if the players do feel something indescribable when they suddenly realize they are not alone
inside the temple, when they accidentally have their minds become in sync with the other player,
when they finally realize who was their invisible friend and why they were helping them, then I
have already achieved my goals.

44

I will absolutely hope to carry this work further, but I am also aware of the difficulties I
would face to make it into a complete game. Therefore, I will first focus on solving the technical
issues and making up for more playtest on the current version. However, I will also choose to
keep this idea in my mind and search for opportunities in the future to form a team to work on
it.

45

Chapter 4: Conclusion
The production of BONDS was a great challenge, with all the difficulties resulting from the
design scope and the global pandemic situation. It is scary to pick up this topic, as it brought huge
unpredictability and uncertainty to the game design, making it impossible for me to use most of
the common ways to think about the puzzles and levels. However, it was still a significant and
worthwhile experiment on my personal interest in the field of game design: using game
interactions and mechanics to create subtle emotional moments and create immersive
experiences in a role-playing adventure game.
The final deliverable I created as my thesis was still just a first step towards this concept
and covered only the first chapter of the whole game experience. There are still technical issues
and usability pitfalls, and there is still a lot of space to explore the potential of emergent gameplay
and how to use universal language in storytelling. But I have also made progress in most of my
initial goals of creating a polished adventure game with asymmetrical collaborative mechanics
and emotion-driven experience. I have accumulated a lot of experience developing a smooth and
responsive character controller, with a complex animation system and physic-simulation-based
cloth effect. I have gained knowledge on designing for emergent systems and emotional triggers,
trying to tell stories and create atmospheres with interactions, visuals, and audio elements. It
was also a success to achieve this “weird” collaborative game, when the two players act as two
separate characters without knowing about each other, each with asymmetrical abilities and
hugely different experiences under the same circumstance.
From what I’ve achieved, I can foresee how BONDS will look like as a finished project. I
am eager to create this unusual but impressive game experience for players who would like to

46

seek emotional connections in the game. But also, I know it is hard to achieve all of my design
goals, thus I will not be in a hurry to take this project forward. It requires time, resources, talented
developers, and most of all, the determination to keep trying and the willingness to think deeply
about the design. But with this idea and concept kept in my mind, it could be taken up, expanded,
and completed in the future whenever there are sufficient conditions.
BONDS is one of the most challenging game experiments I have ever taken on, and will
probably stay in this position for a very long time. However, I will never regret taking this topic
as a reflection on my three-year study at IMGD, and as a brave step towards my initial goal of
exploring the game’s potential in expressing subtle emotional moments. I still remember this is
what I wrote in my personal statement when applying to the IMGD program, and I’m glad to see
myself still striving to learn more in this direction.

47

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Asset Metadata

Creator Luo, Xi (author)

Core Title BONDS: an asymmetrical collaborative adventure game on exploring the player's emotional connection and emergent gameplay

School School of Cinematic Arts

Degree Master of Fine Arts

Degree Program Interactive Media

Publication Date 04/16/2021

Defense Date 04/15/2021

Publisher University of Southern California (original), University of Southern California. Libraries (digital)

Tag action adventure game,collaborative game,emotional connection,OAI-PMH Harvest,video game

Language English

Contributor Electronically uploaded by the author (provenance)

Advisor Lemarchand, Richard (committee chair), Bloom, Sean Bouchard (committee member), Chen, Chao (committee member), Oueijan, Nicolas (committee member)

Creator Email luciax1307@gmail.com,luoxi@usc.edu

Permanent Link (DOI) https://doi.org/10.25549/usctheses-c89-445401

Unique identifier UC11667850

Identifier etd-LuoXi-9483.pdf (filename),usctheses-c89-445401 (legacy record id)

Legacy Identifier etd-LuoXi-9483.pdf

Dmrecord 445401

Document Type Thesis

Rights Luo, Xi

Type texts

Source University of Southern California (contributing entity), University of Southern California Dissertations and Theses (collection)

Access Conditions The author retains rights to his/her dissertation, thesis or other graduate work according to U.S. copyright law. Electronic access is being provided by the USC Libraries in agreement with the a...

Repository Name University of Southern California Digital Library

Repository Location USC Digital Library, University of Southern California, University Park Campus MC 2810, 3434 South Grand Avenue, 2nd Floor, Los Angeles, California 90089-2810, USA