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Guiding the Player with Music in Video Games : An Analysis of Music as a Nonverbal Communication Method

Adelbert, M.A. (2025) Guiding the Player with Music in Video Games : An Analysis of Music as a Nonverbal Communication Method.

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Abstract:Nonverbal communication is often used in games to immersively assist the player navigate in game space. Because these communication methods are largely visual, the auditory domain, such as music, is predominantly a reactive element of game design. The aim of this thesis is to investigate how music affects the players navigational behaviour by creating a maze based video game where the effect of directional guiding music is analyzed. The research was evaluated by conducting a qualitative data analysis on ten university students who played through the game which involved two mazes. One maze had a more clear main path for the player to follow, where the music attempted to lure them towards side paths, and the other a more traditional maze where the music guided them down the correct path. The participants were divided into two groups of five, where one had guiding music enabled, while the other did not. The results showed that people with guiding music enabled made a total of less wrong turns than those who had it disabled, all while keeping the players immersed in the game. Guiding music however was not able to showcase any differences made for the player's curiosity to explore more of the game. These findings suggest that music can be used as a method of nonverbal communication regarding navigation to the player, but would need to be complimented by visual cues to reward exploratory behaviour.
Item Type:Essay (Bachelor)
Faculty:EEMCS: Electrical Engineering, Mathematics and Computer Science
Programme:Creative Technology BSc (50447)
Link to this item:https://purl.utwente.nl/essays/106197
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