Follow the Magic Flute - Introducing non-diegetic guidance music in a video game

Abstract: The introduction of a game mechanic is an aspect of a game that - when done right - goes almost unnoticed by the player. When it is done incorrectly however, it can become a large point of frustration in the player. The goal of this study is to discover how to introduce a game mechanic that guides the player through the game's musical score. The research question asked was: "Based on player experiences, how should a non-diegetic musical guidance mechanic be introduced in a video game?" This study uses design science as a foundation and uses a survey to gain a broad overview of the general preferences given by participants. Two versions of a prototype were developed which was played by 11 participants who were then asked about their experience. In both versions, the player was tasked with finding the magic flutes scattered across a city by listening to the music. The flute was stereo panned to the left or right speaker, corresponding the direction of the flute in the game world. The versions contained two different methods of introduction and the participant was asked in a semi-structured interview afterwards whether they enjoyed the method they received. One version contained a detailed introduction that described how the guidance mechanic worked, the other version did not. The interviews were transcribed and analysed using thematic analysis to extract common themes in the answers given. The results were varied, but the majority said that they preferred to learn by themselves, without a detail introduction. This method let the player think for themselves and led to a greater sense of accomplishment and satisfaction when figuring out what to do. For a game such as this where the objective is to somehow find something, they believed that it is better to not give the answer away too freely. Not many ethical concerns where found for this study, though the one that was found is important to acknowledge. Players with aural impairments cannot play this game the way it is intended, by listening to the musical score, since they have difficulties with sound. This is a flaw that should be studied and solved or mitigated in future studies.