LINE OF SIGHT LIGHTING EFFECT IN DARK ENVIRONMENT AND ITS IMPACT ON INTERACTIVE HORROR GAME EXPERIENCE
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.24191/mjoc.v11i2.11635Keywords:
Dark Environment, Game Development Life Cycle, Horror Game, Line of Sight, Lighting Effect, Player ImmersionAbstract
Lighting effects in dark environments represent a fundamental psychological mechanism in horror game design, directly shaping player immersion, emotional tension, and the quality of interactive experience. Although Line of Sight (LoS) technology has been widely adopted across many game genres, empirical investigations examining how LoS-based dynamic lighting specifically affects player engagement, usability, and visual aesthetic perception within single-player horror puzzle contexts remain scarce. This paper presents the design, development, and user evaluation of “No One Left”, a three-dimensional top-down horror puzzle game developed using Unreal Engine 4, which systematically employs LoS-based lighting mechanics within a dark environment to restrict player visibility and elevate psychological immersion. The Game Development Life Cycle (GDLC) methodology guided systematic development across concept, design, programming, testing, and deployment phases. User evaluation involved 30 participants (19 male, 11 female; predominantly aged 16 to 21 years) together with two professional game developers, assessed through structured Likert-scale questionnaires across four dimensions, namely usability and playtesting, visual aesthetics, gameplay experience, and engagement. Qualitative expert interviews provided supplementary assessment of technical and design quality. Results yielded a mean gameplay satisfaction score of 3.63 out of 5.0 (SD = 1.10), with 80 per cent of respondents confirming clear game goal comprehension and 69 per cent expressing positive environmental aesthetic experience. Expert evaluation validated the technical effectiveness of the LoS mechanic and commended the interactive narrative design approach, while identifying level layout diversity and multiplayer integration as primary improvement targets. These findings confirm that LoS-based lighting constitutes an effective and computationally efficient mechanism for generating horror immersion in single-player game contexts, and contributes empirically grounded design principles applicable to future dark environment interactive experiences.
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The datasets used and/or analysed during the current study are available from the corresponding author on reasonable request.
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