Space syntax, graph theoretic methods applied to an investigation into the navigability of large-scale virtual game environments

This paper suggests that the analytic techniques used in space syntax might play a role in the support of the design of certain types of games as they do of urban and building design. After briefly introducing the audience to the mathematics of the graph theoretic analytic techniques under discussion, the paper proceeds to present an analysis of one particular game map, Grand Theft Auto - San Andreas. In particular, the analysis is used to investigate the 'reward' structure of the game. The paper concludes that there is sufficient evidence to support the use of such techniques in the analysis of games: first, the syntactic structure of the game matches the intuitive layout of the virtual urban-structure, second, the placement of the game's 'rewards' are not placed randomly (an analysis of the reward-placement suggests possible superior placement-strategies based on the graph analyses) and finally, the intelligibility of the three cities in San Andreas appears to affect navigational ability, a finding which is substantiated up by a user-preference rating-poll for the cities.