Abstract
The thesis explores common gating techniques used in video games to encourage re-traversal. It forms assumptions about effective best practices in level design and applies them to a Dying Light 2 mod that uses gating techniques.
Degree Date
Spring 2026
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.I.T.
Department
Level Design
Advisor
Mike Porter
Second Advisor
Karl Steiner
Third Advisor
Katie Wood Clark
Acknowledgements
I would like to thank my thesis Professor, Mike Poter, without whom I would not have been able to complete my level (artifact), presentation, data, and postmortem, thanks to his extensive knowledge and experience as a level designer. I would also like to thank Professor Katie Clark and Dr. Kleiner for their input on my thesis artifact, presentation, and data acquisition. I would also like to thank the designer and developer at Techland who created the Chrome Engine and Dying Light 2: Stay Human. I would also like to thank all my peers and managers at my job who allowed me to take time off to complete the project, as well as all my play testers.
Format
Creative Commons License
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial 4.0 License
Recommended Citation
Murray, Jonathan J., "Best Practices for Re-traversal using Gating Techniques to Increase Player Engagement" (2026). Level Design Theses and Dissertations. 39.
https://scholar.smu.edu/guildhall_leveldesign_etds/39
