SuBViS: the use of subjunctive visual programming environments for exploring alternatives in game development

Abstract

Game development is a naturally iterative process where many ideas are tested and prototyped before final decisions are made. Given the increased usage of visual scripting systems in game development recently, it is apparent that these tools must be able to support every aspect of this process. One aspect that is not well captured is the exploration of alternatives. SuBViS was developed as a solution to this problem. It is a visual scripting system for exploring parallel ideas in game development through the use of alternatives at graph and node levels. These two levels of exploring alternatives can be combined or used separately. This paper presents a use case example, which demonstrates how SuBViS can improve workflow and communication between team members. It also discusses a small-scale user study and the results obtained therein. SuBViS was developed on top of Unreal Engine s existing Blueprint Visual Scripting system.