Initial Playtesting

Before we start...

• We'll be diving headfirst into our analysis and takeaways from the initial playtesting of our game.
• If you would like to read the detailed feedback we received, check the bottom half of the page!

Feedback Analysis and Takeaways:

--- Critical Issues ---

• It's clear that players were experiencing issues with headaches and nausea during gameplay, particularly when camera movement was involved.
  • To prevent this from happening, we would need to implement ways to reduce the sharp camera changes when hitting a wall. This could be through changing camera settings on our end or giving the player the option to do it themselves, as one playtester requested. Another solution would be to change the level design to fit the camera by making layouts more open, being less prone to sudden camera changes as a result.

--- Common Issues ---

• The playtesters often struggled to understand how certain mechanics worked, be it within the overworld or during combat.
  • In the overworld, players had issues finding out what their goal was. Sometimes they had trouble knowing the controls, finding keys, knowing they needed a second key, or even knowing they needed keys in the first place.
  • During combat, players often wished they knew more about the combat system. Some highlighted that they wanted more descriptions and knowledge of the rules. One playtester also misunderstood how the system worked, believing that the colors themselves directly affected combat, when that currently isn't the case.

--- Key Takeaways ---

• Playtesting was very insightful, showing the team critical errors which would need to be fixed immediately if development were to continue, as well as issues with miscommunication towards the player on our end.
• In terms of game design, we now know that information from the player's perspective was too limited.
  • The design of the overworld would likely need to be changed to properly teach players the controls, as well as invite them to explore more of the layout.
  • The goals should be regularly updated to match the situation, as the vague instructions left players confused as to how they should progress.
  • While we initially wanted to allow the player to discover aspects of the combat system and its mechanics on their own, it's now clear that players would need more of a foundational knowledge before they could truly begin experimenting with the tools given to them.
  • Having a better system for conveying descriptions of moves during combat would likely allow the player to feel more agency over their actions and the results of combat.
• Overall, we have learned that we need to view our game more from the eyes of a player than that of an all-knowing developer, alongside inviting others to playtest our game.
  • Had we done so early on, we likely would've put more work into ensuring the user's experience was fun and enjoyable, rather than disorienting and confusing.

Playtesting Documentation:

Interview with Jon:

---

To preface, this game is a prototype.

- JON: Ok

First Room:

- JON: Head down the hall, okay... (Jon heads down hall following instructions)

Second Room:

- JON: I will say I don't know if it's the frames but the motion is giving me a light headache. It is not... friendly.

- JON: (Checking every possible stall) Ok... ok... ok... ok... ok...

- JON: Okay found it. Uh, ok, let's go.

Combat:

- JON: It looks like the combat is about using your paint abilities, and then you use your Ultimate at the end to kill. Like Bottled Rage. That's cool.

Third Room:

- JON: E IS TO JUMP???

- JON: (After Combat) I think the room is bugged. I got the key but it's not working. I need to restart. Oh god. (I tell him there are two keys) Oh. Ok.

- JON: Combat is cool. I can't find the second key. Oh god.

- JON: (After finding second key) Found the second key. Open sesame.

Combat:

- JON: (Used Break Up) Oh god. It lied. It did not heal me to half health.

--- Interview Questions ---

What were the highlights of your experience?

- JON: The highlights? I guess, it was short. Game mechanics were cool to figure out. It was cool to mix and match different abilities.

Anything you think could be improved upon?

- JON: Mmmm... I guess like, alteration of settings. Mouse sensitivity, camera movement and volume were all very high and I wish I could've adjusted it.

How did you feel about the painting mechanics?

- JON: I think it was fine. A little buggy but I think it's fine. I wish there was like, maybe, like you know how in Pokémon in the top right there's elements, like a rule book? That would've been better for figuring it out. The words and the UI sometimes lied.

Interview with Stanley

---

To preface, this game is a prototype.

- STANLEY: (Clicked continue, screen goes blank) I was curious what um, what clicking Continue instead of New Game would do. I guess it crashes.

First Room:

- STANLEY: Tutorial room on player movement. I guess.

Second Room:

- STANLEY: Oh god I'm actually getting a headache. (Found the key) Okay this was tedious

Combat:

- STANLEY: (Wordlessly figured out how the combat works. Used Red/Red/Blue/Yellow into Bottled Rage)

Third Room:

- STANLEY: I uhh, I need to actually take a break (Pauses game) I feel sick from the camera movement. (Pause) Okay.

Combat:

- STANLEY: (When using Whiplash) Okay, cool

--- Interview Questions ---

What were the highlights of your experience?

- STANLEY: I think the combat has a lot of potential. Um, yeah.

Anything you think could be improved upon?

- STANLEY: Walking around. Just like, some sort of narrative, I guess? For some office type thing and then some monsters.

How did you feel about the painting mechanics?

- STANLEY: I think this is interesting. I didn't do that much with it, but uhh... yeah. The combat is interesting how you use different colors, I don't know how in-depth it is since there are only 2 combats, but it was cool. I could see it getting expanded upon and being a cool mechanic. I wish I could've saw more of it. More descriptions would've been nice, it felt kind of weird to realize I had to figure out what it does after using it. Just felt confusing on how to actually do something.

Playtest with Jose Romero:

I liked the part where I mixed the colors in order to create either a stronger attack or a buff. I liked how the combat might be based around trying to either make a complimentary color against the enemies or make opposite colors. What was confusing was the lack of objectives telling you what to do exactly. An example is the first room with the locked door making you search for the key without telling you there is one or updating the objective to tell you to find a way to open the door. Another aspect was the jumping, putting a note or quick drop note to tell you what key to press to jump over objects would be nice.