Playtesting

Exercise 9.3

Set up a time to meet with playtesters and group member. Playtesters ranged in their twenties. One playtester had a lot of gaming experience and works professionally to test user experience. The other had little gaming experience and is a college student.

Exercise 9.4

Introduction:

Hello, thank you so much for coming out today! My name is Steph. I'm a Game Art and Design student and today I am hoping to conduct a test on a new game that I have been working on. Just relax, have fun, and feel free to say whatever you think about the game. Be it positive or negative or even chaotic neutral - we really would appreciate your feedback since it will help us improve our game! We promise it won't hurt our feelings - we really want to know!

Warm Up Discussion:

So, speaking of gaming - do you play games often?
What sorts of games do you generally play?
Why do you play them/What attracts you the most about these games?
Do you play card games?
Why or why not?
What makes you decide to play/or not to play card games?

Play Session:

Alright everyone! Now that we are all friends, let's play! So the first thing I must stress is that this game is still very much in the test phase, so there are still lots of bugs and issues that we are working out - hopefully with your wonderful help. So, if something is frustrating or confusing - please tell us so that we can fix this problem and make things easier!
So, here are the card decks. You can pick the one you like.
Could you tell me why you chose that particular deck?
Now that you have your decks, you can look through them for awhile. Any questions?
How would you tell the level of the cards?
Any confusions in the card layout?
-Gameplay explanation-
-playtest-

Discussion of Game Experience:
Well, that's the end of that game! Well done! So, overall -- how would you say that went?
Did you enjoy the game?
What was enjoyable?
What was not?
Was it easy to understand?
Anything you thought was annoying/boring/silly/confusing?
Would you play it again?

Wrap Up:
Honestly, thank you so much for coming and taking time out of your day to play this game. Have a lovely day and take these homemade cookies home as a thank you~ 


Exercise 9.5

These are the notes I took while our playtesters were playing, talking, eating cookies, and commenting on the gameplay. All of these notes are directly taken from the suggestions and commentary of the playtesters:


During the first playtest with people other than members of the group playing the game - these were the points, problems, and questions that arose.

The game description was received well by the players, but immediately upon explaining the rules - the players became confused about the purpose of the hero card in battle.

The question was posed as to whether the hero card actually participated in battle or was in fact just being used as an avatar with little to no effect otherwise.Since the hero card changes to a higher health point (morale?) level when it is being used as a hero card and rarely would ever have the opportunity to fight (and would not be able to use any spell or trip) - the solution was to pull the hero card idea and instead let the players become the hero.

On the pieces of paper I had created in order to record the hero's health points, I added at the top an area for the player to name themselves as the hero, so that they could see that the points on that sheet were their health during the battle.
One player chose the name "Princess Sparklebutt" and the other chose "Bunny Warrior Princess"

Once this was fixed, the game proceeded onwards and the confusion over the hero card dissipated.

The idea of having three different ways to play the card at first was a little difficult to explain due to the wording choices we at first used (aka. 'unit card'), so we began calling the 'unit card' the 'attacker' and the rules of how to play the three different uses of the card were easier for the players to grasp.

The game started off slowly (as the players were looking over cards to understand their effects and abilities). We decided to change the 2 moves per turn idea into using a 6-sided dice. This turned out to work well for the rest of the game and the pace picked up.

Problems that had to be clarified throughout the game were primarily about:

1. clarifying spells/abilities -- when they can be used, how they are used, who it affects, how long they can be used, and when to discard.

So we came up with some basic simple rules:

- Spells placed on field are immediately active and do not need another move in order to activate.
- Spells are used as a bonus/buffer to an attacking card.
- Spells affect either only the card it is attached to or they are specified in the description who is affected. Cards must be specific in this area to avoid confusion.
- Spells that do not have a time limit can only be used once, otherwise -- on the card it should specify how many turns the spell is allowed to be active. Players must keep track of how long the spell is on the field (they can use their hero paper).
- Spells are discarded/sent to graveyard after their time limit (once or the specified amount of turns)


After creating these rules about spells, the gameplay proceeded more smoothly.

2. We introduced the idea of combo attacks to the players, which they liked immensely. We explained that:

Combo attacks can be used by attacking cards that are on the field and require moves in order to be performed. For example, if a player wishes to combine the attacks of two attackers, they would be required to use two moves in order to do so. Three card combos require 3 moves and so forth.

Discussion about some handicaps on it perhaps need to happen, but in the case of this particular game -- the trips and spells used stopped this from becoming too overpowered.

3. The players needed more cards in their hands, so we changed the rules to be that players could use a move to pick up a card during their turn and were able to draw cards at the end of their turn so that they always had 5 cards in their hand.


4. The last issue we faced were cards that were too overpowered and had an unfair advantage with attacking points (ect.)

- a team meeting will need to be held to go over everyone's cards in order to make sure they are more equal

First Game Journal Assignment - Your Life as a Game

The assignment this week is to list five areas of my life that could be related to gaming and to describe shortly how they could be structured into play.


Let's see...
First I'll start with an experience I just had not thirty minutes prior to writing this:

my cats: Noona and Sora

1. Washing the cat
- For this game, the screen shows your hands, the cat, soap, and a bathtub. The object of the game is to wash the cat for the time limit without getting scratches on your hands. The player must dodge the cat scratches and anticipate by the cat's growls when it is getting ready to lunge. Additional soap may be necessary to keep up the scrubbing action. A player can get a perfect win by not getting any scratches and attain objects like gloves and better soap. If a player gets more than three scratches, the screen bleeds red and the game has to start over~



2. Mighty Bug Killer

Since my roommate and I are terrified of bugs...we have devised a system of combat to fight them...

- This is game where the player can select from three different playable characters to fight off different bugs that come into each level. Each character has a different look and fighting style and when the player selects one, the other two still assist (to the best of their ability) in battle.
Short-range character: holds the bug spray and rolled up newspaper
Long-range character: holds broom
Defensive character: holds trash can lid

The biggest issue is the panic meter. The more bugs that pour out of the ceiling vents in the room, the more panic your team will experience. The player will have to calm their team while fighting off bugs. If the player manages to initiate a team combo with the other two characters, a herd of cats will come and eat any bugs in their way~


3. Impromtu Fashion Show

When you are late and pick the first clean clothing pieces you find... (it happens, right?)

- This is a fashion game based on the player's ability to dress their model with the random selections they are given. The player chooses three to five random cards out of a deck and using those selections, has to create an outfit. The judge (your roommate) will evaluate you and if you pass with a title -- then she lets you leave the apartment. If she fails you - then you will be unable to leave and be late (therefore losing the game).
Various titles that could be achieved would be things like Fashionista, Eclectic, and Sci-fi Princess ect. Each title receives it's own special skit with how it is received where your destination is.


4. That Texan Sun

For those sad human beings who burn when only outside for five minutes - this game is for you.

-The premise is to avoid the sun. The player can choose between two characters: both of whom must get from point A to point B without the sun turning their skin red~
The player must time themselves and find hidden areas and items to combat the rays of the intense sunlight. For instance, they could stumble upon a parasol or some sunscreen. (The sun's rays would burn them up after too long, so they have a shelf life). In order to keep up stamina, the player must find items such as water, ice or Popsicles.



5. Midnight Snack

We all get the munchies, but do we all have to share?

- The player's mission is to create an awesome midnight snack without their roommate catching them and asking to eat half of it. They have to find the correct ingredients while keeping quiet and sneaking around in the kitchen in order to finally enjoy the perfect midnight snack.