Playtesting
First Playtest
Our first playtest went I guess kind of well. Something that we noticed was that testers did not use the ‘heavy’ shot. The heavy shot or the laser needs to be loaded up for four seconds before it fires. Testers found it confusing and did not see (nor hear because we did not have any sound effects at the time) when the cannon was charging up the laser. This was the main issue from the playtest. This is something we changed for the upcoming sprints. We changed the looks of the cannon and added a sound effect when you are loading up the cannon for a heavy shot.
Second Playtest
There was a significant improvement from the first playtest. This time around we had mostly all sound effects implemented and they were very much welcome by the testers. Overall the testers appreciated the game.
Something that we have struggled with is the background and the controls of the game. First off, the background, the enemies blends in all to much and it is making it hard to see them at first glance. Since our game is heavily relayed on tactical decisions it is crucial that the players can spot an enemy ship as fast as possible. The enemies are gray and the background is gray.
The second factor is the controls. Some testers had a hard time learning all the controls, we had a quick tutorial with text but a majority did not read it. We changed the controls for the shields from H-J-K-L to 1-2-3-4 which was more intuitive for the testers this time around.
One last thing, the power-up. The Shockwave, as its called, were the thing people gave the poorest review. Why? Because we forgot to tell them about the key input for it. The testers did not even know how to use it or it was fully charged.
How did this benefit our development?
We have had the luxery to polish the game since we have a very capable team that has done its job right. When the feedback came back from the playtest we imidediately thought of design that would improve our game. When you, as a designer from my point of view, test your game over and over it is hard to sometimes get the perspective of a player that sits down and plays your game for the first time. You really need to be super clear about the gameplay and it has been challenging at times but it is something that I really enjoy. Finding solutions to problems and teaching the player and see the learning curve display right in front of your eyes. Without the playtesting we would not have this good of a product that we have right now. I’m very pleased with the game and it is a real joy to always improving it.
Image: The old cannon (up) and the new cannon (down)
Joakim Malmström
Game Design Student
About Joakim Malmström
2017 Game Design
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