Moonke GAG: Playtesting

When we knew that one of our scenes was able to be playtested, we set a date and time whereby we could invite people to come and playtest our level, to help us know exactly what it is that needed to be changed and what we had done well so far. 

Some initial pointers that were made while the playtesting was happening were as follows:

• The cursor needed to be locked in the middle of the screen instead of free moving.
• Camera Sensitivity was off, and needed to be adjusted.
• When the player hit zero health the player didn't die instantly.
• The rats were hard to kill due to having to be right on top of them and also the fact they were so small.
• The rules were unclear, and needed to be more pronounced.
• The Camera placement was slightly off, meaning you could usually see inside the players head.
• There was no option to quit whilst playing the game, there were only options to quit once you had died or reached the end.
• There was a glitch whereby a player could get stuck behind the Bookshelf and could not free themselves.
• The player didn't jump high enough, so it wasn't very realistic.
• There were some issues whereby the player was able to climb on top of certain props and get themselves stuck behind furniture.
• A lot of other collider issues were found whereby a player could phase through objects.
• The player textures were off, and very obvious.
• If the player picked up the shovel and equipped it, then picked the note up, the note would replace the shovel.
• The outside of the house looked very bare and it looks just like a house in the middle of the void, adding trees of an outside environment would add to the immersion.
• There are certain points where the player can climb through the window, or the door.
• The camera spins freely, making people motion sick, camera restrictions need to be added.

We then asked our play testers to fill out a questionnaire on what they thought of the game.

The replies:

Reply 1:

Reply 2: 

Reply 3:

Reply 4:

Reply 5:

Reply 6:

Reply 7:

Reply 8:

Reply 9:

Reply 10:

After receiving all of the replies from playtesting, we set out on analysing them, these were our findings from each question:

What did you enjoy about the game?

• Aesthetically pleasing (7 play testers agreed)

• Flashing Lights/Attention to detail

• Models were good

• Shadows were nice

• The floor layout made sense

• Particle effect is a nice touch

• Combat was good

• The notes/Story

How did the level flow?

(Mostly bad)

• No indication toward hostels

• Lack of direction (5 play testers said this)

• Cramped floorspace

• No distinct goal 

How did you feel about the overall aesthetics?

(While many of these comments were saying the aesthetics were pleasing, some of the improvement points include the following)

• More continuity with clutter needed

• Some UVs such as the Wall, Floor, Door and Window need fixing

• Scenery outside the house is needed for the immersive aspect

• Lack of texture consistency

• Shadows are coming from the wrong angle in comparison to the window

• Sound is needed to add to the atmosphere of the game

Is there anything you wanted to do but couldn't?

• The ability to interact with more items within the scene (6 play testers said this)

• Look in one direction without the mouse moving

• Explore more of the world

• Understand the plot better

• Jump higher

• Ability to add more items top the inventory

• See the weapons when equipped

• Have hidden features/Easter eggs

What improvements would you make?

• Player Movement

• Player Control

• Sound

• Mouse toggle on/off (7 play testers said this)

• Level Layout

• Player interaction in the world

• Lighting

• Texturing

• Camera Movement (4 play testers said this)

• Rules being clearer

• Quit on death screen

• UI menus being bigger

• Rats being easier to hit

• Improve level space

• Movement speed (4 play testers said this)

• Inventory

• Combat (4 play testers said this)

• Higher jump

• Being able to see the weapon when equipped

• Camera restrictions

• Better environment

• Indicator when the player is able to interact with something

Any bugs/glitches that you found?

• Collider issues (All play testers mentioned this)

• Player intersecting with camera

• Lighting

• Movement

• Enemy interaction

• UI

• Textures

• Note replaces the shovel in the inventory

• Health bar reaching 0 but the player not dying

• Camera issues (All play testers mentioned this)

• Combat

• Light switch didn't work all the time

• Ladder can be clicked anywhere

• Note stays on the screen too long

What rating would you give the game out of 10?

After calculating the mean of all of the ratings given, the result was the game being rated at 4/10.

Final Thoughts:

After analysing it is obvious that a lot of things need to be changed to ensure our game is up to scratch, the following are the biggest issues that need to be fixed currently:

• The game has a distinct lack of direction, meaning that there needs to be a system that explains to the player how to play and what they are doing within the game
• UV's need fixing
• Sound needs to be implemented
• Scenery needs to be added outside the window
• There needs to be more opportunity to interact with other objects within the scene
• The level needs to be made bigger as it is currently pretty cramped
• The Mouse needs to be able to be toggled
• The camera issues need to be fixed
• Collider issues need fixing
• Movement speed needs to be improved
• Combat needs to be better
• Player and camera intersection need fixing
• The ladder click needs to be improved and the trigger area made shorter

Some other comments made about the game include:

• The game aesthetics are good
• The attention to detail is nice
• The plot is unclear
• the target audience, genre and theme aren't 100% clear
• A lot of people would consider paying to play the game if it was further developed or clearer.