Week 8 (4/5 - 4/11)
This week’s main focus was on making the final playtesting plans for the game and getting started on development
After a spring break, I was somewhat kinda maybe sorta probably potentially ready to get back to work
Playtesting Plan
Team Goals for this Playtesting Session:
What about the game environment/context do you want to test?
Are the controls easy to use and understand?
How is the difficulty?
What about the learning experience do you want to test?
Are we achieving the learning goals we laid out for the MVP? (i.e., teaching about bee foraging habits, hazards)
What usability testing do you want to do?
Are the systems put in place functioning properly? (points, controls, out of bounds mechanics, etc)
What about game enjoyment do you want to test?
Are the rewards and challenges in the game balanced so it winning is challenging but possible
Do the physics of the bee movement feel natural or do they leave the child frustrated
Do the visuals and sounds feel appropriate for gameplay
The Playtesting Session (See pages 285-287 textbook)
Introduction - Get kids comfortable (2-3 minutes)
(write or outline a script that greets the playtester, explains playtesting process, and how this will help you improve your game. Provide an overview of your game
Explain what playtesting is
They will play our game while we observe
Afterward, we will have a conversation about what they think of the game
They should mention things they don’t like, problems, or anything confusing, because these things will help us improve our game. We are building this game for people like them and we want to make sure they can use it and enjoy playing it
Explain Bee Sim
Use our elevator pitch
Warmup discussion - Build rapport (3-5 minutes)
(write or outline a script/set of questions about what games they play.
Ask what types of games they normally like, or other hobbies
What consoles do they have and what are their favorite games on them?
Free Play Session (15-20 minutes)
(Ask them to “play your game as they share their screen so you can observe”. Create a checklist of what to pay attention to and take notes about while they play.)
Can child figure out controls?
Do controls work as intended? Are they perhaps too loose/too stiff?
How does the game look? Is it visually appealing?
Are there any bugs that prevent/hinder gameplay?
Is the child interested and engaged, or do they seem bored
Is the meadow part of the game too long or short? (i.e., is bee stamina draining at an appropriate rate?)
Is the boss predator too easy or hard to beat?
Questions/observations during play
What aspects of your game are you most interested in testing in this playtesting session and what questions do you want to ask them or observations (physical behavior, facial expressions, actions taken in the game) to get that feedback organized by each part of the game play?
Make sure controls are intuitive and usable
Question: What do you think of the controls?
Observe playtester as they figure out how to play the game
Dialogue
Observe player as they read the text
Challenge
Questions: Are you having fun right now? (Follow this up with other questions to determine what specifically they like or dislike about the current gameplay.)
Observe playtester during game play. Did they get frustrated and struggle? Were they able to win? Did they win easily?
Discussion of game experience
(Create a set of questions to probe about their appeal, interest level, challenge level, and their understanding of of game features.)
Dialogue
Questions: What did you think of the dialogue? Do you think it was too hard or easy to understand? Did you think it was interesting
Challenge
Questions: How easy do you think this game is? What age group do you think would like this?
Overall
Question: What was your favorite part of the game? What was your least favorite part?
Wrap up
What will you say to end the playtesting session
Thank you for testing your game! It means a lot to us. You’ve helped us make our game the best it can be!
Things to keep in mind.
(List Do’s and don’t’s you learned from the Playtest with Kids website)
Don’t encourage or discourage any particular course of action, just observe the child, and prompt them if they need help or we want to guide them to a specific feature
Ask open ended questions that don’t guide them to an answer just because it’s what you want to hear