The lost testreport_1115

Once Legendary Usability Test Report

Once Legendary (Nov 2015)

By The Lost:Miguel Reyes

Michael LucarelliJoshua Inzer

Russell HolmbergJoshua Richmond

Full Sail UniversityUsability Sec02

November 20th 2015

Table of contents1

Executive Summary…...…………………………………………………………3

Testing Methodology…..…………………....…………………………………...3

Demographics………....…….……………………………………………………4

Analysis/Metrics……………………………………………………………….....5

Recommendations…………….……....…………………………………………7

Issues……...………………………………………………………………………8

Data Collection…………………….…………………………………………....13

Post Mortem……………………………………………………………………..16

References………………………………………………………………………17

Appendix……………………………………………………………....…………18

Executive Summary:

2

This week, The Lost put to action the plain previously laid out to test the game the game Once Legendary, by Team Zulu. As a team we collected data and began to analyze our findings based on what we had seen. We have come up with some issues as well as some recommendations for the developers that we have formulated based on the outcomes of this testing process.

A. Specific Main goals of this test:a. Collect the data requested by Team zulub. Test our hypotheses formulated in week 3c. Record players reaction to games systems and mechanicsd. Test the fluidity of the game's platforming and combat

B. Overview of test subject selection demographic:a. Inexperienced to novice game playersb. Ages 15-35c. Has a solid understanding of the keyboard and mouse interface.

Testing Methodology:

Each team member will select 1 person to test. Tester will be selected based on their gaming experience and willingness to participate. The ideal tester will be a casual gamer who is enthusiastic about assisting our testing efforts. Once tester is selected, the proctor will record the testers name, age, gender, and gaming experience. Proctor will then introduce the player to the game. This is the red area within the questionnaire. Testers may play longer than 15 minutes, but must play a minimum of 15 minutes. Once the player has finished playing, the data in blue will be filled out. This is done in order to give a baseline of where each individual tester gets stuck. The questions in green can be asked during play testing or after but must also be filled in. Proctor will record data for the exploratory questions for each level the player makes it through. During testing, the Proctor will record questions, statements, and exclamations. The Proctor is not allowed to assist the player beyond restating what the game has already told them. Procter must test all three hypotheses (as outlined in the next section) without letting the player know something specific is being tested for in order to keep the number of variables in check. For questionnaire, see Appendix B. If for whatever reason the player cannot complete a portion of the level and quits , the proctor will record what time they quit, what level they quit, why they quit, and then move them to the beginning of the next level.

3

Demographics

Subject/Tester Age Sex Gaming experience

Hours per week spent playing games

David 17 Male Moderate 3

Claire 21 Female Small 1-2

Tina 31 Female Small 1

Dannie 20 Female Moderate 6

Abigail 21 Female Small 2-3

Analyses/Metrics:Hypotheses Results:

1.) “Casual Players will not be able to figure out the game’s grapple mechanic with the game given tip alone.” This hypothesis has been proven correct as no play tester was able to understand let alone master this mechanic. No tester made it past the first grappling section in Chapter

2.) Casual Players will become easily frustrated with the collision detection of enemies and obstacles such as thorns.This hypothesis has also been proven true as all playtesters reported collision detection as a primary source of frustrations, particularly when dealing with thorns.

3.) Players will initially assume that the blue “sprites” floating around are enemies. Our final hypothesis is inconclusive as we received very mixed results from our testers. Some of our testers thought they were friendly, some of our testers thought they were enemies and one of our testers thought they were some kind of power up you could collect.

4

Casual vs Hardcore

Unfortunately our sample sizes for a t-value test were very limited as the second level was uncompletable when we played it and none of our casual testers completed it. With this being said we felt the only reliable data for this hypotheses was the completion times for the game's prologue. When this data is subjected to a t-value test the critical t-value is higher than the t-value proving the null hypothesis (Hardcore gamers will not perform any better than casual gamers) to be false and the hypothesis “Hardcore gamers perform better than casual gamers to be true). This is very apparent when looking at our data as our casual testers took up to 7 times longer (in the most extreme case) to complete the game's most basic level. (See data collection for more detail)

Sword Levels vs Platforming levelsOne interesting thing we noticed is that between last week's data and this weeks data

not a single swordplay level was completed. On the opposite end of the spectrum every tester who played the game completed both platforming levels. Based on feedback from our testers we conclude that this is due in part to some of the sword levels frustrating mechanics (see hypothesis regarding grapple mechanic). With that in mind we would recommend that more emphasis be placed on making the swordplay levels flow better by better explanation of mechanics and perhaps a modification of the swordplay system as a whole in order to streamline the transition between swordplay and platforming levels.

5

Death by Type

Another big thing we noticed is that our players died to the environment far more frequently than they did to the game's enemies in the games swordplay levels. The above chart illustrates a huge disparity between deaths caused by enemies and deaths caused by the environment. This data omits environmental deaths from the prologue and chapter two as these levels do not contain enemies and would skew the results of this data set. That being said, we feel that this leads to two possible conclusions. Either the game's enemies are too trivial or the games environmental hazards are too punishing. This is reinforced by the fact the a large portion of our players frustration in all levels was related to falling down holes or being killed by things like thorns.

6

RecommendationsOur first recommendation regards the games falling animation. We believe that this is a

crucial area of the game that needs attention as all of our playtesters vocalized being extremely frustrated by it and it is something that affects all platforming levels. All members of our team reported their testers getting highly irritated when their character fell saying things, like “Get up stupid!” or “What are you doing on the ground?”, and slamming keys furiously to get their character standing again. By the end of chapter 2, the expletives and key slamming evolved into frustrated sighs and destroyed the players moral. Our number one recommendation for this is to reduce the animation time for the player getting back up. We strongly feel that this would help reduce player's frustration as it would reduce the amount of time they are unable to control their character and allow a quicker recovery from error. Some other things you may want to consider for this issue is increasing the distance the player can travel before landing causes them to fall or possibly removing the mechanic all together.

Our second recommendation regards the game's transition both too and from what our team is calling “platformer to hack and slash”. You go through great effort to lay the framework (quite well we might add) and then the next level becomes a hasty pseudo-tutorial that throws a lot of mechanics at you at once. Many of our testers felt that the sword levels and the platforming levels felt like two different games. We think we understand the concept you are going for but we feel that there are too many moving parts thrown at the player at once during the sword levels. In order to make the game more fluid we have come up with what we believe are 2 strong options. The first of these would be to focus on one type of level and stick with it. We understand that this would be a huge change to your game so our second options would be to restructure your chapter one. To elaborate based on our playtest, we feel that the sheer number of mechanics that are thrown at the player in chapter 1 ruin the game's pace that was set (again quite well) during the prologue. We would possibly consider removing a mechanic like grappling as it is a mechanic all testers found obscure anyways.

Finally we have a recommendation regarding the character ragdoll in the sword sections. Many testers reported not being able to fully grasp where their avatar was of what their actual hitbox was. This led to a lot of frustration with players saying things like “but he didn’t even touch me” or “I jumped over the thorns though”. Once again we feel that we understand what you are trying to accomplish with this, however we feel a complete ragdoll of the character presents the player with too much of an unpredictable hitbox and makes it difficult to accurately perceive where the avatar is in the gamespace.

7

Issues:Joshua R.: Issue #1: A common recurring issue in this game is getting stuck on corners when jumping from platform to platform. As you can see below the character often gets stuck on the corner of a ledge when trying to land on said platform. This almost always results in falling into the lengthy animation discussed in recommendations or the player's death if they are hanging over an environmental hazard.Type: Q/ASeverity: ModerateScreenshot:


Suggestion: I would suggest examining the colliders on platforms with right angles and smoothing the corners of so they either land correctly or slide off the edge rather than being suspended in seemingly mid-air.

Issue #2: One of my big issues with level one and its hints. While I think the hints are well placed and needed, I don’t think they are as effective as they could be. My two prime examples are the tip about runes and the tip about grappling. Both of these are unexplained systems/mechanics and the short tip doesn’t do much to inform the player about them. Type: Q/ASeverity: ModerateScreenshot:


8

Suggestion: If it were possible to show the player a short recording of their avatar performing said action or interacting with said system. I think the tips would do a much better job of informing the player of all the options and tools they are being given.Russell:Issue #1: During the prologue i encountered an issue where when i stepped on the trigger platform to trigger the moving platform to rise, it wouldn't trigger and hence i couldn't progress further into the story.I had to start this checkpoint over twice due to this issue. Type: GameplaySeverity: CriticalScreenshot:


Suggestion: Fixing the button to where it triggers the platform every time.

Issue #2: The second issue that i encountered was another gameplay issue i encountered this issue when trying to jump both vertically and horizontally, with how the player controls are and how unstable they feel it's hard for myself as a player to try and move the character in the direction and in the precise manner that i want to. trying to jump while a player has the sword is an even more difficult feat due to the ragdoll physics that the player has. Type: GameplaySeverity: Moderate Screenshot:


Suggestion: Having the player still be able to control the player instead of the sword would make the jumps a little more stable. Michael L.:

9

Issue #1: One issue that was noticed was with the UI. At certain spots in the game the health UI would hide behind an object such as a wall in the foreground.Type: Q/ASeverity: ModerateScreenshot:


Suggestion: One way to fix this would be to make sure that the UI is set on the most front foreground on every level.

Issue #2: Another issue found was the cannon balls were unavoidable after this portion of the game. You could manage to avoid the first one but then you could not avoid any others and would die instantly on contact.Type: GameplaySeverity: CriticalScreenshot:


Suggestion: You could either leave a bigger time gap in between the time that the cannon balls fire or you could have a pit or something to hide in so the player at least has a chance to avoid them without dying right away.

Joshua I.:

10

Issue #1: Respawn at the checkpoint can result in the player being hung upright on the edge. The only way to continue is to purposely die.Type: GameplaySeverity: ModerateScreenshot:


Suggestion: Move respawn location slightly more to the right on the platform.

Issue #2: Starting once the player receives the rune sword, the player’s avatar becomes a ragdoll and center of gravity is based on the swords physics. If the design is meant to be such, stating so would be beneficial to the developers. When faced with multiple enemies, the player doesn’t know whether or not the avatar or the sword is the object that needs protected.Type: GameplaySeverity: LowScreenshot:


Suggestion : Recommendation is to create center of gravity on the player and have the sword work as a moving appendage from the player’s hand. If ragdoll style is intentional, then the player’s avatar shouldn’t be what is attacked when facing enemies.Miguel:

11

Issue #1: On the third chapter when trying to make it across one of the pits I was unable to make it across because I was stuck by some invisible attack. I was continuously being harmed and unable to complete the level. Type: GameplaySeverity: HighScreenshot:


Suggestion: This is an issue I felt that could have been avoided altogether by removing the rag doll physics. Something about that collided with this damage and did not allow me to continue forward.

Issue #2: The second issue that I found is that when trying to activate a switch the character will be hard to place properly on the trigger. The ragdoll physics makes it a bit difficult to make the player land on the button and keep it being pressed. On the first level this was not an issue but in the second one it happens constantly. Type: GameplaySeverity: Low Screenshot:


Suggestion: Give the character a solid model that allows him to stand up right as he uses the sword. In order to place yourself on the switches and activate them without frustration.

Data Collection12

Week 4 Data

Proctor/ Playtester Level Time

Coin Pick up

Deaths By Enemies

Enemies Killed

Deaths by Environment Level Completed/Why

Michael L./ David L. Prologue

0:17:36 0 0 0 9 Yes

Chapter One

0:19:15 17 4 16 8

No (Couldn't get past grapple)

Chapter Two

0:16:35 0 0 0 12 Yes

Chapter Three

0:19:42 23 6 23 12

No (Couldn’t get past area after birds)

Chapter Four N/P

Josh R./ Abigail R. Prologue

0:24:27 0 0 0 0 Yes

Chapter One

0:21:27 25 2 21 25

No (Couldn't get past grapple)

Chapter Two

0:10:29 0 0 0 10 Yes

Chapter Three

0:18:16 42 5 64 30

No(Became frustrated by unresponsive controls when she got to the troll fort)

Chapter Four N/P

Joshua I./ Prologue 0:25:00 0 0 0 65 Yes

13

Tina I.

Chapter One 0:23:00 20 7 9 80 No (Couldn't get past grapple)

Chapter Two 0:07:00 0 0 0 55 Yes

Chapter Three 0:15:00 2 20 7 45

No (Couldn’t get past area after birds)

Chapter Four N/P

Russell / Claire W. Prologue 0:35:37 0 0 0 14 Yes

Chapter One 0:17:21 6 0 4 2

No, could not perform Ground smash

Chapter Two 0:18:43 0 0 0 16 yes

Chapter Three 0:09:24 5 8 12 24 No, Could not get past cannon

Chapter Four N/P

Miguel/ Dannie Prologue 0:08:32 0 0 0 11 Yes

Chapter One 0:06:52 7 0 2 0

No, Dannie could not get passed wooden barrier

Chapter Two 0:09:16 0 0 0 4 Yes

Chapter Three 0:09:02 0 2 10 8 No, Could not get past bird pit

14

Week 3 DataPlaytester Level Time Coin pick up Level Completed/Why

Michael L. Prologue 0:06:36 0 Yes

Chapter One 0:12:15 21 No, Cube Boss

Chapter Two N/P

Josh R. Prologue 0:05:30 0 Yes

Chapter One N/A 24 No, Cube Boss

Chapter Two N/P

Josh I. Prologue 0:13:43 0 Yes

Chapter One 0:15:00 12 No, Couldn't Grapple

Chapter Two N/P

Russell H. Prologue 0:07:53 0 No, Couldn't get past log

Chapter One 0:08:42 11 No Couldnt Ground Smash

Chapter Two N/P

Miguel Prologue 0:05:00 0 Yes

Chapter One N/A 2 No, Couldn't Grapple

Chapter Two N/P

T-values Mean 464.4

Variance 44609.3

Observations 5

Hypothesized Mean Difference 0

df 4

t Stat -3.055493365

P(T<=t) one-tail 0.0189122995

t Critical one-tail 2.131846782

P(T<=t) two-tail 0.037824599

t Critical two-tail 2.776445098

15

Post MortemWhat went wrong? Well there were a few things that went wrong with the testing and methodology. One thing that went wrong was the way our data was collected allowed for overlap and in categories like enemies and coins collected. This lead to players constantly killing enemies and collecting the same coins over after death and they were accounted for continuously. Time for us was also an issue. The first build we got was broken and crashed at the end of the first level every time a player was about to complete it. As a result we had less time (which was relatively limited in the first place) to playtest collect all of our data, and conduct our analysis of said findings.

What went right?

The team was able to draw reasonable data from our three hypotheses from week three, due to our information that was gathered from our play testers. Also we were able to come up with a strong plan at the beginning of the week and adapt as the weeks curveballs came in. The team maintained a positive attitude through the entire week and saw the project through till the end.

What can be learned from the experience?

One big point we took away from all this is the importance of data organization. We ended up revising our data table multiple times and, upon reflection we would revise it yet again for future tests. This plays into our next lesson which was attention to detail. There is a lot of data that, upon testing completion, we realized we could collect in order to provide more useful information to the development team.

16

References:Team Zulu (Nov 9th, 2015) Once Legendary (0.0.1.104881)

17

Appendices:

Appendix A (Main Menu Flowchart)

18

Appendix B (Level Flow Flowchart)

19

Appendix CCompleted Questionnaires

Appendix C-1Michael:

Questionnaire

Tester Name: David LucarelliAge: 17Sex: MaleWhat types of games do you usually play?“Mainly FPS console games.”How many hours per week do you spend playing games?“3 hours”Testers Initial Thoughts:“It was challenging.” Time Spent Playing:73 minutesFurthest Point Reached (To Match Difficulty:Experience ratio): The bird pits in the 3rd chapterLikes:The idea behind the game was good.Dislikes:The fact that your character ragdolls. This lead to me hitting things uncontrollably/or falling and dieing.What games would you compare this to?Happy WheelsWould you play this game again? Elaborate on decision.No, because the difficulty of the game was to high. With that being said if many issues of the game were fixed it might have some promise but the enemies killed me too fast, especially the little red balls.What suggestions would you give to the developers?Fix the ragdoll issue even though it may conflict somewhat with the story, it really would help the player know where they’re hit box is and help with standing on things.Does the level offer a reasonable reward to risk ratio?No they didn’t offer one, I felt no real sense of accomplishment when beating one.Does the level give an adequate test of your gaming skills (how is the difficulty-to-experience ratio)?I have little experience with PC games. With this being said the ratio is high because it is very hard for people with little to no experience to beat it.

20

Proctor’s Observations of the Tester:Initial QuestionsHow difficult did you find the games grappling mechanic?It didn’t work for me so pretty difficult, either it was broken or not explained well enough to tell the player how to do it.

What did the players say regarding the games environmental hazards?The hit boxes on the thorns were too big and need to be adjusted.

What were your initial thoughts regarding the blue sprites?I thought they were friendly.

Explorative QuestionsLevel one:What frustrated you during this level?“The thorns and his voice.”What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?“The thorns should take half your health because it would make it easier since it is only the first level.”Level Two:What frustrated you during this level?The grapple mechanic and getting swarmed by enemiesWhat is one thing you would change about this level? Why?making sure grapple worked.Level Three:What frustrated you during this level?The platforming checkpoints were too far apart toward the end.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Add more checkpoints when the platforming starts toward the end.Level Four:What frustrated you during this level?The cannon balls kept killing me.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Make sure there is a clear route for players to take rather than them getting hit by cannonballs inevitably after the first set of birds.

Appendix C-2Joshua R:Tester Name: Abigail RichmondAge:21Sex: Female

21

What types of games do you usually play? Casual platform and puzzle games.How many hours per week do you spend playing games? 2-3Testers Initial Thoughts: It’s a little frustrating because I keep falling down. Time Spent Playing: 1:14:39Furthest Point Reached (To Match Difficulty:Experience ratio):Likes:I liked the turtles. The narration made me laugh. Dislikes:My character fell down too much for no reason. My character also did not jump 90% of the times that I wanted it to. Some parts in between obstacles seemed to drag on a little too much. Why did the blue sprites suddenly turn red and try to kill me? The guy holding the sword was basically dead weight and caused contributed to the sword not moving the way that I wanted it to.What games would you compare this to?Super Mario BrosWould you play this game again? Elaborate on decision.No, it was too frustrating because the character wasn’t responding to the controls the way I wanted it too. What suggestions would you give to the developers?Add more spots for fighting. Does the level offer a reasonable reward to risk ratio? (Tester is unaware of what that means.)Does the level give an adequate test of your gaming skills (how is the difficulty-to-experience ratio)?It was challenging because I am not good at video games. It was an appropriate amount of challenge my skill level.

Proctor’s Observations of the Tester:Initial QuestionsHow difficult did you find the games grappling mechanic?Player could not grasp the concept as the game presented it.What did the players say regarding the games environmental hazards?

22

The player would often complain about being hit by thorns saying they did not visually see their player coming in contact with them.What were your initial thoughts regarding the blue sprites?Player initially thought they were some kind of power up. Explorative QuestionsPrologue:What frustrated you during this level?The player was frustrated by falling floor for seemingly no reason.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The player did not like the noises the character made when jumping or falling down.Level One:What frustrated you during this level?This player was frustrated by the games grappling mechanic and eventually quit the level because she couldn’t progress.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The player would like to be able to skip dialogue once its been heard already.Level Two:What frustrated you during this level?Player was not frustrated by this level.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Player wishes the level was a bit more exciting and a bit harder. The player said there was very little to do in the level and long stretches of eventless running.Level Three:What frustrated you during this level?Every so often the player would respawn on top a spike strip and die immediately. (This occurred on the checkpoint in front of the barricades before the first occurrence of the bird enemies)What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The player thinks there should be less enemies in one place. The player did not like being attacked by so many enemies at one time and thinks they should be spread out more throughout the game.

Appendix C-3 Joshua I.:Tester Name: Tina InzerAge: 31Sex: FemaleWhat types of games do you usually play? Super Mario Bros., Tetris, Candy Crush, Lego Marvel Super Hero, Lego based games

23

How many hours per week do you spend playing games? 1 hourTesters Initial Thoughts: So how do I move?Time Spent Playing: 69 minutesFurthest Point Reached (To Match Difficulty:Experience ratio): 1st level until game crash at end, 3rd level completed. 2nd level ended at grappling the moving platform, 4th level where the huge cannonball hits low Likes:I liked the zombies and the cannon balls. They had smiley faces.Dislikes:The sword play levels. He looked like he was floating and needed a balloon and not a sword.What games would you compare this to?Happy Wheels and Super Mario Bros.Would you play this game again? Elaborate on decision.No, I prefer a better balanced reward to risk ratio, such as in Super Mario Bros or the Lego games or Sonic.What suggestions would you give to the developers?Get rid of the sword levels. It doesn’t mesh well with the rest of the game. Does the level offer a reasonable reward to risk ratio?No. There is more risk than reward.Does the level give an adequate test of your gaming skills (how is the difficulty-to-experience ratio)?Certain aspects were too difficult, mostly on levels where the sword was involved. I could not swing my sword-sword.Proctor’s Observations of the Tester:Initial QuestionsHow difficult did you find the games grappling mechanic?Very difficult as I couldn’t figure it out. It’s why I quit Chapter 1.What did the players say regarding the games environmental hazards?The drawing of the vines were nice but they were too cumbersome in the first level.What were your initial thoughts regarding the blue sprites?Are they my little Pokemon? Or are they trying to kill me?Explorative QuestionsPrologue:What frustrated you during this level?The vine spot where it had very little wiggle room.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The controls. I would have rather had arrow keys for the controls.Chapter One:What frustrated you during this level?The control of the character was too floppy.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The control of the character is what should be changed. It didn’t really flow well. It appeared as though the character had a bunch of balloons in his hand and little control of his movement.

24

Chapter Two:What frustrated you during this level?Long time/distance between checkpointsWhat is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Make the light brighter when the player is higher up. Also, storyline and gameplay didn’t go together. Nothing was chasing him, and the guy needs to run.Chapter Three:What frustrated you during this level?The path of the cannons.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Change the ragdoll style because the sword could be over thorns but your body would be dead.

25

Appendix C-4Russell:Tester Name: Claire Williams Age:21Sex: Female What types of games do you usually play?First-person Shooters, Fighting, Mobile gaming How many hours per week do you spend playing games?1-3 hoursTesters Initial Thoughts:“I liked the intro menu and storyline. The sound is hard to understand. There are no directions and for someone who doesn't play that many games it took me a while to figure out how to make the avatar move” (playtester)Time Spent Playing: 1:21:55Furthest Point Reached (To Match Difficulty:Experience ratio):Chapter Three Froze at the 9 minute mark Likes:The playtester liked the main menu and storyline. And also the gameplay of prologue and chapter 2. Dislikes:The playtester did not like that there were no directions in some of the parts. In the prologue the player sometimes slides after jumping. In chapters one and three the avatar is very hard to control. What games would you compare this to?In chapter one and three the player would compare this game to an online game called happy wheels, because the avatar does not have normal body movements (i.e. the body flopping around behind the sword). Would you play this game again? Elaborate on decision.“ I would play the prologue and chapter two again, because i liked the avatar movement and gameplay, I would not however like to play chapters one and three again, because of poor mechanics” (playtester). What suggestions would you give to the developers?The suggestions that the playtester had for the developers is: improve the avatar mechanics, improve audio so it is understandable and also delete part where the character is called stupid, and give directions for the prologue and chapter two.Does the level offer a reasonable reward to risk ratio?No because in the prologue and chapter two you die and then continue, only to get through the chapter, and have no real drive. Chapter one and chapter three the game offers coins and enemies but the player has no reward for collecting these things. Does the level give an adequate test of your gaming skills (how is the difficulty-to-experience ratio)?

26

“The game was easy to play aside from mechanical challenges even for a person with little gaming skill or experience” (Playtester).

Proctor’s Observations of the Tester:Initial QuestionsHow difficult did you find the games grappling mechanic?“ I could not not get it to work the sword would project towards the platform but not stay connecte” (Playtester). What did the players say regarding the games environmental hazards?That they were not too difficult and that the game could be played with somewhat normal/ easy skill. What were your initials?“Good intro Storyline, Good menu, No directions”(Playtester). Explorative Questions:Level one: Prologue What frustrated you during this level?

● No Directions ● Jump did not always work● The players has no fine movement skills, Hard to control. ● Voices were hard to understand

What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?● “The game crashed when i tried to finish it, causing me to reopen the game (Game

Tester)”. ● Player discussed the dislike that she had when the avatar would slide when the avatar

landed on the ground.Level Two: Chapter OneWhat frustrated you during this level?

● Avatar is very hard to control.● Could not pass the barrier that the player had to “ground smash”, difficult to perform that

move What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?

● Make it so that you controlled the avatar and not control the sword.Level Three: Chapter Two What frustrated you during this level?

● The jumps became more difficult for the player due to the environment becoming an interference to the avatar.

What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?● The playtester stated, “ I would change some of the environment so it does not

accidentally interfere with the avatar such as one jagged wall. Also the avatar slides forwards after a jump sometimes causing the avatar to fall and die even though it clearly landed on the platform”.

Level Four: Chapter Three

27

What frustrated you during this level?The avatar movement was difficult to use because the avatar was lead by the sword, so it could not be directed easily. And the enemies were over abundant, to the point that the player could hardly make it to checkpoint without dieing more than 3-4 times.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?The playtester would change the avatar movements so that the player could control the avatar mover like the one in the prologue and chapter 2, because it was very difficult and/or impossible to complete necessary tasks needed to progress in the game.

28

Appendix C-5Miguel:Tester Name: Dannie SymondsAge: 20Sex: FemaleWhat types of games do you usually play? Fighters and Guitar hero. How many hours per week do you spend playing games? 6Testers Initial Thoughts: I’m curious to play the game and see what it’s about. Time Spent Playing: 1About 1 hour Furthest Point Reached (To Match Difficulty:Experience ratio): second checkpoint of the third chapter Likes:I liked the platforming levels and the integration of the switches. The character had a little personality shine through with the few sound effects he had. I also enjoyed the voice over narration.Dislikes:The sword levels were pretty hard to control.They took away from the tone of the game that was set in the first level as well. What games would you compare this to?I would compare this game to something like Super Meat Boy mixed with Super Mario Bros.Would you play this game again? Elaborate on decision.I would not play this game again. The lack of ambient music don’t really make me feel like I want to keep playing and the swordplay levels are very disheartening and the difficulty doesn’t make me feel compelled to complete them rather than just quit.What suggestions would you give to the developers?I would suggest that the game developers omit the swordplay levels completely and refine the platforming. I also suggest more ambient background music and sound effects to give the game a unique tone and feel to it.Does the level offer a reasonable reward to risk ratio?For the most part, the game does offer a reasonable risk to reward ratio.Does the level give an adequate test of your gaming skills (how is the difficulty-to-experience ratio)? I would say that the game gives a somewhat adequate test of my gaming skills; having to play through strange controls and difficult levels.Proctor’s Observations of the Tester:Initial QuestionsHow difficult did you find the games grappling mechanic?N/A The tester was unable to test this part of the game because the first chapter was too difficult for her to get across. She was stuck on the barricade and not able to move it seemed like the grapple function in the first stage got her stuck after destroying the wooden barricade. What did the players say regarding the games environmental hazards? She found that some of the environmental hazards were a bit unfair.

29

“This is stupid.”“The jokes are not funny on the balls” in reference to the cannon balls “This is too hard” In reference of the prologue”What were your initial thoughts regarding the blue sprites? “I thought the blue sprites were enemies and I kept trying to avoid them on the first level.”Explorative QuestionsLevel one:What frustrated you during this level?The floaty controls and the small margin for error. The smallest movement when jumping could result in death. Also, the vines were a very difficult obstacle. They were the largest cause of my death.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?I would add ambient background music. It would give the level a more adventurous feel to it.Level Two:What frustrated you during this level?The controls of the character frustrated me the most and led me to quit before the end of the level. I ended up getting stuck on my third play through of the level.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?All-in-all I would change the way the character moves from the player avatar being the sword to the actual character itself. The character is adding weight to the sword which makes it very difficult and inconsistent to use.Level Three:What frustrated you during this level?The difficulty of the stage overall was the most frustrating about the level. The level is “rage game-esque”.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?Again, I would change the lack of background music and sound effects. Without it, the stage just sounds empty, save for the occasional sound of the character, and makes it a little boring.Level Four:What frustrated you during this level?The bombardment of enemies compounded upon the inconsistent movement mechanics and made the level nearly impossible for me to get through.What is one thing you would change about this level? Why?I would omit the sword play levels and just keep the game a platformer. The sword levels are all over the place and take away from the initial story.

30

Software

The lost testreport_1115