{"id":513,"date":"2025-02-24T19:20:30","date_gmt":"2025-02-24T19:20:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/ecovision\/?p=513"},"modified":"2025-04-07T22:33:40","modified_gmt":"2025-04-07T22:33:40","slug":"week-6","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/ecovision\/week-6\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 6 – First Playtest & Expert Interview"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Week 6 – First Playtest & Expert Interview<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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This week, we conducted our first playtest at Tuesday\u2019s Playtest Night. Unfortunately, we encountered technical issues\u2014the latest build didn\u2019t sync to our Quest 3 headset, forcing us to spend an hour and a half debugging. As a result, we only had 30 minutes to test our world. Despite the setback, we were still able to gather valuable feedback from eight playtesters, thanks to all the event participants.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

In addition to our first playtest, we had the opportunity to interview Amberlee Bozic, a Natural Resources Specialist at the US Army Corps of Engineers. She provided valuable insights into our three planned levels, offering scientific recommendations to improve their environmental accuracy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Key Playtest Feedback<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Scale & Immersion<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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  • Players didn\u2019t feel smaller\u2014the sense of miniaturization wasn\u2019t clear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Players missed key visual cues, such as the oversized house and squirrels, which were supposed to reinforce the scale difference.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    Suggested solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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    • Start at normal size, then shrink to make the change more noticeable.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • The environment needs more exaggerated props and perspective tricks to reinforce the sense of scale.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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      Interaction & Dialogue<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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      • Subtitles are needed\u2014many players missed dialogue entirely.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • NPC conversations were unclear\u2014text was too long, cues were hard to notice, and NPC heights felt inconsistent.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • The AI voice felt odd and distracting, making it difficult to engage with NPCs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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        Difficulty & Gameplay Mechanics<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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        • Players needed more guidance for interactions\u2014tutorials were unclear.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Object pickup felt confusing\u2014leaves were easily thrown or dropped unintentionally.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          Suggested solution:<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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          • Two-hand pickup system<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Clearer prompts<\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Better controller mapping.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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            Art Style & Visual Consistency<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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            • Players expected a stylized, fantasy, cartoon-like aesthetic with high saturation.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Some elements felt unfinished or inconsistent\u2014for example, leaves didn\u2019t match the rest of the environment.<\/li>\n\n\n\n
            • Playtesters wanted more cohesive, interactive elements (flowers, houses, etc.).<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n
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              Key Takeaways & Next Steps<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

              One of the biggest surprises was that players didn\u2019t realize they had shrunk\u2014this suggests that the character-to-environment scale wasn\u2019t correct. We noticed some object sizes weren\u2019t consistent, which we\u2019ll address in future iterations to better reinforce the sense of miniaturization.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              Another challenge was the AI voice-over\u2014some players found it distracting or not engaging enough. Others mentioned they would prefer subtitles, but implementing subtitles in a VR world could break immersion. Finding the right balance between audio cues and readable information will be an important design challenge moving forward.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

              For the next iteration, we\u2019ll focus on:<\/p>\n\n\n\n