{"id":496,"date":"2026-04-01T14:46:07","date_gmt":"2026-04-01T14:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/?p=496"},"modified":"2026-04-12T19:37:06","modified_gmt":"2026-04-12T19:37:06","slug":"week-10-playtest-day-preparation","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/week-10-playtest-day-preparation\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 10 \u2013 Playtest Day Preparation"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
\n

Week 10 was a focused push toward Playtest Day<\/strong>, with the team prioritizing integration, usability, and refining the overall player experience. Building on the playable prototype from Week 9, this week centered on making the game more understandable, responsive, and test-ready<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Refining the Core Experience<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

Early in the week, feedback from a consultant highlighted key issues around UI clarity, onboarding, and player feedback<\/strong>. This led the team to prioritize:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    \n
  • Making core elements like the question card, Mood, and Trust<\/strong> more visible and clearly labeled<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Simplifying the visual hierarchy<\/strong> of the table and interactions<\/li>\n\n\n\n
  • Improving how and when systems like Li Qi<\/strong> are introduced<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

    A major takeaway was the need to ensure players can clearly understand cause-and-effect<\/strong>\u2014how their choices impact outcomes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    Tutorial and Onboarding<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

    To address confusion in earlier builds, the team focused on developing a more structured tutorial experience<\/strong>. We implemented a scaffolded approach that gradually introduces mechanics across multiple rounds, starting simple and increasing in complexity.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

    In parallel, we prepared two tutorial formats<\/strong> to test during Playtest Day:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
    • A long, multi-step tutorial<\/strong> with guided instruction<\/li>\n\n\n\n
    • A short, single-page version<\/strong> for quicker onboarding<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

      This allows us to evaluate how much instruction players need, especially in a museum-style setting.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

      \n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      \"\"<\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

      Integration and Iteration<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

      Much of the week was spent on iteration and integration<\/strong>, including:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        \n
      • Updating UI and card visuals<\/strong> for clarity and consistency<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Improving text legibility<\/strong> and labeling<\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Refining how values and outcomes are displayed<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
      • Strengthening feedback systems<\/strong> so players can better understand results<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

        The team also worked to ensure the core gameplay loop<\/strong>\u2014drawing a question, placing cards, completing the ritual, and receiving a result\u2014was stable and readable.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

        Playtesting Insights<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

        Late-week playtests revealed ongoing challenges with:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          \n
        • Understanding terminology<\/strong> (e.g., fortunate vs. unfortunate)<\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Interpreting the Li Qi system and final results<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Recognizing how Mood and Trust change over time<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
        • Feeling a sense of meaningful player choice<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          These insights reinforced the need for clearer feedback, simplified language, and stronger visual guidance.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

          Playtest Readiness<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

          By the end of the week, the team had a stable, playable prototype<\/strong> ready for testing. The build included:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n
          • Updated UI and card systems<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • Improved readability and labeling<\/strong><\/li>\n\n\n\n
          • A functional tutorial structure<\/strong><\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n

            We worked hard to reach this point, ensuring that the experience\u2014while still evolving\u2014could be effectively tested with users.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

            \n\n\n\n

            Week 10 marked the transition from building to testing and validation<\/strong>. With a playable prototype and multiple onboarding approaches in place, the team is prepared to gather meaningful feedback and continue refining the experience.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

            Week 10 was a focused push toward Playtest Day, with the team prioritizing integration, usability, and refining the overall player experience. Building on the playable prototype from Week 9,…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-496","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=496"}],"version-history":[{"count":4,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":682,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/496\/revisions\/682"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=496"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=496"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/historacle\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=496"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}