Playtest Week is when the ETC formally invites guests to the building to try our experiences so we can get a ton of feedback. We were specifically seeking out children within our age group of 10-12 year olds. Overall, the guests were more positive than expected. Outside of having a lot of difficulty learning the way our game works, once players understood their goals, they seemed to have a lot of fun!
After they tried our experience, we had some of them fill out a survey, if time permitted. Below, we will share some of the results, but some of the takeaways include:
- People enjoyed the aesthetics, both in the way the cards move and in the way the scene looks
- People had some discomfort with the glasses, but since the experience didn’t take too long, it was manageable
- The programming concepts were enjoyable, and playing hit a good balance between fun and education
- Players were extremely confused, especially during the start of the experience
So, overall, it was a success. The onboarding problem was one we expected. We tried to give a brief presentation to explain how the game would work, but it was hard to keep kids focused on it for even a minute or two. We already plan on creating a tutorial, and that should smooth out the issue.
(Future Author’s Note: It did!!)
Here’s a look at the results. Note that we only had 3 age-group participants fill out this form, although we had more. We also had many playtesters outside our target audience who had similar feedback.
Next steps are to take our prototype to The Beacon, an after-school program in the city! We will update you next week of the results and what we plan to do next!