As our team returned from GDC and other conferences for Week 10, we focused on preparing for the ETC’s Playtesting Day on April 1, 2023. Playtesting Day presented a great opportunity for us to test our prototypes with a wide variety of people, including families with young children. 

Preparations for Playtesting

Starting from the Monday of Week 10, we prioritized preparing our three prototypes for playtesting on Saturday. After meeting as a team, we made decisions on how to best move forward. Not only did we have to implement new key features, but we also had to respond to last week’s playtesting results.

For Payload Packing, our preparations were simple. We placed the newly modeled scientific and non-scientific payloads into the scene.

For AR Moon Colony, we had to come up with solutions to mitigate our previously identified issues with understanding building purposes and UI clarity. We changed the appearance of the solar panel, added an UI overlay, and created 3D models for each of the three tools (move, copy, and destroy). 

For Mission Control, we focused on testing our mini-game ideas. We built one mini-game for each of our three groups (communications, mechanics, and payloads). We also considered how to better integrate the three groups with each other, proposing that each group will receive a part of a code for completing the mini-game. The groups will then have to communicate with one another to come up with the correct set of codes to complete the mission. 

Additionally, we also created a questionnaire for playtesting. However, we ended up relying more on observation and interviews. We received a lot of younger playtesters who often struggled with filling out questionnaires. 

Playtesting Day

With our preparations completed, we were ready for Playtesting Day! During Playtesting Day, we received playtesters, including families with young children and groups of teenagers. Fortunately, many of our playtesters were part of our target demographic. 

From playtesting, we determined that:

• Our core gameplay for each prototype was received well by playtesters 
• Playtesters expressed interest in replaying their assigned Mission Control mini-games and wanted to try the Mission Control mini-games assigned to other playtesters
• Young children can be engaged by the AR Moon Colony for at least 5-10 minutes 
• Payload Packing was received positively and doesn’t need significant changes before the end of the semester.

We also received feedback from playtesting, such as:

• AR Moon Colony buildings, especially the robotics facility, can still be challenging to identify
  • However, the identification, particularly of the solar panel, was generally better than it was last week
• AR Moon Colony still needs additional feedback, including audio and standardized particle effects, and UI adjustments 
• Mission Control groups should communicate more with one another during the experience
• Mission Control difficulty needs more adjustment

Review & Looking Ahead

For Week 10, our team was able to test all three of our prototypes at Playtesting Day. We were generally happy with the playtersters’ responses to our prototypes. The core experiences and mechanics of our prototypes were well-received by our playtesters. Thus, we can be more confident moving forward with our current direction.

Of course, we also received feedback on how our prototypes can be improved. The AR Moon Colony and Mission Control both need further development. The AR Moon Colony mostly needs some additional clarification of building purpose as well as tweaks to UI and feedback. On the other hand, Mission Control requires more extensive work. We need to improve the design of the overall experience, increasing communication between groups and providing a more satisfying conclusion.

In Week 11, we are looking to respond to our playtesting feedback. We plan on making the needed tweaks to art, UI, and feedback for the AR Moon Colony. We also plan on working more on the overall experience of Mission Control while also working on art assets for each of the mini-games. Finally, we plan on continuing to playtest as much as we are able for the remainder of the semester project.