During Week 11, we focused on making changes to two of our three prototypes, AR Moon Colony and Mission Control, based on the feedback we received from Playtesting Day. Once changes were made, we held a playtesting event in our project room with ETC students to test our changes. 

AR Moon Colony

For the AR Moon Colony, we needed to:

• Standardize visual feedback 
• Edit the appearance and UI icon of the robotics facility
• Add color coding to the UI 
• Test sound implementation

Prior to the end of the week, we were able to standardize most elements of the visual feedback. We determined a more consistent rule for when particles would be emitted. We made it so that the number of astronauts present would be impacted by the number of residences. 

The appearance of the robotics facility along with its corresponding UI icon were also changed. The robotics facility itself was made to look more technological with a change in form and the addition of various tech accessories such as radar dishes. The UI icon was simplified from a robot arm to a gear, making it more instantly readable. 

We added color coding to the tools and UI overlay. We tried out several possible color combinations. As of the end of Week 11, we have:

• Move – Purple
• Copy – Dark Blue
• Delete – Red
• Greenhouse – Green
• Residence – Red-orange
• Robotics Facility – Light Blue
• Solar Panels – Yellow

Finally, we tested the sound implementation. However, we ran into a set of problems. The first problem is that the Tilt Five’s audio quality is poor. The second problem is that we could only get one Tilt Five to play sounds at a time. This means that we’ll have to rely on another solution for sound here. 

Mission Control

For Mission Control, we needed to:

• Determine experience map and sequence of events
• Create and implement basic art assets for minigames
• Test whether to have minigames all at once or staggered

Since our minigames were enjoyed by our playtesters, the work we did this week was mostly focused on the creation and implementation of art assets. That meant that most of the design work this week was focused on the experience map and script. We were especially interested in testing whether we could stagger the minigames or whether that would be too boring for the guests. 

Playtesting at the ETC

As part of our team’s commitment to playtesting more often, we set up a playtesting session for ETC students on Friday, April 7th, of Week 11. Doughnuts were offered in order to entice people to show up.

Luckily, we had a good enough attendance that we were able to test Mission Control (which requires at least 6 people to test). That meant we were able to playtest all three of our prototypes (including Payload Packing). 

Through this playtesting session, we received positive feedback like:

• Mission Control minigames are fun to play and to watch
• Moments where Mission Control teams needed to communicate with each other were strong moments
• Guests can be engaged by AR Moon Colony for long periods of time (10-15 minutes), especially if they come in a group

A few points of improvement included:

• AR Moon Colony tools can still be often missed by guests
• The destroy (deconstruct) tool in AR Moon Colony should have a destroy (deconstruct) effect
• AR Moon Colony needs some form of limitation to building 
• Final Mission Control code puzzle is too easy for many demographics (high schoolers and adults) 

Review & Looking Ahead

For Week 11, we were able to act on several pieces of feedback from Playtesting Day and were able to do some additional playtesting. We made some important discoveries like the fact that Mission Control minigames can be staggered. 

However, we also met a few setbacks. Audio implementation for Tilt Five is problematic and needs a different solution. We have also been continuing to have difficulties with the UI for AR Moon Colony. With the end of the semester rapidly approaching, we have to begin considering what we can actually do and what we need to leave for documentation.

In Week 12, we will have Thursday and Friday off due to Carnegie Mellon’s Spring Carnival. The week immediately following Week 12 is soft opening. Thus, we will likely focus on small changes for AR Moon Colony, such as continuing to adjust the feedback and