Week 11 – Review, Reflection, Revision

Overview

Week 11 was mainly about reviewing the Playtest Day results, iterating based on them, and setting up a more continuous playtest environment so we could keep collecting useful feedback. After the Playtest Day milestone, this week was a heavy iteration week focused on improving the player experience, especially navigation, frustration, mist behavior, and readability. It was also a week where the project became more data-informed, both through another playtest night and through the visualization tools we built to understand player behavior better.

Weekly Focus

Review and reflect on Playtest Day results
Iterate on major issues from the playtests
Set up a more continuous playtest environment

Progress Update

Tech

Focused on fixing major issues found during Playtest Day
Added a new sprint indicator
Added back mist removal and adjusted the mist cost calculation
Added a screen-space UI effect when the player is in the mist
Hid the mist meter when the player does not yet have the mist ability
Changed how sprinting feels by adding recovery time and fast recharge
Updated shrine checkpoint visuals
Fixed camera clipping into the player’s head with a fade-out shader
Added enemy range gizmos
Added a basic text cutscene system
Continued tuning features while deciding what to prioritize most

Art

Continued adding more environmental art assets
Reworked multiple map details to make the level feel more reasonable
Added the gourd bottle model
Created and adjusted a new skybox
Updated the mist rendering pipeline
Updated environment lighting
Continued finishing enemy silhouettes and textures

Sound

Updated player-related sounds based on the new player action changes
Updated enemy sounds based on the new enemy changes

Design & Production

Ran another Playtest Night with the updated build
Created a visualization tool inside the editor to help read collected playtest data
Redesigned Section 2-1 based on playtest data
Updated Section 1-1 based on playtest data to improve navigation and reduce frustration
Reworked the broader navigation design
Fixed and adjusted multiple bugs and features based on playtest findings
Created a narrative material list
Continued reviewing issues around narrative clarity, navigation, and lantern enemy behavior

Notes

This week was a very important iteration week because it was where the team started responding more directly to what players were actually doing in the level. Instead of only relying on general impressions, we were able to use new playtest data and visualization tools to identify concrete problems and begin reshaping parts of the map. At the same time, some issues were still open by the end of the week, especially around narrative clarity, navigation, and some of the lantern enemy behavior.