{"id":234,"date":"2022-11-04T23:53:29","date_gmt":"2022-11-04T23:53:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/smallab-flare\/?page_id=234"},"modified":"2022-11-04T23:53:29","modified_gmt":"2022-11-04T23:53:29","slug":"week-9-november-4th-2022","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/projects.etc.cmu.edu\/smallab-flare\/week-9-november-4th-2022\/","title":{"rendered":"Week 9 – November 4th, 2022"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Playtest feedback and Prototype 3<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Week 9 started off in analyzing feedback collected from Playtest day held on October 29th, and the playtest we conducted at Northgate school – both with the same builds of the experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n\n\n\n

Feedback on Experience 1:\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

What worked:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

  1. The Art <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
    \"Forms
    Pie chart confirming that our art style is being built in the right direction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
    1. The Music <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
      \"Forms
      Confirmation that our choice of audio selection is in the right direction<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
      1. Favorite moments (some quotes that were in majority) <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
        • \u201cSpinning the lotus flowers and the seeing all the colors\u201d<\/li>
        • \u201cWhen I made a bunch of splash effects by slightly shaking the wand.\u201d<\/li>
        • \u201cWhen the flowers disappeared, especially if it was layered on top of a lily or with other flowers\u201d<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

          What didn\u2019t work\/we should work on:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

          1. Difficulties in current interactions <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
            • Lagging motion tracking of wand – making interactions with flowers a bit laggy <\/li>
            • Some flowers felt unresponsive – users were unsure when they triggered the reaction<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
              1. Additions to current interactions<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                • Turn the flowers more\/ add more variation in interactions<\/li>
                • Add more variety in colors and flowers<\/li>
                • Use lily pads in some way – make them interactive <\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                  Other findings:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                  1. There was a general preference for experiencing this with a group rather than solo<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                    \"Forms
                    Pie chart showcasing players preference to play with other people rather than alone<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
                    \n\n\n\n

                    Feedback on Experience 2:<\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    Things that worked:<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                    1. Enjoyable rather than frustrating experience<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                      \"Forms
                      1 – Frustrating 5 – Enjoyable<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                      The one response that gave a 2 rating found it very frustrating to take the tiny cubes with the current version of the string.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                      1. Favorite moments <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                        • Satisfaction of getting the cubes into the light <\/li>
                        • Making use of the physical movement for game interactions<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                          1. Communication <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n
                            \"Forms
                            1 – Useless 5- Useful<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                            Things that didn\u2019t work\/things we should work on:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                            • Difficulties in current mechanics
                              • Shadows would get in the way of the game mechanics and functioning\u00a0<\/li>
                              • Tangling wires increases difficulty<\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n
                                • Conceptual confusion regarding symbolism of balls because of lack of tutorial\u00a0<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n

                                  Additional findings:\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  There was a majority opinion that there should be variations in velocities of the cubes and more shapes to make it more fun and challenging in that aspect <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Based on this feedback we planned to build add suggested features to our experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \n\n\n\n

                                  Prototype 3<\/span><\/strong> – Game Design<\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  For our third prototype and deliverable of the semester, we began brainstorming – initially very inspired by 2 different experiences. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  One went back to color streamers (the sample game provided on SMALLab). We were very inspired by the idea of 3 different colors in the space, with users focusing on the space they occupy with those colors. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  The second inspiration for us was a game called Splatoon. This is a multiplayer game where the aim is to paint as much area with your color as you can. The person who paints the most area wins. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"\/
                                  Splatoon – our inspiration<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  We were inspired by the color occupation feature and healthy competition aspect of the game, which we hoped to integrate into our game. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  Based on these inspirations, Valerie drew up our first game design flow iteration – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  \"\"\/
                                  First version of our game design flow for the third prototype<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                  The aim of the game is to color as many squares in the grid as possible, with your color. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  On this initial design, the concerns raised by our advisors were – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                  1. Unsafe for students to run around the grid and into each other<\/li>
                                  2. UI for the countdown would have to be looked into regarding which direction it would be in<\/li>
                                  3. We must determine the purpose of our third prototype and its benefit to the students <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                    Discussing on these points of concern, we made our second iteration of this prototype – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    \"\"\/
                                    Second version of our game design flow for our third prototype<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

                                    Addressing the safety concerns of the students running around the grid, we altered the rules – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                    1. Players can now move only to adjacent squares (top, down, left, right)<\/li>
                                    2. Players cannot go back to their previous square without losing their progress <\/li>
                                    3. Players must stand on each square for 0.8 – 1.2 seconds for it to fill up in their color <\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                      Consequently, the purpose of this game is to – <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                      1. Patience and strategy for decision making (rather than students running around the mat – and hence making it dangerous) <\/li>
                                      2.  Strategy while dealing with each other in healthy competition on SMALLab<\/li>
                                      3.  A fun oriented game that gets students focused in on the SMALLab platform<\/li><\/ol>\n\n\n\n

                                        Having narrowed down on the basic game mechanics of this prototype, Tairan got started on the development of this experience. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

                                        The first basic build of this game was playtested within the team – <\/p>\n\n\n\n