Playtest Notes and Summary

Ankie Pon (Little League Dungeoneers):

Ankie had a fun time with our game, but there were some glaring issues. She liked the music, but aside from the menu music, everything else was too loud. She also pointed out errors in the UI, particularly in the "How To Play" menu, where the information was overwhelming and not accurate to specific game controls. The third person perspective also led to several camera clipping errors. This combined with the high level of collision errors really made navigating the environment difficult.

With these observations, Ankie provided some suggestions such as implementing different player perspectives, updating and making the controls scheme more concise, and adding player options to control the audio.

Michael Quinn (Troika Incorporated):

With Ankie’s suggestions, the game was updated to include adjustments to audio volume, simplified wall textures, and camera modifications to prevent clipping. 

However, in Michael’s playtest, he noted several other issues, such as the camera being severely clamped, causing difficulty in aiming and viewing. Michael was also not a fan of the camera zoom-in function (implemented to avoid the clipping issue Ankie faced), which was very erratic and annoying to deal with. Collision bugs continued with Michael being juggled around by the enemies when attacked. With the rush job of the level design, some elements of the environment confused Michael, such as poison river textures and signs that don’t do anything. Michael suggested improvements like changing the pause button, incorporating a healing mechanic, refining the retro aesthetic for a glitchy world feel, and providing better explanations for game mechanics like the gun evolution.

Steven Ren (xX Dark Sk8rs Xx):

With Michael and Ankie’s suggestions, the camera was updated to be more first-person perspective, though the player can still see the roomba model. This keeps the camera more consistent and avoids clipping issues.

Steven’s playtest still showed some camera clipping issues, especially when it comes to colliding with environment objects. The first person perspective also blocked a lot of the player’s view due to the gun attached to the front of the roomba. Additionally, Steven struggled with recognizing the TV-puzzle objective, focusing instead on camping at enemy spawn holes. He also expressed awkwardness with the “E”-charge mechanic, emphasizing concerns about hand positioning and movement. The sudden introduction of boss enemies and rapid-fire mechanics took him by surprise, prompting a need for better indication and player preparation. Steven suggested addressing spacing issues with the TVs used to plug the portals, as well as expanding enemy attack variety, improving AI effectiveness, and providing more purpose to environmental elements such as toxic water and danger signs.

Phil Myer (xX Dark Sk8rs Xx):

With Michael, Ankie’s, and Steven’s suggestions, the camera was further updated to avoid clipping and view obstruction. Several controls were also updated, such as the pause control from ESC to TAB, and spacebar to charge instead of E. Additionally, some enemies were given ranged attacks to target the player, and enemy spawning logic was also improved.

With Phil’s playtest, he expressed satisfaction with the shooting mechanics and appreciated the distinction between destructible TVs and indestructible gray boxes. Phil raised concerns about potential overcrowding of enemies and faced challenges during Level 2, particularly with the sudden appearance of large enemies and the difficulty in dodging bullets. Despite encountering noclip glitches and collision physics issues while pushing blocks, Phil found satisfaction in defeating boss enemies and commended the game's fluidity, describing it as having solid game design that adds replay value. With the update to the camera, the health UI was also hidden to the player unless they looked down, which should be updated. 

With Phil’s playtest, we plan to improve by adding more cover in the second level, which is important with the addition of ranged enemies. Some minor issues such as the camera should also be looked at.