Capstone Playtests

Palmer Dae: Private Detective - Playtest Reports

Playtest 1

Internal Developer Playtest (Week 4)

Setup

Playtest Goal: For this playtest, I just want to know if the simple systems I have in place right now for interacting with the world/characters are interesting to play with. I realize this goal is a bit obscure, but I don't want to build my puzzles/mystery around these ways of interacting with the game if players can't see how they could be used in more complex scenarios, or if players straight up don't like using them. 

Pre-playtest Instructions (intro to game, any prior information needed, details to ignore): This is essentially a demo to the core systems of the game and how they work. Only the mouse (left click) should be needed to play. The large majority of art included are placeholders. 

Playtest Report

What was the answer to your goal/question?: I believe that I was able to answer my question, which was that the system was interesting to mess around with once it was understood. I believe I could have gotten a more precise/accurate answer if there was more to mess around with in terms of connecting and possibly presenting, but at the very least I got an initial answer. Since the system is relatively specific in how it works, it could be useful to make it more explicit what inputs are needed from the player.

What did your tester enjoy? What did your tester not enjoy?: The tester mentioned that they enjoyed the dialogue/writing in the game, which is a good sign to me since that will inevitably make up a large portion of the game. Unfortunately, because there was not as much of the "game" present as I might have had in an ideal situation, I wasn't able to get many comments on how much they enjoyed the actual connection system. However, they did mention that it was interesting once they understood how it worked. One of the main problems that I noticed, and something mentioned by the tester after the play test was over, was the lack of clarity. This portion was a bit "tutorialized" and therefor restrictive in terms of what the player could do at certain points, however the game did not make it clear enough what was allowed/expected. This led to some trial and error by the player, as well as moments where they felt like they should be able to do something when they could not. The player also mentioned that they did not like how their character was treated by the NPC, which might not necessarily be something to be fixed, but is an interesting point to consider; if there are characters that the player will be interacting with on a consistent basis, it is important to write them in ways that are enjoyable. The player also mentioned that they wanted more visuals to interact with, so they knew what exactly was going on. I had initially ignored the visual parts since I felt it was more important at the beginning to get the system working overall, however I did note the importance of the visuals in this type of game, and this critique solidified that concept. 

Did anything surprise you?: I wouldn't say that anything surprised me, apart from possibly the player's immediate gut reaction to the other character in the scene. Obviously the tester was encouraged to speak and vocalize every thought so there was bound to be an opinion shared, however I did not fully expect an immediate negative reaction, which was interesting. 

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Playtest 2

External Developer Playtest (Week 7)

Setup

Playtest Goal: I think that the goal for this playtest is to see if the story, as-is, is engaging to the player. I am a little scared to set this as the goal because it feels like the most difficult thing to measure, but I do think it is important at this stage. I do think the question from the previous playtest might also apply to this one, since there is now more to do in terms of menu/character interaction, but the first question is my priority for this playtest. 

Pre-playtest Instructions (intro to game, any prior information needed, details to ignore): This game is a mystery visual novel with point-and-click elements. The only controls needed are a mouse (left click). Both the visuals for the actual game and the UI are unfinished. The first portion of the game is "tutorialized" so some buttons may not work at first - this is intended. 

Playtest Report

What was the answer to your goal/question?: The answer to my main goal/question was yes, the story and dialogue was engaging. There were some more specifics that were mentioned during the playtest that contributed to this answer that I was happy came across, such as the expressions for the stand-in character model as well as the pacing of the dialogue, which was something I toyed with a lot. Pacing and personality/dialogue were both noted as things done relatively well, which again answered my question pretty directly. 

What did your tester enjoy? What did your tester not enjoy?: From what I could tell, and from the answers that I got to some questions, there were a lot of aspects that the tester enjoyed. Aside from the previously mentioned pacing/dialogue, there was one specific moment where the tester mentioned that the connections felt logical and made them "feel smart." I wasn't 100% sure if this was an actual, genuine reaction or if this was just the tester being particularly nice, but that was another aspect that I was concerned about, so it was nice to have some positive feedback in that respect. The most glaring issue from the playtest was the layout/organization of the UI. The tester mentioned that, especially at first, there were a lot of confusing things such as the Notes button being so small (this was something noted in the previous playtest as well in a bit of a passing comment, so I should probably alter that). There were some comments that I didn't even fully think about prior to the playtest, such as the syntax used. Adding an "Item" to an "Inventory" gives the illusion that the item is actually being taken, and taking "Notes" makes it feel like the player should be given complete information, when the intent is that the information needs to be completed by the player. I do think small alterations to the vocabulary could actually help a lot, not just with clarity but with the theming of the game overall. It was suggested that these get changed, for example switching out "Notes" for "Clues." The tester also mentioned near the end adding some more "polish" to the game, which even though that feels like something I would focus on at a later stage I think it is pretty important. Given that the bulk of the "gameplay" is reading and picking dialogue options, even something as simple as sound while the text displays could add a lot. 

Did anything surprise you?: In all honesty, I was surprised by how well the playtest went. I expected a lot of bugs, mostly because at the last minute I remembered a very minor bug that I had forgotten to fix - luckily we never ran into it. I also expected a lot more glaring issues throughout the game, so I was pretty surprised to get mostly positive feedback on the gameplay, and especially, the story/dialogue. Prior to making this game/prototype I was relatively confident in my ability to write, and that confidence was immediately quashed when it came time to turn a story into a logical, solvable, mystery that is  ALSO portrayed almost entirely though dialogue. However, I was really happy to see that it worked out, and moments where the tester laughed to themselves or made comments on callbacks/specific lines reinvigorated a bit of my confidence. 

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Playtest 3

Target Audience Playtest (Week 8)

Setup

Playtest Goal: The goal for this playtest will honestly be pretty similar to my first one - do the menus feel intuitive, and is the UI or means of interaction too confusing to progress? Also, is the UI/Connection system interesting? Since there aren't too many moving parts to the game, I think clarity and a simple but interesting system is my priority. 

Pre-playtest Instructions (intro to game, any prior information needed, details to ignore): This game is a mystery visual novel with point-and-click elements. The only controls needed are a mouse (left click). Both the visuals for the actual game and the UI are unfinished. The first portion of the game is "tutorialized" so some buttons may not work at first - this is intended. 

Playtest Report

What was the answer to your goal/question?: From what I could tell, the UI could be clearer, but the player was able to get ahold of how everything worked pretty quickly. Again, the main issue was finding everything. For example, when clues were added to the notebook, the players natural instinct was to go to the same place they would find items. In a similar vein, the very first prompt asks the player to check their pockets, which took longer than I thought it might. However, the player also said they enjoyed the connection system, and once they knew where everything was they knew how to interact. It seems that the main hurdle was just finding the right menu. 

What did your tester enjoy? What did your tester not enjoy?: The tester said that they enjoyed the story and writing a lot, which is a good sign. They also said they liked the visuals even though they were unfinished. The tester also said that they liked the connection system, but it seems like the main standout "positive" from the game was the writing and characters. There were some parts that the tester got stuck at, and while they didn't say that they did not enjoy it there were definitely moments where the tester relied on trying every button instead of knowing what to do. There was even a point where the tester got stuck completely, and while they seemed more confused than frustrated I do think this is an important note. 

Did anything surprise you?: I expected the tester to present the pill earlier. I didn't expect to have to give a hint during the playtest. Currently, I'm not sure if this is a good or bad thing. While I do want there to be moments where the player struggles for a second, or does not know exactly where to go, I never want them to feel stuck. It might be helpful to have more moments in the game that subtly point the player in the right direction, so regardless of what they do it feels like they are gaining information. However, I am a bit scared to being too "hand-holdy." I was also surprised by how much of my planned storyline the tester predicted, or at least the intended red herrings. This to me was a really good sign, since I want the player to feel like they know the story but only be partially right. The tester explaining their thought processes about the character and suspects might have been the most rewarding part for me personally, since that tends to be my favorite part of these types of games.