This week was a focus on a final external playtest before polishing our game for the first rollout. First, here are the details of the playtesting over the course of the last two weeks.
Playtest 1
We implemented the paper prototype level with player controls including moving left and right, jumping, dashing, and gliding.
Overall, it seemed like people had fun playing our game and enjoyed the art style. However, there were complaints about the unintuitive control mapping. They also thought the camera was too zoomed in and didn’t show much of the environment, so we fixed that for the next playtest. Furthermore, we had some complaints that there was no double jump ability. Finally, the cooldown was too long to understand when the abilities were unusable.
Playtest 2
Here we continued to add features. We add the double jump ability as well as added more animations to make it clear that the player is doing different actions. We also changed some aesthetics such as the background, ability indicator, and some terrain changes. We also shortened the cooldown time.
This time, we had the controls written out on a paper so that there would be less questions about the controls. Players still found them confusing though, including not being able to double jump by hitting the same key twice. Moreover, they felt that everything done with the left hand was a bit too crowded.
We also had a bug with movement where landing from a fall would momentarily stop the player, so we needed to fix that. Despite the issues, it seemed like players still enjoyed playing our game.
Playtest 3
At this point, we already began prepping for our rollout. We implemented the first two levels, where level 1 is a proper tutorial. We also added a shield ability, damaging terrain, and health system. We continued fixing some aesthetics like animations and an ability orb to follow the player. Finally, we made a large change with the controls mapping, including changing it from mainly one-handed to two-handed.
Players liked the art, ability system, environment, and player character. Overall some of the controls were still a bit unintuitive (e.g., double jump), and there were some bugs with shield or otherwise confusing aspects such as the death pits and spikes. Furthermore, the levels may be better lengthened with a checkpoint system.
Onwards
From here, we took what we learned from the player preferences to improve our game before rollout. We remapped the levels and took at the shield ability to be acquired once level 3 is in place. We also implemented a checkpoint system and clearer icons for the abilities in the tutorial. To continue, we added sound effects to help add redundancy to the feedback the player received when moving or using abilities. Finally, we added a main menu which lets players choose one of two control schemes.
With the new additions, we updated the trailer! You can watch it below.
We are looking forward to seeing how the players will enjoy our game during the first rollout and in the meantime will begin working on the next level! We plan to fix the shield along with adding a shield-focused level for the players to continue their journey. Please look forward to it!