Sprint 15: Destination Alpha (Playtest Results)

Click here to play the Alpha release version of the now retitlted "Force of Nature."

The alpha playtest was both informative and helpful. Some questions could not be answered properly/completely due to the lack of development progress in their given area. Not all of our players were avid gamers, and one of them was primarily a "mobile gamer".

1 – Did you find the game confusing or find yourself not knowing what to do?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Player 1 - 5
Player 2 - 5
Player 3 - 3
Player 4 - 4
Player 5 - 5

All of the players agreed that the game needed basic instructions since we did not provide any prompts or tutorial levels in the game. Obviously over time they were able to discern the controls but it was time wasted.

2 – Were you able to defeat your enemies very easily?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Player 1 - 4
Player 2 - 4
Player 3 - 5
Player 4 - 5
Player 5 - 5

Lane combat is very easy to participate in and all players agreed that the click to attack system was easy to follow. Players 1 and 2 found fault with the camera angle, which once again was our fault (incomplete implementation of the perspective camera).

3 – Did the environment feel expansive and make you want to explore it?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Player 1 - 2
Player 2 - 1
Player 3 - 1
Player 4 - 1
Player 5 - 3

All the players were unanimous in their response. Everyone felt that they had no incentive to explore the map beyond the lane combat, and only one player attempted to walk beyond the lane combat (Player 5). This question turned out to be the most important part of the playtest result. These responses led us to setting up an experience system for the player, and also overhaul the character traits trees and combat from the ground up. 

4 – Was it easy to differentiate what you could interact with and what you couldn’t?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Player 1 - 4
Player 2 - 4
Player 3 - 5
Player 4 - 4
Player 5 - 3

Even though we had not replaced the place-holder assets with our own custom models, all players found it very easy to discern what was interactive and what wasn't. Players 5 and 1 suggested that we keep the GUI colors separate for the different teams (i.e.: keep different HP color indicators for the enemy characters).

5 – Did the music and sound effects fit the mood of the environment they were in?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Player 1 - 3
Player 2 - 3
Player 3 - 3
Player 4 - 2
Player 5 - 3

The only thing we had available in game during the playtest was the level's main ambient theme. All players thought that it worked with the level's imagery and themes. Player 4 thought that the theme didn't add anything to the game and should be changed. The other players told us what we already knew: we needed to add more sound effects for better interactivity.

Optional - Do you have anything else you want to say about the game?

Player 1 - N/A
Player 2 - N/A
Player 3 - "You should add lan or online player."
Player 4 - N/A
Player 5 - "I want to see other levels, and other characters."

  

Sprint 15: Destination Alpha ( Revised Playtest Questions)

Force Of Nature

Team Huge

Circle 1 if you disagree heavily and circle 5 if you agree completely with the question. If you want to describe something specifically, use the provided space.

1 – Did you find the game confusing or find yourself not knowing what to do?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

2 – Were you able to defeat your enemies very easily?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

3 – Did the environment feel expansive and make you want to explore it?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

4 – Was it easy to differentiate what you could interact with and what you couldn’t?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

5 – Did the music and sound effects fit the mood of the environment they were in?

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Optional - Do you have anything else you want to say about the game?

Sprint 15: Destination Alpha (Playtest Questions)

Force Of Nature

Playtest

Thanks for playing our game, please take a few minutes to answer these playtest questions. The scale works like so, 1 means you disagree with the question, 5 means you agree completely. If you want to elaborate more, use the provided space.

1 – This game was very confusing. I didn’t know what to do.

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

2 – This game was too easy. I always beat my opponents with no problems.

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

3 – The environment felt very expansive and made me want to explore it.

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

4 – The game characters felt natural within the game. They did not feel out of place.

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

5 – The sound effects and music fit the game appropriately.

            1                      2                      3                      4                      5

Optional - Do you have anything else you want to say about the game?

Sprint 15: Destination Alpha (Revised Task List)

TEAM NAME: Team Huge

GAME TITLE: When Nature Strikes Back

PRODUCER: Tejas Kumar

Task List Date: 11/07/2013

Due Date: 11/21/2013

Task List	Team Member	Estimated Time	In Progress?	Playtest (yes/no)	Done? (yes/no)
Add Flora: Digitally paint approx. 1000 trees and grass assets onto the new rainforest map. Different parts of the map will sport different amounts of flora, with the heavy rainforest dominating most of the map. Pathfinding: Add AI pathfinding nodes on the map for all AI NPCs. Also instantiate spawn locations for all replenishable minions. Colliders: Add collision for mobile AI towers. UI and Inventory Scripts: Script a graphical user interface and then subsequently use that to program in-game inventory that can be manipulated graphically.	Tejas Kumar	November 21	Yes	No	No
Paper Prototyping: Create a paper prototype of a new human-themed map on a 9x11 in. canvas. Asset Placement: Create a top-down mini-map detailing the position of the different assets as they would appear in-game. This will later be used to populate the man in Unity.	Kevin O’Brien	November 14	Yes	No	No
Tiger SFX: Create sound effects for tiger growl, tiger movement and tiger attack (main attack). Rain SFX: Create sound effects for three different stages of rain: “pitter-patter”, “steady rain”, and “torrential rain”. Ambience: Create a single discernable ambient theme that sets the mood for the map. This singular track will feature wind gusts and random animal calls. All other weather effects will be layered on top of this.	James Pharo	November 14	Yes	No	No
Character Models: Two human character models will be sculpted in Mudbox. All textures maps and UV maps will be imported and applied through Mudbox. Any additional texture effects (or repairs) will also be painted through Mudbox. Polygon Meshes: Poly meshes for the two different types of AI towers will be done in Maya and then exported into Unity. Textures will be painted through Maya, and any additional texture work will be done in Mudbox (texture painting).	Matthew Cameron	November 21	Yes	No	No

Sprint 15: Destination Alpha

TEAM NAME: Team Huge

GAME TITLE: When Nature Strikes Back

PRODUCER: Tejas Kumar

Task List Date: 11/5/2013

Due Date: 11/21/2013

Task List	Team Member	Estimated Time	In Progress?	Playtest (yes/no)	Done? (yes/no)
Add flora to the rainforest map (this includes trees and grass). Add path-finding in the forest map and add collision detection to the new mobile guard towers.	Tejas Kumar	November 21	Yes	No	No
Create a paper-prototype for a third human-themed map and also create an asset-placement guide.	Kevin O’Brien	November 14	Yes	No	No
Create sounds for rain-drops, tiger growl, tiger gait, and weather effects.	James Pharo	November 14	Yes	No	No
Create models for the two human characters, and meshes for the attack towers in Mudbox.	Matthew Cameron	November 21	Yes	No	No

Sprint 13: One More Time

Click here to play the current demo of When Nature Strikes Back
Task List for 10/31/2013:

Task	Completion (Yes/ No)	Name
Pause-menu and GUI	Yes	Tejas (Producer)
Sounds: Menu sounds (button clicks, audio feedback for selection)	Yes	James
Asset placement (AI, prefabs, path-finding nodes) in “rainforest map”	Yes	Kevin
Begin work on the bare-bones tiger model in Mudbox	Yes	Matt

Updated: (TYPE DATE THAT COMPLETION COLUMN WAS EDITED)

Milestones

Date	Task Desired	On Track?
10/8 - T	·          Work on improving the FPS in Unity ·          Work on environment sound (water sound) and bear sounds such as (roaring, stomping, walking, slashing) ·          Work on level design (maps and sketches of the desired level) This will be converted to the Unity File after finalization ·         Improve bear model and make it into an FBX file	Yes
10/10 - TH	·         Continue Game Mechanics ·          Have a prototype built ready for play testing for bugs ·          Have at least one character active ·         Make sounds and actions co-exist ·         Have a very clear game mechanics and instruction list	Character still needs tweeks, began working on sounds and actions co-existing
10/15 - T	·         Begin working on character two and or minions ·          Start thinking about animations of characters and idle movements ·          Have art environment really start coming through	Behind on character develop due to lack of skill. New model produced today.  Art Environment is excelling
10/17 - TH	·         Begin implementation of 2nd character and have minions for polar bear function ·          Start working on technical aspects such as attacking and defending ·          Have the environment of game look more realistic and allow the character art to co-exist in it ·         Have all sound effects for every movement complete by this date
10/22 - T	·         Have rough draft of 2nd character complete ·          Place prototype of character two in the game with the mechanics of the bear ·          Begin crafting environment for human interaction ·         Start considering art and navigation for menu, title scree, and every action movement of characters
10/24 - TH	·         Have modified and final version of human and save to a FBX format for unity ·          Have a prototype ready for playtest that incorporates both characters ·          Assign sound affects properly to every movement and character ·         First draft of interface is up
10/29 - T	·         After tweaking interface, have final version of interface, menu, and icon development ·          Completion of all sounds correlating to movement ·          Finalize environment for each character ·         Develop a universal base that each can share. (this will be divided into two bases if time allows us to do so)
10/31 - TH	·         Characters are complete as well as sounds, interface and controls ·          Have a rough/ final base for either one character or both ·          Have a scoring system implemented and allow for one side to win ·         Have version 1 of game complete.

The Lens of Inner Contradiction

           

What is the purpose of our game?

The purpose of our game is to inform players of the hazards of global warming and all of its side effects. Instead of being very serious in tone about this issue, we took the route of exaggeration. Obviously polar bears will not be fighting humans but for shock value and the concept, we feel we can adequately attract and audience, inform them and make them have fun at the same time.

What are the purposes of each subsystem in my game?

All of our games subsystems are in place to make the game a more unified experience. We do not want the game to feel its gets to serious or to over the top. Adding humor with over the top gameplay, and combining that with a serious issue like global warming sparks somewhat of an interesting controversy.

Is there anything at all in my game that contradicts these purposes?

The game itself contradicts the seriousness of the issues it is trying to bring about, however that was the intention from the beginning.

If so, how can I change that? 

We do not want to change that problem.

Lens of Nameless Quality

Does my design have a special feeling of life, or do parts of my design feel dead? What would make my design feel more alive?

The environment which players will be placed into is very open. The game feels alive because of the large, natural looking environment. The land is barren however, the colors scheme does not breathe life into the game. More additions to the environment adding plant life and having wind like effects would make our game more lively.

Which of Alexander's fifteen qualities does my design have?

Our game has the quality of simplicity and inner calm. This is most notable in the games feel and tone. The color scheme is very simple, but very polished at the same time. We would also like to have non-separateness since our games characters and themes stem heavily from the environments. We don’t want to throw something into the game that wouldn’t fit in with its surroundings.

Could it have more of them, somehow?

Simply put, yes. Our game could have more qualities but these qualities would require additional gameplay mechanics, which need time to crafted and placed into our game. If we have time to add such qualities, we will try to implement them.

Where does my design feel like my self?

Everywhere, my team and I have created the game from scratch so I feel the game reflects the work and feelings of everyone has worked on the game.

Sprint 12: TLC

Click here to play the current demo of When Nature Strikes Back

Task List for 10/24/2013:

Task	Completion (Yes/ No)	Name
AI Attack Towers that attack back	No	Tejas (Producer)
Sounds: Ambient sound (windy), snowball sound, and bubbling sound	No	James
Asset placement on maps (AI / character placement and spawn locations) ; Title screen menu paper prototype	No	Kevin
Use mudbox to improve polar bear model and add fur	No	Matt

Updated: (TYPE DATE THAT COMPLETION COLUMN WAS EDITED)

Milestones

Date	Task Desired	On Track?
10/8 - T	·          Work on improving the FPS in Unity ·          Work on environment sound (water sound) and bear sounds such as (roaring, stomping, walking, slashing) ·          Work on level design (maps and sketches of the desired level) This will be converted to the Unity File after finalization ·         Improve bear model and make it into an FBX file	Yes
10/10 - TH	·         Continue Game Mechanics ·          Have a prototype built ready for play testing for bugs ·          Have at least one character active ·         Make sounds and actions co-exist ·         Have a very clear game mechanics and instruction list	Character still needs tweeks, began working on sounds and actions co-existing
10/15 - T	·         Begin working on character two and or minions ·          Start thinking about animations of characters and idle movements ·          Have art environment really start coming through	Behind on character develop due to lack of skill. New model produced today.  Art Environment is excelling
10/17 - TH	·         Begin implementation of 2nd character and have minions for polar bear function ·          Start working on technical aspects such as attacking and defending ·          Have the environment of game look more realistic and allow the character art to co-exist in it ·         Have all sound effects for every movement complete by this date
10/22 - T	·         Have rough draft of 2nd character complete ·          Place prototype of character two in the game with the mechanics of the bear ·          Begin crafting environment for human interaction ·         Start considering art and navigation for menu, title scree, and every action movement of characters
10/24 - TH	·         Have modified and final version of human and save to a FBX format for unity ·          Have a prototype ready for playtest that incorporates both characters ·          Assign sound affects properly to every movement and character ·         First draft of interface is up
10/29 - T	·         After tweaking interface, have final version of interface, menu, and icon development ·          Completion of all sounds correlating to movement ·          Finalize environment for each character ·         Develop a universal base that each can share. (this will be divided into two bases if time allows us to do so)
10/31 - TH	·         Characters are complete as well as sounds, interface and controls ·          Have a rough/ final base for either one character or both ·          Have a scoring system implemented and allow for one side to win ·         Have version 1 of game complete.

 Lens of Accessibility

- How will players know how to begin solving my puzzle, or playing my game? Do I need to explain it, or is it self-evident?

Players will know how to play the game by either reading the help screen that will be accessible from the main menu or through basic trial and error gameplay.  We are not aiming for a game that requires extensive knowledge or skill to play so learning to play will be more a self-evident process.

 - Does my puzzle or game act like something they have seen before? If it does, how can I draw attention to that similarity? If it does not, how can I make them understand how it does behave?

Our game does have similarities to other games but we would actually prefer to stray away from letting the players know that. We hope that our game draws inspiration from similar titles but we don’t want that idea to take over the initial appeal of the game.

- Does my puzzle or game draw people in, and make them want to touch it and manipulate it? If not, how can I change it so that it does?

Initially, our game was going to be played in 3^rd person. Now we have made a decision to convert that into first person. By doing that, the level of immersion is intensified greatly. On top of that, we have a large environment that players can explore for themselves.

Lens Of Visible Progress

- What does it mean to make progress in my game or puzzle?

To make progress in our game is to advance closer to and ultimately destroy your opponents base. Players can track their individual progress by checking how many kills they have or checking their score if we implement a scoring system of some sort.

- Is there enough progress in my game? Is there a way I can add more interim steps of progressive success?

Our game only has one clear objective at this point. The addition of smaller, optional objectives would open up gameplay and variety for players. Also, attaching some form of a reward after doing said objectives would give more incentive for players to progress in the game.

 - What progress is visible, and what progress is hidden? Can I find a way to reveal what is hidden?

Visible progress will be how close the player is to destroying the base. A health bar will represent this. Other visible progress will be how long the game has been going on. This can be seen with a timer that will be displayed at the start of the game. Progress that won’t be visible to the player is the minion’s progress. Players cannot control the minions or choose target for them.

Lens of The Pyramid

- Is there a way all the pieces of my puzzle can feed into a singular challenge at the end?

All of the actions the player can do, whether big or small, mandatory or optional, they will all help the player proceed towards their main goal of winning the game.

Big pyramids are often made of little pyramids – can I have a hierarchy of ever more challenging puzzle elements, gradually leading to a final challenge?

Our game only has one main objective, however we could break that down into smaller objectives. Perhaps a system that divides the main goal into 3 tiers. Each tier getting gradually harder to complete. With each completion, the players get closer to winning the game.

- Is the challenge at the top of my pyramid interesting, compelling, and clear? Does it make people want to work in order to get to it?

The top of the pyramid represents the pinnacle of all the players actions. We hope that when they get to that point that they feel accomplished and satisfied about the process of getting to that point.