DGMD E-70 - PowerPoint Presentation

Slide1

DGMD E-70 Principles of Game Design

LESSON #2: Design Through Usability TestingSlide2

TODAY:

1. Game

Design through Focus Testing:

principles

and

methods.

2. Radical RevisionSlide3

WHY DO WE TEST? Slide4

WHY DO WE TEST?

Creation is 1% inspiration and 99% revision.Slide5

WHY DO WE TEST?

Creation is 1% inspiration and 99% revision.

Our reality is not the only reality.Slide6

WHY DO WE TEST?

Creation is 1% inspiration and 99% revision.

Our reality is not the only reality.

Culture: common modes of consumption, presentation, or interaction

.Slide7

WHY DO WE TEST?

Creation is 1% inspiration and 99% revision.

Our reality is not the only reality.

Culture: common modes of consumption, presentation, or interaction

.

Testing is how we come to understand our Audience’s needs.Slide8

Accessing Audience

PRODUCT FIRST:

We have a game we want to make, and must identify the audience that will enjoy that game.

AUDIENCE FIRST:

We have an audience we want to reach and so we design a game to fulfill their interests.Slide9

Testing as Marketing StrategySlide10

Testing as Marketing StrategySlide11

Testing as Marketing StrategySlide12

GAMER AUDIENCE

30 years of game history and conventions to integrate in your game mechanics and interface.

D

evelopers of games for core Gamer audiences need a level of knowledge of past games to understand the expectations of their audience

Testing can help illuminate Gamer expectations, but you also need to play many games. For example:Slide13

CREATING GAMES

FOR A GAMER

AUDIENCESlide14

Why can’t I punch something spiky?

CREATING GAMES

FOR A GAMER AUDIENCESlide15

Why can’t I punch something spiky?

Even something soft in the front, with only a few spikes on the head or the back?

CREATING GAMES

FOR A GAMER AUDIENCESlide16

Because Mario Bros

defined/ruined

spikes for everyoneSlide17

GREYBOXING

When testing digital

or tabletop games

to decide if the core mechanic is fun, avoid including much art: use simple forms so the audience can focus on the mechanic: “

Greyboxing

”

Good Mechanics = fun game.

Art+ Audio can create greater immersion, a more memorable experience, but cannot fix a mechanic that is not fun.

FAIL FASTER

Do not spend a ton of time

thinking

or

arguing

about whether to include a mechanic: try it! See if it works,

You don’t need to try EVERYTHING, but if you have collaborators/stakeholders excited about an idea, don’t dispute the idea– try it out and see if it works.

B

urn through a lot of bad or mediocre ideas as fast as possible to get to the good ones. Slide18

DESIGN METHOD #2a: PLAYTESTING

PREPARE A PROTOTYPE

: Keep it simple (

greyboxing

) to quickly test ideas (failing faster)

OBSERVE

OTHERS PLAYING YOUR GAME. Avoid influencing their experience, where possible.

LISTEN

: Ask them to speak while playing and

write down everything

they say

(and

you see them

do)

which offers a new perspective on any aspect of gameplay or user interface.

INTEGRATE

: Iterate your game mechanics and interface with this feedback in mind, while also listening to your own instincts. In other words, listen but do not treat all feedback as infallible. Slide19

DESIGN METHOD #2b:

FOCUS

TESTING

IDENTIFY

A

SPECIFIC PLAYTESTING

GOAL

: What about your game do you want to improve

? Do you want to change how long it takes to play, how awesome a player type feels to play, the balance between players, the use of assets,

etc

?

DEFINE PARAMETERS:

How will you keep track of the thing in the game you want to improve?

OBSERVE

OTHERS PLAYING YOUR GAME. Avoid influencing their

experience.

LISTEN

: Ask them to speak while playing and

write down

what

they

say and

do related to the parameter you want to improve.

INTEGRATE

: Iterate your game mechanics and interface with this feedback in

mind. Slide20

PLAYTEST DESIGN EXAMPLE:

Dragon Day Care

“Nurturing” card game by Jason WiserSlide21

Three cards types: Egg, Love, and PoachSlide22

Playtesting Goal: Speed-up play

PLAN:

Multiple

days of playtests, quick changes between each to

test rule adjustments, timing games and frequency of egg hatches.

TESTED VARIATIONS:

Adjusted card type numbers balance in deck, reduced number of Love cards needed to hatch an Egg, removed most devastating Poach cards and overly- complicated

L

ove cardsSlide23

Coolest Innovation: Stack EggsSlide24

How We Test:

Testing Set-up.

Communicate to Testers the Plan:

Game is broken: bad at being a game!

Silent note-taking

Talk out-loud while playing

During Testing: Stay Silent,

T

ake Lots of Notes!

Debriefing, After Testing, Potential Pitfalls.Slide25

Design Exercise #2a: Usability Testing

Pair your team

u

p with another team.

Designate one team A and the other B.

“A” will test “B”’s game first. “B” teams: run a playtesting session according to the Focus

T

esting handout: prepare writing materials, set up the game for play, provide your testers with the instructions, let them read and try to play.

Write down where they get stuck or confused, and what they enjoy.

Only speak when they get too

completely stuck

to proceed

!

When the game is done (or has been tried for 15 minutes) form a circle and discuss the game. As a group come up with 3 adjustments you want to explore. Hand-write a copy for the teacher of those 3 (along with game name, designer name, and testers names).

Do the same for “B” testing “A”’s game! Be sure to keep play to 15 minutes.Slide26

Question: What is radical revision

? Slide27

Question: What is radical revision

?

Revision that explores complete overhauls of your

ideas

:

Dangerously

sweep

away all of the sweat and blood you have shed so far and

imagine

impossible new directions.

You don’t have to follow those paths

—you just need to give yourself the chance to consider them, to permit those ideas to percolate and enrich your games.Slide28

Fire Hose Games: Fall 2008Slide29

Fire Hose Games: Fall 2010Slide30

Builder Brawler #1: Initial 2D Prototype: Slide31

Builder Brawler #1: Initial 2D Prototype: Slide32

Builder Brawler #2: 3D Build-out: Slide33

Builder Brawler #2: Building materials from shattered enemies: Slide34

Builder Brawler #2: Moving screens, long boss fight: Slide35

USER TESTING:

Lukewarm responses:

“Somewhat fun”

Tried to fix with better art, but just wasted time.

We didn’t know what really excited

playtesters

looked like. Slide36

Builder Brawler #3:

Competitive weaponized tower- building using pieces from beaten monsters.

Just a mini-game? Slide37

Builder Brawler #3:

Just a mini-game?

Nope. HUGELY positive responses. We refocused on this direction, scrapping a year of development.Slide38

Builder Brawler #3:

Build-out of multiple competitive levels.Slide39

Builder Brawler #3:

Build-out

of multiple competitive levels.Slide40

Builder Brawler #3:

Campaign ModeSlide41

Builder Brawler #3:

Campaign ModeSlide42
Slide43
Slide44

Design Exercise #2a: Radical Revision

Review notes from playtesting

. Where did players get stuck/confused? Where did the game drag? Where was there less awesome?

ID a

core idea in

your game to

radically

reposition

in

new modes

of

play

.

Consider a mechanic

: how players move, gather assets, interact with other players. Look for opportunities to streamline play.

Focus more on one big change

rather a few smaller tweaks.Slide45

Due Next Week:

HOMEWORK #2:

With

your

first team

,

radically revise your first game based on usability testing.

Submit 1-2 typed

pages (3-sentence

game idea, gameplay

rules) board design, and set-up/play photos.

ALSO

:

Read

McGonigal's

"Reality is Broken"

Part

2: Reinventing Reality,

chapters 7 & 8

(

pp119-167) Slide46

Have a Splendid Week!

A

nd don’t forget to email us with questions:

Instructor:

JASON WISER

JasonWiserArt@gmail.com

Available

daily by email

.