LINK TO GAME <– Click there to get to the game.
Four people filled out a “Player Experience Questionnaire”, three from my own classroom and one from the second year. I will begin with the three from my classroom. I had this done anonymously, so i’m unsure to who filled out my questionnaires so i will reference the person by which number the questionnaire is (Example = “Questionnaire 2 said that”).
First Questionnaire
The first questionnaire to begin with found that the description of my game, (Which had “Enjoyable, Boring, Exciting, Interesting and Frustrating” as options) was best described as “Exciting”. This then follows onto the question that asked what the best part of the experience was, for which they answered with the task of acquiring the paintings in game. This is the main aim of my game, having the thief only being able to complete their mission if all four of the paintings are took.
Questionnaire 1 then went to describe the place in the level by stating that they found that they liked the colours of the stage and the enemies. Now, this didn’t actually answer the question, and instead complimented two assets in the game it’s self. Still, taking this information in helps with what is going well with the project and what i should expand upon more to ensure it reaches it’s full potential.
When asked, “Why do you consider this the best part of the experience?” They answered it was fun to see different collectibles. The second part of the question was “What was it about it that you enjoyed?” For which they answered that it’s fun because it tells you how many paintings you got. This is true, and i’m glad that the questioned person enjoyed this feature as i also believed this choice was needed in game, I also added the extra “/4” to help the player in knowing how many paintings there were, (If they hadn’t read the information page). It’s good to know that this choice of mechanic was well received and I will continue to use it in the final project.
Their answer for the question on which were the frustrating parts of the experience, to them was “Floaty jumps made it difficult to land” I presume this is meaning that of the gravity with the main character, which I had my own doubts on but decided that this was a stylised choice. However, it seems it wasn’t exactly favored above other aspects/controls so I believe if there are more complaints, I should work on it more than I already had planned, making sure that the use of gravity is up to everyone’s preference.
They then answered the question to on how they would describe the overall experience, (Which had three options: “Too easy, Too hard, and Right balance”), the questionnaired individual answered with “The right balance” which pleases my small expectations, as I wished that the game wasn’t easy but not too hard for the player to find it enjoyable. Though this constructive awakening, they did answer that they had found No game breaking bugs in my game, which I was heavily pleased with as i had gone through it myself, but having it’s gameplay down to the corner in my mind, I couldn’t exactly go in with a fresh new mindset.
The first questionnaire really helped with what shined through to them, and what was not exactly too thrilling about their experience. I believe that the questionnaire answers helped with my understanding of the critical assessments on my game and has highlighted certain flaws and highlights.
Second Questionnaire
The second questionnaire seemed to be more descriptive than the previous questionnaire, however this was important as I needed as much constructive criticism/improvement’s I could get, as I want this game to be up to top standard. The first question was asked again, where they then answered that their experience with my one level was “Enjoyable”. This was good news, and I was pleased they hadn’t chose to call it either “Boring” or “Frustrating”, even if they had it would help with improving but alas, they picked enjoyable. They missed out the question of “What was the best part of the experience?”, and instead described the level being took place in an Art gallery. This is half true, as I originally wanted it to be a museum, and that is how the hanging platforms would work as they are supposed to be hanging dinosaur fossils.
The next question, “why do you consider this the best part of the experience, what was it about it that you enjoyed?”, they responded with that they “Loved the story in the game”. This was fantastic feedback, and was important for the decision of including a story part into it or not.
With my main menu, i have the option for the player to learn the story and understand where they are and what they are doing, i wasn’t sure if the public would like this and if they would just simply discard it, but this feedback seems to show that it’s an interesting story enough to be loved! It helps with my decision, and i believe keeping it included in the final design would be most efficient.
The next question, where it asks if they were any frustrating parts to the level, questionnaire 2 answered that they found “getting the third painting on the second floor”, which i understand completely why this can be frustrating. I put that the painting 3 depended on the players precision and patience, as they’re are specific jumps you need to do up platforms in order to acquire the third painting. However, they’re also three enemies at the bottom that could kill you with one hit, which adds to the difficulty.
I decided to make it harder for the player due to the fact with my earlier questionnaire, for which i sent out to the internet (Reddit and Discord), the highest percentage with what difficulty was most enjoyable, was a harder experience. So i decided on a harder obstacle, but i can re consider if multiple people think of that as the hardest and unnecessary one.
Next, was the question of where they failed and if it was multiple times or not, this questionnaire stated “On the final floor i struggled to not be killed by the first guard”, i’m presuming they are meaning that of the next guard you encounter on the third (and final) floor. I was quite confused with the response and i had previously believed that the enemy there could easily be jumped over and escaped. However, this questionnaire found it to be where they had failed multiple times, so i must find a way to make it either more slow on the player (making it easier) or removing it completely.
The questionnaire found that the overall experience was “The right balance” of easy and hard, and found that there was no game breaking bugs.
Third Questionnaire
The third questionnaire is not as descriptive on their answers to the questions, however their information is useful and needed.
This questionnaire described their experience playing as “Enjoyable”, finding that my level was a fun meant for a nice compliment to my structure and overall work. The next question, “What was the best part of the experience”, was answered “Avoiding enemies”.
In my game, the thief does not have a weapon nor a way to defend themselves, so the only way to get past an enemy is by jumping over them/avoiding them. It’s good to know, that this is a favored play style and that my earlier questionnaire’s responses of “Stealth” being a higher percentage of what gameplay stance people like, was put to good use and was true.
They described the place in the level to be “Quite dark and enemies wore all red”, this is describing the basic asset for the enemies (PROTOTYPE SKIN) of red. This will change to a model that holds a look more similar to a security guard, rather than a red cube with an angry face.
According to their answer of why they found this to be the best experience, they responded “Avoiding enemies was fun”. Though this was answer was already used previously, it is still useful and carefully highlights a key word “fun”. This helps with deciding what to keep in the game, and what technique should stay in game, like for instance, if they had said they liked the vent part when jumping down (Whilst having to get a painting) from the first floor to the second, i would have used that to shift around the platforms so there can be more of that sort of obstacle. So with this, i will try to have the first level have an increase of enemies so that the player can try and avoid more enemies.
The next question was the shortest, with the question of if there was any frustrating parts, they simply answered “No”. This is a compelling answer as it tells me that this player, who has a particular play style, didn’t find the game challenging/ frustrating to the point they had a particular point they could not complete first try. This is fine, but i would have liked some difficulty to their experience as that’s what i am going for (Game difficulty wise).
However, they did state that they found that they had failed at times whilst trying to obtain all of the paintings, quoting “getting the paintings”. This is what I had first aspired to have with the previous question, where the player found the game mode to be more difficulty than normal platformers.
They described their overall experience as “The right balance”, and didn’t encounter any game breaking bugs. This questionnaire was helpful and made the process of deciding what should be in the three floors, regarding to what to keep or take out, much easier as I know now to have more enemies and have the paintings be more in sight for the player to see.
MORGAN'S BLOG 