Playtesting the Iteration with Textures and Lighting

I had the new iteration of the Chateau Battle level playtested. Players played a five minute deathmatch in my map and then completed a survey afterwards. This playtest focused on the overall layout but also on the textures and lighitng.

Changes from Playtest 2

• The map has been fully textured.
• Lighting was implemented.

Observations

During the playtesting I walked around the map so my supervisor/professor, who was watching my screen, could give feedback.

• Maybe add a trim where the ceiling meets the wall.
• Pickups are drawing players into certain areas (saw a player venture out on top of the columns to the left of the throne to get the rockets that are there, for example).

The Survey

• Playertesters were given statements and rated out of 10 how much they agree with those statements.

• An example question is: "I could easily find other players. (1: Disagree; 10: Agree).

• There were also a few prompted open ended questions where playtesters could elaborate on their feedback.

• This survey had the same questions as Playtest 1's and Playtest 2's surveys.

Results

Data

Improvements

The overall enjoyment was higher this time around. The elements that were improved in this iteration were ranked higher. This playtest did benefit from having more players, which is what this map is meant for. However, we only had 5 players (I was player number 6 but I wasn't really playing) rather than the 7-8 this map was designed for.

Stagnating Elements

There were some elements that were ranked similarly as before despite having been tweaked for this new iteration. The cover was actually ranked lower this time around.

Summary of Open Ended Responses

Compliments

• Cool geometry that is fun to play on
• Beautiful textures
• The Throne served as both a cool focal point and a choke point

Critiques

• Rocket Launcher is too overpowered when in the center of the Throne
• More cover in the Throne Room would be nice
• Having only one entrance to the Throne gives whoever gets there first "camping priviledges".

Key Take Aways and Edits

• Add trim on the ceiling
• Make the Throne less of a god spot, make it less advantageous to be there

A Note on Lighting

The lighting didn't compile in the version that was playtested. -fast was checked in the compiler and the terminal didn't know what the command was so it didn't compile the lighting at all.

Edits Made

• Trim was added where the walls meet the ceiling.
• Lighting was revised throughout the scene and -fast was unchecked in the compiler.
• Pickups were moved away from the throne so that spot is less advantageous to be. I did not add more ways to get on top of the Throne so as to encourage players to find more creative ways to dethrone the player who takes residence there.