Playtesting the Temple

I had this new iteration of the geometry and gameplay of this level playtested to see how the level played and what could be improved. Players played through the level at their own pace until completion and completed a survey about their experience afterward. I observed the players while they played and noted down my observations as well as verbal feedback given to me.

My Observations and Verbal Feedback

• Players were confused by the extra keys in the middle of the maze.
• The quake damage powerup can last through the boss fight with the shambler.
• It's hard to aim into the pool in the lounge area from the ground level.
• Some players weren't sure if they wanted to commit to going down to the first floor of the tribute area yet.
• Players didn't recognize the stairs in the rest area as stairs.
• The narrow hallways in the maze were too excessive and made fighting zombies too difficult.

The Survey

• Playertesters were given statements and rated out of 5 how much they agree with those statements.
• An example question is: “Enemy placements and encounters feel well-designed. (1: Disagree; 5: Agree)”.
• There were also a few prompted open-ended questions where playtesters could elaborate on their feedback as well as a couple of multiple choice questions.

Results

General Data

Multiple Choice Data

Summary of Open-Ended Responses

Compliments

• Strong theming: nice props in the scene.
• The maze is fun and varied.
• The boss fight is cool since the boss was hidden in plain sight.

Critiques

• The gold key was hard to notice and to figure out how to get to it for some.
• The extra keys in the maze were confusing.
• The elevator in the middle of the maze is too slow, especially if you miss it.
• Players got stuck on the geometry during the boss fight.
• The stairs in the rest area should be walkable, not jumpable.

Key Take Aways

• The elevators in the level need to be checked and fixed.
• The gold key's location needs to be made more clear (via texturing and lighting)
• The geometry needs some minor edits (to make it more inviting or so players don't get stuck).
• The stairs in the rest area need reworking.