Playtest Results - DVSProductions/Cyber-Siege GitHub Wiki

Playtest

For the Playtest on the 22.12.2022 we had a build of our game for users to play and test. In total we had 9 testers that played and took our survey.

Observations

Whilst the testers were playing our game, we already could see some issues and whilst talking to them they gave some critiques that we have noted. Also whilst they were playing we noticed some small issues that sometimes went by unnoticed.

List of things observed:

  • UI:
    • Price of towers wasn't shown
    • Long pressing the "Send next wave" and "Speed" Buttons had additional effects that went unnoticed if we didn't tell them about it
  • UX:
    • Game Balance was off on multiple things
      • Blue Tower is incredibly weak and was somewhat of a "Noob Trap" as it was maybe the most popular tower
      • The first wave was very hard to beat (partially because of the blue tower)
      • Few people were able to use the Purple Tower and therefore its performance is weird to judge
      • The green Tower felt off and was likely a bit underwhelming in Terms of usability
    • There was no indication which Tower did what so player couldn't strategize before buying them
    • Some players unfamiliar with Tower Defense Games didn't realize you can upgrade you Towers

Playtest Survey

Question 1

Was hat dir am Spiel am meisten gefallen?

Answers:

  • The number of towers and upgrades
  • The competitiveness of the Highscores and "trying to beat the others"
  • Ease of play
  • Nostalgia
  • Smooth gameplay

Overall the whole game seems to be enjoyable and is definitely on the right path.

Question 2

Was waren für dich die größten Herausforderungen bei dem Spiel?

Answers:

  • The first wave
  • Spending your money fast enough (with a ":D")
  • Knowledge of the UI (likely relating to the Buttons)
  • Targeting
  • Knowing what tower does what
  • Lack of a tutorial or guide
  • Lack of Challenge

Mostly players weren't sure what to do and what functions the game had especially without a tutorial it seems to be overwhelming. Also the first wave was definitely way to difficult and was a mistake for first time players.

Question 3

Wie intuitiv fandest du die Spielmechaniken und die Steuerung?

Screenshot_20221222_164721_Firefox

This result kind of contradicts Question 2 where the users seemed to be confused especially at first. They likely got quickly used to everything after being told what each thing does (like autostart).

Question 4

War dir etwas an dem Spiel unklar oder verwirrend? Wenn ja, was?

Answers:

  • Lack of descriptions for towers and enemies
  • Being able to start and play the game without registering
  • Not immediately returning to the Main Menu after creating an account

The results here are more in line with question 2 as most issues came with the lack of explanation of the games mechanics. The other two things are fortunately minor issues and are more concerned with the User Experience and a small oversight rather than actual playability. ####Question 5 Welche weiteren Mechaniken oder Features würdest du dir für das Spiel wünschen?

Answers:

  • More content (Maps, Enemies, Towers)
  • Actual graphics
  • a small tutorial or guide
  • More UI Features (Restart Button while playing or after losing
  • Multiplayer
  • Slow down game after speeding it up

Overall, the players just want more content and some minor enhancements (some of which we added immediately after the playtest)

Question 6

Was war dein Gesamteindruck vom Spiel?

Answers:

  • Overall enjoyable
  • needs more content
    • slightly boring because of it
  • Graphics need a lot of improvement

Conclusion

The players seemed to enjoy the game overall and were largely satisfied with the gameplay. Even though the immediate first impression of the Gameplay was the biggest gripe with the game.

What we take from this experience:

  • The first time playing, and the "early game" are not well adjusted yet and don't introduce players properly
    • This didn't completely destroy the players impression of the game as they still enjoyed everything afterwards
  • We need a tutorial or a guide that explains the games mechanics like the buttons but also the towers
  • We need to work on the graphics and overall theming as it currently is very bland
  • The balancing of the game is still iffy especially with the blue tower that threw people off

Fortunately most of these issues align with the things we still wanted to add or improve. But still gave us a perspective of how especially "Non-Gamers" experience the game and what we should look out for in the future.