It is important that items in the shop are priced appropriately to ensure that players have enough currency to purchase items that they need, but also feel sufficiently challenged in purchasing items to progress through the game and enhance game difficulty. In order to test this, players were asked to play through the game in its entirety (until the game was won or lost) and rate their experience with the currency system on a Likert scale. This method of testing was chosen to allow users to provide a more informed insight into the pricing of items compared to an interview. Also, it allowed for efficiency when doing multiple rounds of testing as we were able to adjust the prices quickly based on user feedback & test again until we reached a pricing balance that was most beneficial for the users.

This test was performed on 5 university students who were unfamiliar with the game and had minimal to some gaming knowledge. Since these users fall in the target audience, they were able to provide appropriate insight into how challenging game users would expect the game to be - it is important to make the game achievable to win, but difficult enough to present a challenge in doing so. The only context provided was the guidebook included in the game - users were given no further context about the functionality of shop items or how they affected gameplay. For ease of navigation, a description of the function of each item can be found in the Shop Design page. At the end of each round, users were asked if they had any further comments or observations which are noted if applicable.

Round 1

Item Pricing

Currency	Starting Amount
Gold	10 000
Stone	1000
Wood	1000

Item	Price
Wall	50 Wood 50 Stone
Tower 1	100 Wood 50 Stone
Tower 2	100 Wood 50 Stone
Tower 3	200 Wood 100 Stone
Trap	50 Stone
Wood Cutter	100 Wood 50 Stone
Stone Quarry	100 Stone 50 Wood
Axe	15 Gold
Sword	30 Gold
Bow & Arrow	20 Gold
Trident	50 Gold
Shield	15 Gold
Chestplate	20 Gold
Helmet	30 Gold
Health Potion	50 Gold
Clock	40 Gold
Bed	20 Gold

Likert Scale Results

In this round, user 3 noted that the only thing they bought was health potions which allowed them to keep their health bar full for the duration of the game.

Actions

It is clear that the items are priced too low & players are given too much starting currency. Item prices should be increased and starting currency decreased.

Round 2

##Item Pricing

Currency	Starting Amount
Gold	100
Stone	100
Wood	100

Item	Price
Wall	50 Wood 50 Stone
Tower 1	100 Wood 100 Stone
Tower 2	200 Wood 100 Stone
Tower 3	200 Wood 200 Stone
Trap	100 Stone
Wood Cutter	300 Wood 100 Stone
Stone Quarry	300 Stone 110 Wood
Axe	50 Gold
Sword	90 Gold
Bow & Arrow	75 Gold
Trident	150 Gold
Shield	50 Gold
Chestplate	40 Gold
Helmet	40 Gold
Health Potion	200 Gold
Clock	100 Gold
Bed	75 Gold

Likert Scale Results

Users 4 noted that they felt they could not gain currency fast enough to be able to purchase any items that would benefit their gameplay. They also mentioned that they would have liked to start with more currency to 'get set up' in the game initially & purchase a few items to start so that they could commence gameplay at an advantage.

Actions

Starting currency should be increased enough for the players to be able to purchase at least 1 building & equipment item to allow the player sufficient advantage initially in gameplay. More advanced players may opt for resource-producing items (stone quarry or wood cutter) instead of an equipment item.

Round 3

Item Pricing

Currency	Starting Amount
Gold	500
Stone	500
Wood	500

Item	Price
Wall	100 Stone & 50 Wood
Tower 1	200 Stone & 100 Wood
Tower 2	300 Stone & 200 Wood
Tower 3	400 Stone & 300 Wood
Trap	100 Stone & 50 Wood
Wood Cutter	300 Stone & 400 Wood
Stone Quarry	400 Stone & 300 Wood
Axe	75 Gold
Sword	300 Gold
Bow & Arrow	200 Gold
Trident	500 Gold
Shield	100 Gold
Chestplate	200 Gold
Helmet	300 Gold
Health Potion	700 Gold
Clock	300 Gold
Bed	200 Gold

Likert Scale Results

Actions

No further feedback was given from users in this round.

Conclusions

Results from round 3 indicated that item pricing & currency availability was achievable yet challenging. The majority of feedback showed difficulty levels averaging at 3.5/5, which we deem to be appropriate for the chosen target audience. If the game was easier and items more accessible, users from this target audience may get bored & disengage with the game.