Wall of Death User Testing (Sprint 3)

Sprint 3 User Testing Purpose - Wall of Death

The wall of death was once more refined during sprint 3, hence once more we embark on a using testing journey.

The testing was short and sweet, a subject was briefed on the the mechanics of the game then instructed to play it freely for 2-5 minutes paying particular attention to the wall of death. They were instructed to play several times with sound on and several times with sound off to clarify the visual effects of the wall of death. The intent going into this was three fold:

a) To determine the wall of deaths ability to elicit the correct emotional response from the user.

b) To determine the intra-element cohesion of the wall of death aesthetic, how well the smog wall fit with the giant and vignette, how that changed during the 'intense' transformation. This was poor during sprint 2 and needs to improve.

c) To determine how well the wall of death integrates with the general game aesthetic, meshing with the player character, enemies, platforms, and background. This was also poor during sprint 2 and needs to improve.

Sprint 3 User Testing Summary - Wall of Death

Average result of Q1: [4.625] (Emotional Goal Success)

Average result of Q2: [3.875] (Intra-feature cohesion)

Average result of Q3: [3.75] (Overall Cohesion)

Rating scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Notable Suggestions:

• The giants 'kilt' isn't animated and that's a bit strange. Looks unnatural.
• Could also add a 'stomp' particle effect or something to give 'impact' to it. (Juicy feature).
• The transition between colours (smog wall) is a bit extreme, maybe the original could be more vibrant.
• Maybe move the giant in front of the smog wall.
• Exactly equate resolutions between elements.

Takeaways:

The wall of death has definitively improved during sprint 3. Its cohesion with itself and the game is now far better, however there remains room for improvement. The notable suggestions listed above may be valid avenues to pursue this. The greatest result is undoubtable that the wall of death is highly successful at fulfilling its emotional response goal and is thus an effective asset within the game.

Sprint 3 User Testing Record - Wall of Death

Iteration 1:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [4]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [4]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [3]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• no...

Iteration 2:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [5]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [4]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [4]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• The transition between colours (smog wall) is a bit extreme, maybe the original could be more vibrant
• The background is also really pixelated relative to the sprites

Iteration 3:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [4]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [4]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [4]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• The giants pixel density doesn't match the smog wall

Iteration 4:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [5]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [5]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [5]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• no... (this person is overtly generous)

Iteration 5:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [5]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [3]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [3]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• background is too pixelated (it was wrongly implemented for this test...)

Iteration 6:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [5]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [4]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [4]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• Maybe move the giant in front of the smog wall

Iteration 7:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [4]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [4]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [4]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• The giants 'kilt' isn't animated and that's a bit strange. Looks unnatural
• Could also add a 'stomp' particle effect or something to give 'impact' to it. (Juicy feature)

Iteration 8:

Rate the following on a scale of 1 -> 5, were 1 is horrible, 3 is neutral, and 5 is great.

Does the aesthetic alone convey a sense of 'pressure'/'fear'/'danger' (emotional goal): [5]

Cohesiveness of the various wall of death elements (how well do they fit together): [3]

Cohesiveness of the wall of death with the rest of the game (with platforms, player, etc): [3]

Do you have any suggestions regarding wall of death improvements?:

• background is ... (should have fixed this)
• sprite outline could be removed maybe?
• Kilt of death giant could be more 'daunting'.