Crystal Design Testing
User Test and Results Analysis (Programming) Test Details: The purpose of this test is to test functionality of implemented crystal functions and investigate user behaviour with the crystal.
Purpose: To ensure decreasing of the health status on the crystal is functional.
Method: To test the functionality of the above details, partakers of user testing here are required to follow the below gameplay instruction: Launch Atlantis Sink game and prompt for ‘Start Game’ Once gameplay begins, begin to familiarise yourself with gameplay, character controls and navigation. Locate the crystal and the enemies and take particular notice of the lifelines above these elements. As enemies begin to spawn, navigate your way through the map to avoid them until caught (on trigger for Sprint 1). Notice the effect of this on the crystal health status itself.
Results/Feedback Summary : Participant 1 Results: Success. Participant 1 paid close attention to the health status of both the character and the crystal itself; tended to take particular notice of the crystal health after noticing declining health status.
(Design) Test Details: https://github.com/UQdeco2800/2022-studio-1/wiki/Crystal-Design-Detail#internal--external-testing
Preliminary testing involves a delineation of two separate audiences - that is, those internal to the Atlantis Sinks project and those external to it. The purpose of doing so is to not only hear the insights of those with an understanding of the crystal’s role in the game, but also those who come with no pre-conceived ideas of the ‘who’, ‘what’ or ‘why’ of the crystal.
Preliminary testing hopes to elicit key insight into the expectations, of the crystal. Ideally, it should have the ability to answer the following guide question:
- Should the crystal design upgrade as the crystal itself upgrade? How should this be demonstrated in terms of design?
- Should the crystal design conform to the design styles of all other game elements or are there justified reasonings for it to alter in style?
- Will we be required to broaden our current colour-scheme?
- What are our participant’s general behaviours and attitudes toward the crystal idea?
To achieve the best responses to these questions, our approach to testing here is not quite verbal, but more so hands-on. Required by our participants is to draw their own iterations of the crystal.
As mentioned, our participants will be taking a more hands-on approach to testing here, requiring them to sketch their own iterations of the crystal. For our internal partakers, they use the basic, previously sketched crystal from Sprint 1 and iterate their thoughts for upgrade from there. However, for our external partakers, this test would look like a brief explanation/backstory of the function and role of the crystal followed by a blank canvas requiring them to ideate and sketch their own meaning of the crystal and perform upgrades of their own on their crystals from there. Inclusively, we as testers will have the critical role of observing the behaviours of our participants in extracting responses to guide question (4) above.
Overall, this preliminary user test can be applauded for its highly effective structure which offered not only an insight into the user's preferences, but additionality it's specific 'role' in Atlantis Sinks. With the focus of upgrading the crystal in Sprint 2 here, our designs aught to reflect this. What our users iterations suggested to us is to consider what comes with an upgrade - that is perhaps adverbs such as 'more', 'enhancing', 'levelling up'. For example, participant 1 sketched this understanding below.
Participant one suggested that 'more' means adding more dimension, more depth and hence more dominance over the gameboard. This helps us answer Guide Question 1 and 4 specifically. Participant 1 demonstrated an approach to upgrading the crystal by adding more dimension and their behaviour (that is, adding more depth and detail to their sketch) suggests to us a level of 'beauty' that should also be entailed. However, more tests had to be undertaken to resolve Guide Question 2 and 3 equally.
In all later tests conducted, an interesting finding was that no users felt the need to nor addressed any need in their sketches or comments for a change in the colour-palette adopted. This hints to us as designers more than the fact that the colour scheme may be appropriate, but rather it suggests detailing is what is critical. However, this leads us to question - why is detailing important? Analysing a comment made my a participant (Participant 3), she suggested the 'crystal has to be beautiful'. 'Beauty' in her sketches was portrayed through detail in shading.
This leads directly into answering Guide Question 2, suggesting that with such importance as a game element, the crystal will be required to essentially 'outshine' other game elements to demonstrate this dominance. This differs from our findings in Sprint 1, where it was intended to, as best as possible, conform to the common design approach as adopted by the rest of the game elements. Hence with this, from Sprint 1 to Sprint 2, the crystal has seen drastic improvement in dimension, shading, beauty, detail, interactivity and hence its importance as a key gameplay element. It's design successfully adopts a design portraying of its importance through added shading and 'shine' and dominance in Atlantis Sinks (please find sketches under Crystal Design Detail. Future tests (the Eye-Catcher below) hopes to validate our iterated designs of the overall Crystal and Crystal upgrade design.
The Eye-Catcher test is a rather rapid yet can be deemed highly efficient approach to testing the implemented crystal design. From ‘User Test Plan 1’, we found that participants saw great importance as well as dominance for the crystal which they expressed through their sketch iterations and behaviour. Using this understanding, we’ve altered the design from Sprint 1 to this.
As for the intentions of the Eye-Catcher test here, it is expected to be found key insights into the success of the crystal design. We hypothesise that the user will be immediately drawn to the crystal due to its significance in gameplay. This would occur if and only if the design of the crystal is able to properly capture the importance of the crystal in its design. Should it not be the item that catches the users eye at first glance, this will suggest potential flaws in the crystal’s interface. Method:
- Launch the game.
- Comment on the following:
- What is the very first thing you notice?
- What did you expect it to be?
- Did you expect there to be a change in the upgrade at all?
As conductors, it’s again not only required by us to take note of their verbal results and perspectives of the game, but its further required that we observe and comment on their behaviours during and after the testing session. Here this is most critical as the comments users make about the gameboard and the crystal within it will deliver insight into the emotions sent through the crystal.
With the purpose of more-so validating the design iterations inspired from Sprint 1's User Test Plan and Sprint 2's User Test Plan 1, results here gave insight into the success or pitfalls in the final adopted design. Our user's from User Test Plan 1 suggested to us the importance and dominance the crystal has as an individual game element. Our iterations hence reflect this, it was simply a matter of having the Eye Catcher test validate our design. Should user's find it doesn't conform to their expectations, flaws may pertain.
Of all tests conducted, the most concerning finding was that of Participant 3's. Participant 3 accredited the crystal for its 'intrinsic' design approach, however questioned the contrast between that of the crystal and blue water/background. According to this participant, his "attention is being fought for by both the crystal and the water at a 50/50 ratio". This hints to us as users that perhaps a further element is to be added to enhance the crystal's dominance over the gameboard.
Regardless of this, the remaining 4 test participants reported the crystal's design to be 'beautiful' and 'outshining'. Many complemented its design approach for the dimensions added and the consistent crystal shape adopted per fractal added. Suggestions were however noted for enhancing the size of the crystal to better its dominance over the gameboard.