Playtesting Plan

To prepare for MoJo, we discussed a few questions related to game feel and balance that we would like to see answered. These questions are mainly related to:

• The amount of feedback and information provided during the battles
• How impactful are cooperation and each player’s decisions
• The value of the rewards gained from clearing levels and towers
• The length and excitement a player feels during battle
• The balance of difficulty, ability power, and character power.

After preparing these main topics, the group debated on the best ways to gather data that would help answer each point. To address the first three, the best method is directly observing the players. This could be complemented with live questions during the Playtesting session and during a post-test interview or survey. To address the last two, game logs would be the best way to do so. By keeping track of statistics, such as how many times each ability is used, how many times characters die in a level, or how much time does a battle take on average. Using this data, we will then be able to tweak important aspects that will lead us to a better final result.

Game Development

In parallel with the Playtesting Plan, the group continues to add features to the game, to prepare it for the showcase in MoJo. To create a better work distribution approach, I was assigned the role of handling game feel (i.e. coordinating with the art students, implementing ability animations, looking at appropriate sound effects to improve immersion, etc..).
Regarding the progress as a whole, we are currently in the process of adding two new characters to the game: an Ice Mage and a Vampire, fixing known bugs, implementing turn timers, and creating special powers.