Week 3 - Prototype Testing

Week 3 was a bit rough for me. I got sick after the museum visit and was practically in bed until next Thursday. That being said, once I was back on my feet, I sat with a few of my cohort for a study group session and we started talking about our ideas, did some mind mapping, and got valuable feedback on each of our ideas for thesis. This would also be a good time to mention that for our other class, Narrative for Games, I was writing about the world I want for my thesis. I wanted to use the class as an opportunity to flesh out my world and better establish its aesthetic, gameplay, and style. I am not hell-bent on it being my thesis, just wanted to see what I come up with, and if it fits the vision I had in mind.
I've linked the pitch for the game below.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1LStQYTfW5r0PUrxPqUR1AGHVp4WJrQW2qRRh1yY99bI/...

As for the study group session, I pitched my incomplete idea to my peers, told them things I'm excited about, and they gave me feedback on a few things I noted down, which I will share below:
 Since I said I want it to be a Dungeon exploration experience, with an overarching mystery aspect, Bradley told me to look into the "Mystery dungeon genre".  Particularly Pokémon Mystery Dungeon, and how it would be a great reference to the town that is built around the dungeon.
Some questions that will serve as key considerations going forward were also put forward, such as :
" What does Visual Story Telling look like to you?"
"These Dungeon Floors, how do they spatially tell a story?"
"You used the words RPG, Collaborative experience, but what separates your game from the many existing RPGs out in the world?"

Even if I didn't have answers to these questions just yet, they served as valid considerations for me to contemplate going forward, and the session proved to be a worthwhile use of my time.

I spent the other half of my week doing devlogs and putting together my pitch for next class, and I aim to put together a spreadsheet of potential raw ideas, mechanics, and levels that I'd had in mind for my game and start rating them on factors like feasibility, level of fun, etc.

Physical Prototype Test

Now, as I missed class, I used my 3 roommates at home to conduct a prototyping test. This was not from the provided poems, but from my takeaway from the MCA visit.  The formless structure of the exhibition, the end or beginning being vague, and navigating the space as you'd like was at the center of my consideration. I combined this with a need for people to work together and collaborate. And I ended up navigating a space to get from one point to another by working together.

I would ideally have done this in a space my roommates were unfamiliar with, but since it was so cold outside, I decided to keep it indoors.
I blindfolded one roommate so they couldn't see, gave headphones with loud music to the other so they could not hear, and told the other roommate that he can't speak. After this, I told them to go from point A to point B of our house and observed how they did.

Maybe it's because my roommates know each other quite well, but it was a playful and comedic experience. The roommate who couldn't see got the worst of it. Instead of helping him navigate the space around him, he was pushed around and made to fall multiple times, and the roommate who couldn't hear was pointed at and made faces, trying to show emotion. And as for the roommate who couldn't speak, was trying to communicate using hand signs and physically indicating to the other two his intentions. The "working together" goal was not adhered to, and instead was flipped around, and they made each other's journey as difficult as possible. And I was reminded that in all multiplayer games, people who are "supposed" to work together as the developer intends, doesn't always happen as the agency lies in the hands of the player.

All in all, it was a pretty funny experience, but I think I'd get more out of it if the space they had to navigate was an unfamiliar one, and the group actually worked together! But I will now also keep in mind that when collaboration is an expectation for my game, players will not necessarily follow it! As obvious as that might sound, when you've got your developer hat on, it's hard to look at things as a player sometimes!