Controller Trollers Procedure

Once Legendary

Usability Test Plan

[Version 0.0.1.104881]

Jeff Houchens, Dakota Daugherty, Kyle Devlin, Jon Capps November 13, 2015

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Table of Contents 

Table of Contents………………………………………………………2 Executive Summary…………………………………………………..3 Methodology……………………………………………………………..3

Demographic Questionnaire…………………………………...4 Testing Platform/Setup………………………………………….4

Initial Testing Feedback……………………………………………..5 Issues……………………………………………………………………...6 Data Collection…………………………………………………………10 References……………………………………………………………….11 Appendix

Flowcharts

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Executive Summary 

This report provides a methodology, analysis, and playtesting QA of the game Once Legendary. We, the Controller Trollers, have compiled our findings and testing notes in this document to help the development team, Team Zulu, better understand what is working in their game and what is not so they may prep for future release. Throughout this document we will define our target demographic, testing procedures, issues and bug feedback, and overall impressions of the game in detail.

Analysis of initial testing feedback showed the following:

1. The actual user controls vary from the controls in the in-game ESC -> Controls sub-menu. For example, the slash controls in the ESC menu are (Q & R), while in practice they are (J & K). Other differences appear as well within the Controls menu.

2. Enemies do little to no damage and are not a significant threat to the player.

3. Triggers and collision boxes on platforms need to be polished to prevent the character from falling through floors and walls.

4. The audio sounds play too often. 5. Controlling the sword movement is awkward and unfamiliar.

We will be conducting validation testing with the target demographic in the

following week to prove our analysis.

Methodology  We believe that Once Legendary appeals to a younger demographic of players

around the ages of 10-15. During our playtesting sessions, we came to the conclusion that Once Legendary falls into the realm of the casual side-scrolling genre, which puts Once Legendary into the market with other casual 2D games such as Sonic The Hedgehog and Super Mario Brothers, when it comes to overall audience. With it’s sarcastic nature (sound effects, enemies, animations, etc.) it wouldn’t appeal to the more hardcore or action oriented crowd, but would hit it’s mark in the casual community if the basic framework of the game stays the same until release.

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Demographic Questionnaire

1. What genre of games do you normally play? 2. How many hours per week do you play video games? 3. Are graphics important to you? Why? 4. Would you consider yourself a casual or hardcore gamer? 5. How well do you do in 2D games?

These five questions outline the general spots where the division from

hardcore gamer and casual gamer happens. For a hardcore gamer, the answers would follow a pattern similar to:

1. “FPS, MMORPG, etc.” 2. “Anywhere from 10-30.” 3. “Yes because...” 4. “I consider myself a hardcore gamer.” 5. “Most 2D games are easy for me.”

While a more casual gaming audience would likely approach it with answers like:

1. “Side-scrollers, phone games, etc.” 2. “Eight or less.” 3. “No because...” 4. “I would say I’m a casual gamer.” 5. “Sometimes 2D games are difficult for me.”

Through these focused questions we can see a clear divide between the

hardcore and casual gaming audiences. While hardcore gamers want high graphical fidelity, challenging gameplay, normalized sounds and more these issues rarely bother a casual player to the point of frustration with a game.

Testing Platform/Setup

Our testing session will be held within the Unity game engine on a Windows operating system. The game will require a mouse and keyboard to control the in-game character and menus. We will select casual gamers from our friends and family as well as extended friends if possible.

Setup for testing should include headphones and a recording device for the

player to speak into. This will help the tester only hear the in-game sounds and the recording will allow the developers to listen at a later date to find and fix any errors encountered. A timer should also be set to track the length of time it takes the tester(s) to finish the level (game).

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The tester will be required to use the “Think Aloud” method while testing,

meaning they will verbally talk through every decision they make while playing the game. The initial three impression questions we will ask the tester at the game menu screen are:

● How does the menu compare to other games? Is it easy to navigate? Is it visually appealing?

● What does the title make you think is the basis of the game? ● Does the naming convention match other game title menus? Is it

understandable?

Following each level the tester will be asked two exploratory questions about their experience playing through the level. They will be questioned to derive some insight into how a casual player would interact with Once Legendary. For the first level (Prologue/Forest) the questions will be:

1. Did you find the sound effects bothersome or amusing? 2. Was the level easy, in your opinion, to beat/complete? Why or why not?

For level One (The Temple) the questions will be:

1. Did you like controlling the sword instead of the player? Why or why not? 2. How does the difficulty of the enemies in Once Legendary compare to similar

side-scrolling games you’ve played?

By answering these exploratory questions, the tester will help direct the development team to better understand what needs to be changed and what can stay the same in the current iteration of the game.

Initial Testing Feedback 

Hypotheses one: Not having a checkpoint indicator could affect how players play through certain parts of the game. This was uncovered by playing through the first chapter, after dying at one point and noticing that a checkpoint had not been reached. You could test this scenario by telling some of the testers where the checkpoints are reached and not telling the others. This would allow you to see if people who know they have not reached a checkpoint will play more carefully or not.

Hypothesis two: Players will just run past all of the enemies to get to the end of the level. This hypothesis was created after learning that the enemies do not do much damage as well as the fact that you can get passed them without being hit. You

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could test this by allowing testers to play the level twice. If the player runs past enemies the second time you can confirm that once a player learns how little the enemies affect them, they will just run past the enemies.

Hypothesis three: Players will not be able to defeat the Killer Rabbit Boss when he enters the second state. The GDD explains that the player is supposed to riposte the flying bunnies back to the boss in order to hurt it, however according to the ESC standard controls menu, Block/Riposte is performed by holding the right mouse button. The right mouse button does not have any functionality during our playtest. The player would need to randomly press keyboard buttons to determine Block/Riposte is performed by holding the “L” key.

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Issues  Issue 1 (Jeff): Pressing “S” repeatedly while on a trigger causes the falling

down sound effect to constantly play over and over again. Occasionally, the player falls through the floor approximately 1’ or 2’ based on the player scaled size.

Type (QA or Game Play): QA Event Severity (Critical, Medium, Low): Medium Reproduction steps: This event occurs on any trigger in level 1 (forest).

Simply walk over it. When the avatar starts to jump up and down, press the down “S” button repeatedly until the issue begins.

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Issue 1 (Jon): You can get stuck in mid air when you try to ground slam and grapple down at the same time.

Type (QA or Game Play): QA Severity (Critical, Medium, Low):Critical Reproduction steps if QA Issue: Character first jumps and then double taps S

and press K. It happens when there is an object for ground slam to destroy.

Issue 2 (Jon): There is nothing in the game that explains riposte ability. It is needed to beat the boss in the first level.

Type (QA or Game Play): Game Play Severity (Critical, Medium, Low): Medium Solutions if Game Play Issue: There is a spot where a npc shoots green goop at

you, this is a perfect spot to introduce riposte like you did with your other abilities.

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Issue 1 (Kyle): You are routinely caught on collision boxes near platforms. This can cause the player to glitch through the map floor or to fall into pits when trying to free themselves.

Type (QA or Game Play): Game Play Severity (Critical, Medium, Low): Medium Solutions if Game Play Issue: Go back into editor and fix collision boxes to

better match blocks in game.

Issue 2 (Kyle): When you encounter the “boss” on the first level, if you beat it, nothing happens. The level continues forever and there is no way to advance.

Type (QA or Game Play): QA Severity (Critical, Medium, Low): Critical Reproduction steps if QA Issue: Simply get to the end of the level and try to

fight the cube. If you win, you will see the level goes on indefinitely.

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Issue 1 (Dakota): The grapple mechanic is slightly touchy, sometimes it will connect and sometimes it won’t.

Type (QA or Game Play): QA Severity (Critical, Medium, Low): Critical Reproduction steps if QA Issue: Jump and double tap w.

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Data Collection Test Subject Level

Number Time to

complete lvl

Times Died Death by Thorns

Death by Pit

Enemies Defeate

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Times fell over

Jeff H. Prologue 4:55 7 3 4 n/a 9

Jeff H. 1 6:09 3 0 0 22 n/a

Kyle D. Prologue 15:24 34 30 4 n/a 12

Kyle D. 1 n/a 54 0 0 9 n/a

Dakota D. Prologue 5:20 8 5 3 n/a 18

Dakota D. 1 21:50 38 15 23 26 n/a

Jon C. Prologue 5:01 7 4 3 n/a 11

Jon C. 1 6:28 3 0 2 7 n/a

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References  Flowcharts (2015). Move Your Ideas Forward. Retrieved from: http://www.cacoo.com Screenshots (2015). Once Legendary. Retrieved from: https://drive.google.com/file/d/0B_oGlpjJa0j1aGdSdXl6QV9DeEU/view Zulu, T. (2015). Once Legendary GDD (Vol. 1, p. 7).

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Appendix Flowcharts

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