Final Analysis (Play-Testing)

I feel that my previous analysis has been quite long-winded and I will try to make this final analysis post more specific and focused.

Main-Game Analysis:

What is fun? I wanted to give the player enjoyment through both the aesthetic appreciation and physical stimuli of interacting with the level ( opening chests and fighting enemies etc. ). Depth was prioritised over superficiality, each level was designed to have multiple paths, enemies and moving platforms, giving the player a reason to replay the level. The game focuses on pitting one subject(Rosie Red) against the computer (reasonable enemy AI), with the task of reaching the goal with inefficient means(Player abilities & rules) within a closed system. This introduces new data and patterns to the player (new enemies), teaches them gradually how to master abilities(through repetition of enemy encounters) and rewards the player with new experiences(new costumes which allow the player to reach new places).

How is Fun achieved? I believe it is achieved by allowing the player to overcome conflict when it arises in "unique" ways. The goal(exit door) which is limited by rules(gravity etc.) creates competition(can I make this jump? etc) in play, this competition is fighting enemies, finding the exit door and learning how to manage resources (battery, anxiety etc.). This allowed me to focus on improvements highlighted by playtesters.

As this is my second play-testing session numerous new additions and alterations were made to the game.One of the most important being the addition of new layouts (level select, help screen, score screens etc.) to make navigation more professional and user friendly. A lot of consideration also went into the creation of assets and aesthetics as these elements remained positively reviewed by play testers. These improvements were added to tackle the criticisms that play-testing revealed (what is the goal/controls? This being solved by including a help/tips screen etc.).

Finally I wanted to consider Ian Bogost and his view towards destroyed time. I feel this is appropriate to my game as it possibly requires a player to play a level multiple times under certain circumstances( if they die, fall into a trap, want to find new paths/collectibles/minigames). This results in a lot of the players time being "wasted" as they spend time within this game world trying to collect everything as opposed to spending time in reality.

Mini-Game Analysis:

Personally I find these mini-games more fun than the main game. I therefore wanted to create a small analysis of WHY I found them more fun. Firstly I believe the simplicity helps, both with aesthetics, mechanics (you only need to click and drag to create a platform - Grokking may occur). The goal is also simple and easily accessible (direct blocks to the destination chest). The timer, obstacles and limitations to the maximum number of platforms creates conflict that the player must deal with. Including a score and randomising the destination chest creates replay-ability as the player wants ("bragging rights") to beat their previous score. Finally the unlocking of these in the first place creates reward for the player as they feel they have earned something.

I fell that some improvements could still be made to improve the experience. Such as adding new conflict gradually (allowing mastery of the the conflict) and power ups to dynamically change the level (such as adding time).