Hello again, this week has brought a new understanding and new course set out for our game Gummy Gang. I am Vitaliy Palnikov the Lead Designer of Gummy Gang. With me as my counterpart as lead is Patrick Mcgee, my lead producer who is overseeing the project. Having gone through multiple weeks of development we see where we are and where we need to be by the end of the development cycle with the time we have left. This build I wanted more of the UI built up and to actually have a map implemented into the game. 

Another round of playtests have happened this sprint, this being the alpha build. This build we finally have a map implemented. We have had an issue where our artists have been creating all this art that we love and want to see in the game but just hasn't been implemented into the game. Which is a bummer. Our Alpha does however include this, even if it is just a single basic one. We also have a candy meter and an area that tells the player what candy power up they are holding. 

Moving onto the actual play test for this sprint. Players, similarly to the last playtest generally had a positive experience with the game. However there are negatives that do outshine the positives in a number of manners. Firstly, the players most of the time could not figure out how to start the game. They would be stuck in the menus for the longest time. The character select screen has small text, and the text blends into the background so it was increasingly difficult for them to see, know what to do. Only after an extended period of time would they figure out how to begin the game. 

furthermore, players would not understand what it meant when they turned into the killer cat. A lot of players would just continue to run around like nothing changed. This is of course understandable because all that changed is the size of their character.  Many players would basically never use items. They would pick up candy powerups and never ever use them. 

We also discovered many bugs. Most did not occur while playtesting but during internal tests we discovered. This includes the killer cat being able to be flung off the map if a player comes up from behind and runs into them, this flings both players off the map. Then there was the issue of if a player was huddled right next to a prop when the killer cat touched them, they would not get flung away. They would be completely fine. The Caramel power-up didn't function properly and when it was used it would for some reason the effect would spawn under the map. 

Now the playtest results:

The total number of play testers we had totaled 13 this time around. 76.9% of participants are individuals who play co-op games so their answers should be viewed with some credence. 

Coming from the last playtest, nothing has changed that much for the players in figuring out how to control the player in the game.  This does come with two individuals totaling to 15.4% of players who found it hard to figure out how to control the player. This may be the fact that these individuals could be a part of the 23.1% of the participants who did do not play co-op party games. However I believe that this isn't just about these individuals not playing party games but possibly games in general. 

Now comes the big one. 50% of the players found it difficult to find what the objective was for the game. Which was to collect candy and eliminate other players. This is a large number that needs to be worked on. Based on this feedback, it is clear that additional time needs to be spent on this and is already in the works to be improved upon. The improvement will be a tutorial and a signal when the killer cat is transforming. This means that the game has changed and the way the players need to play is going to change as well. 

30% of our players would not continue to play the game as it currently is. A large margin. The game needs more tweaks and polish. The issue is the game play loop. As it currently is, players all congregate all together and mindlessly punch one another. That is basically the gameplay in a nutshell as it is in alpha. This cannot be allowed to stay this way. I believe once what is supposed to be in the game is in the game. This being the proper core loop and maps then a more positive reaction with players will follow.

On a positive note, 100% of players answered that should more be added to the game they would play again. This question is a bit helpful although I feel can be kind of tricky since I think a lot of people for any game would answer in much the same way our players did. 

Ultimately, at this time a lot of tweaks and edits need to be made to the game to be in a state that is envisioned in the game design document. Many problems and bugs need to be fixed. Gameplay needs to be polished. The controls and goal of the game needs to be much more clear to the user. I have faith that we will get these issues addressed and resolved to at the end have a compact finished product.