Hello again from the Into the Woods Design Perspective!

So glad that you have returned for another look into all things design, let's just get right into it!

Playtesting

In terms of things that happened this sprint, we had our very first build of the game! I know that this might not seem like the biggest deal in the world, but it really is! This was the very first time that people besides our team got to take a look at the game that we made and give us some feedback about how to make it better. In this playtest, there were very specific things that I had in mind of what I wanted to get the players' opinions on. With those features in mind, I made sure that the questions I was putting in my feedback form reflected feedback in those areas. That being said, there was a lot of great information that I could take away in terms of the game that we have created thus far...the highlights are below.

The Playtesters

In terms of who played the game, I am happy to report that most of the people that played the game fell into the target audience that I was looking for. Everyone was over 19 years old and most of them identified themselves as the player types of achiever, collector, and explorer. Why does this matter? Well, it matters because those are the people that I want to be playing my game. If I know that people of those specific player types are liking my game, that means that I have done my job properly.

As a player, I find it terribly frustrating when the controls of the game do not feel natural. I do not like having to rebind keys in order for things to make sense for me. When I was putting my initial game design document together, it took me nearly an hour to figure out what keybinds I wanted for the controls so that they would feel natural to the player. I am happy to report that the people that I collected feedback from told me that those controls did feel natural! Pat on the back for me! In terms of the things that they wished to see differently, it was very clear to me straight away that there would be a lot of controls to remember and players had a hard time remembering all of them. Additionally, it felt a little awkward for them to be pulse clicking and they would have preferred a hold and attack feature (full auto if you will).

Items

When it came to the items that were in the game, the biggest thing that I wanted to know was whether or not it felt like the items were worth something to the player. If they did not feel like they had value, then what was the point of having them? Based on the player feedback, I am happy to report that the items did feel useful to the player. Another pat on the back for me! Celebrations do not last too long though because the bigger issue at hand was that the players did not necessarily know what the items did, even if they were useful to them. The other two things that players had a hard time figuring out was how to drop items and what items they had on them at the time. Though both of these features were in the game, it made it very clear to me that I need to clarify that for the player.

Potions and Spells

One of the main mechanics of my game is that the player can get new spells and brew potions to make them stronger. What I really wanted to know here was whether or not that feature was clear to them. Initially, we had all the spells unlocked for the player (it will not be in the future) and the potion recipes had to be found within the levels. This was not my ideal situation, but it was what we were working with. I am happy to say that the players felt like they did have a nice variety to choose from, which is good but was not really the main goal. The thing that was a glaring issue here was that it was unknown to the player what spell they had equipped; don't worry, I hear you! The other thing that occurred to me was that the potions might need a little bit more value to the player. The ratio of folks that knew they could brew potions to the ratio of the people that actually brewed potions was significantly different. If we put so much effort into the brewing system, I want to make sure that the players will want to brew potions.

Overall Comments

The other two things that I wanted to make sure were a thing was that the player was challenged by the game and that they were having fun. As any game designer should want, I didn't want my game to just be super easy for the player, I wanted them to be a little bit challenged, and I wanted to make sure that this was something that they enjoyed. Even with all the little things in the game that might have gone a bit wrong, the majority of the people that played said they were decently challenged and most everyone had fun (and no one said they didn't have fun!). The very key takeaways that I had in terms of other comments were that I need to find a way to make the player feel like they are not playing a bullet-hell game and that there needs to be a lot more player feedback for them to know that they are making progress in the world around them.

Now! Let's talk a little bit about the progress that was made this sprint!

2D Art/Animation

In terms of the 2D art and animations that I was going for, I mentioned this in my last post, I wanted there to be a very whimsical charm in everything that the player saw on screen. My animator, Daniel, was able to give me a horrifyingly charming death animation as well as a firefly particle effect. The particle effect was something that I am really hoping to implement into the game at the earliest possible time because I think it will really grasp that idea of whimsical, magical forest vibe that I want. 

For my 2D artist, Atley, I tasked him with creating some icons and, more importantly, some of the initial concepts for our enemies in the game. When I told Atley what I wanted, he took it and ran with it! I wanted to still capture something charming, but I didn't want it to be just this cute thing that you are fighting. I will reference this game over and over again, but in The Binding of Issac: Rebirth, there are millions of these cute little enemies, but they are also terrifying. That was the goal here and I am happy to say that I think Atley nailed it. I am also proud to say that I got to do a little bit of 2D art this sprint. One of my biggest things I want to put together is a 3D main menu scene that will drop the players right into the world, even before they start playing the game. With that in mind, I was able to draft up a quick concept of what I want that to look like. The idea is that you would see an up-close view of the starting tile of the game.

3D Art/Level Design

I am so incredibly proud of my 3D artists, Erika and Talia, and my level designers, Eric and Reggie. For this sprint and for the build, they were able to work together to make this build look spectacular...and it was just the first prototype of the game! Though art assets are not the most important thing to have in the first build of the game, we had them and I realized that there was no reason that we shouldn't  have them in the first build. That being said, Erika made a beautiful set of environment assets that the level designers were able to scatter around their levels. Though Talia's work was not completely done, she was also able to make some of the models for the pick-up items that you see in the build. Incredibly fast and before the end of the sprint, Erika was also able to provide a cauldron that can be used later down the line for the brewing of potions. Daniel, my animator, is also making a guest appearance in this section because he helped to model the character for our player to use! It is looking exactly like how I want it to and I think that next to all the environment assets, the idea of whimsy is really starting to shine though.

When it came to level design, I really wanted there to be a small chance that you would run into the same tiles and the same maps. Though we didn't have the random generation fully functional just yet, Reggie and Eric were able to create two maps that the player can go through to simulate what a run of the game might look like. Though these maps are static, they are a great representation of a single loop of the game. A special shoutout to Eric as well because he was able to capture some beautiful lighting for the scene that will ensure this idea of charm and mystery can remain in the players' heads at all times.

Programming

My socks will never remain on with this programming team...I think I have just figured that out. I mentioned above in my playtest results that one of the biggest features of the game is the spells you cast and the potions you brew...little did I know those would both be done by sprint 2. On top of that, the day/night clock is also in place that I would like to have to add more of a challenge and exploration feature to the game as well as menus that keep the player connected, an inventory system for all the items that you collect, and the start of some of the variants of the AI that I would like to be in the game. The overall goal of all these things combined is to make the players' experience unique. They will not always be able to find all the items, spells, and potions. Additionally, they will be limited on time and be interacting with all kinds of enemies. If a player has an experience that is exactly the same each time they play, we might have a problem, but with all this fantastic work, I doubt that will be an issue.

Here is the laundry list of programming things that were done....

Enemy Tracking Player (Paul)

AI Navigating the World (Paul)

Inventory System (JT)

Menus (JT)

Spells (Chase)

Despawn and Swap of Spells (Chase)

The Entire Brewing System (Chase)

  (there were tons of gifs, but I figured this was the most important)

Finale

I think it goes without showing that I am immensely proud of my team and all that they have done. As a designer, I cannot be more thankful that my vision is becoming a reality. I continue to learn more about being a designer and this sprint, I think that my biggest takeway is that sometimes you have to get in and get your hands dirty. You can leave things to your dev team, but when the going gets tough, the best solution is to jump in there and make magic happen. My goal this next sprint is to really evaluate the player feedback and see where changes can be made to make this next build even better than the last.

To my team, thank you for all the amazing work that you continue to make. This is truly a dream come true and I could not do it without your help and talent. For all of you reading this, thank you for tuning in! Hopefully, you will have an opportunity to play the game and see all the things that you read about in action! From my entire team to you, we hope to see you again next time and that you stick on this journey with us!

See you soon. 🧙‍♂️

- Into the Woods Dev Team