Our Last Hope (Is Some Kid) - Blog Post 4

Sprint 4

After Sprint 4, I am finally confident in my capabilities of using Trello. I have remained on top of verifying cards, as well as making new cards when it is needed. I also remember to move my cards into the various sections when appropriate based on the work I am doing. I could still use more work on writing good user stories that convey the goal of the card, while still giving the creative freedom to the designer or programmer that plans to complete the card.

I started off this sprint by finally making the water kill the player when touching it. This was a more important feature for a prototype than I originally thought it would be, due to some playtesters refusing to grapple or jump when playtesting. The addition of the water killing the player on impact gave much more incentive to use the main movement mechanic, grappling, when playtesting the prototype.

 

Another issue found during the electronic playtest during Sprint 3 was that players couldn’t figure out the controls, so it was important for players to be able to see the controls while playtesting, not just from the initial controls screen. Now, when the player holds the tab key the controls will appear on the screen. This is a capability that the player can use at any point in the prototype if they ever feel like they forgot the controls. I preferred making the controls only appear when the player wants them to, since there are quite a bit of controls in the game that would be annoying to have on screen the whole time.

After addressing the issues from the last playtest, I moved on to features that were already planned for the prototype. I made it possible for players to interact with objects. If a player comes across a weapon and points at it, the object will light up and then be equipped by the player after pressing F. I made the object change materials so that it’s clear to the player that the object is interactable.

I then moved on to adding UI in the level itself. There are two types of UI I added, one that pops up in a specific area and one that pops up when the player is pointing at a specific object. The first type is used to help guide the player around the level, so when a player enters a given space, text will pop up that could give the player a sort of hint for how to proceed. For example, when the player walks towards the first vent, text will pop up as if in Kevin’s voice giving the player a hint to send the hand through. The second type pops up with the controls required to perform a specific action. For instance, when the player points at an interactable object, “Press F” will pop up to help prompt the player. Similarly, when the player points at a grapple hook on a spot where the player is allowed to grapple, “Press Q” pops up.

Based on the spreadsheet I created in the last sprint, I made weapons that will do a different amount of damage and last a different amount of uses. I also added a variable for distance, since a ball would reach farther than a bat for example. After interacting with a weapon, the player can then use it to attack enemies. If a weapon is already equipped, and the player interacts with a new one, the old one gets dropped and the new one is now equipped; this keep players from having multiple weapons at once. For objects that are swung at the enemy, like a bat, the duration only decreases when an enemy is actually hit, but for objects that are thrown or shot at an enemy, like a ball, the duration decreases regardless of the hit being successful. Similarly, objects like a bat have a much shorter distance than objects like a ball. Each weapon also does a different amount of damage.

After the final level was added to the prototype, I created a script that allowed the final boss to follow the player in a given radius, and stop following when the player is close enough to get hit. I also made the win screen pop up when the player finally reaches Kevin’s friends after the final door.

As a little bit of a minigame, I created a point system for when the player throws the hand into the hoop, so that it gives the player an incentive to practice throwing the hand in a way that is fun. This also adds an opportunity for an alternative ending to the game if the player spends too much time essentially playing basketball with the hand.

From the playtest that occurred during this sprint, we discovered a lot of valuable information. Playtesters really enjoyed the grapple mechanic, the wall climb, the UI, and overall thought it was a fun concept. They also wished there was more navigational help provided by UI, more simplified controls, and better camera positioning. We also came across a couple of bugs, such as a duplication of Kevins when dying in hand mode and UI getting stuck on the screen. All of these concerns were addressed by adding the necessary cards in Trello for the last sprint.

Our Last Hope (Is Some Kid) - Blog Post 3

Sprint 3

Now that Sprint 3 has come to a close, I feel relatively comfortable with using Trello. I still could use work on writing good user stories for the cards. I became very good at making sure that the cards that are needed for the sprints are already in the backlog, as well as staying on top of adding new cards any time a new one is needed. The addition of points to the cards didn’t seem as complicated as I thought it would be initially. Most of my user stories are all one point, with a few three point exceptions and two epics, which is ideal.

I began this sprint by adding all the keys and doors to the level, so that the play testers would have a reason to use the movement mechanics when playtesting the prototype. I had to add a couple walls to block off areas that wouldn’t be completely ready by the time the playtest occurred. I also had to change a bit of the challenge in level 2, to make the goal a key instead of a box to push off the shelf.

I then made a Google Form for playtesters to fill out and give valuable feedback based on the rubric provided for the class. We only had five playtesters, one of which did not have time to answer the form, but each of those playtesters provided useful insight into how we can improve the game. Playtesters pointed out that the first wall climb was difficult, it wasn’t clear which grapple the player could grapple to, and sometimes the player could lock the game by getting Kevin stuck in a vent or preventing the hand from reattaching. Some suggestions for things to add in the game was also to have either a countdown timer or a maximum radius to limit the player when they are in hand mode.

I then playtested the prototype myself before the playtest day to ensure that everything was ready for playtesting. While I didn’t notice anything that would break the prototype, I did notice a couple things. Like the playtesters, I noticed that the distance the player could grapple was not clear. I also found that there’s an area where the hand can fall off the map from under a vent entrance, which was a simple fix of just adding a wall under the vent. Sometimes when unlocking a door, it takes the game a bit of time to actually open the door. It’s enough time to where it made me think the game wasn’t working properly, and if I was a playtester I would think the game was broken. I believe this can be fixed by having the player click a button to open the door, instead of simply walking up to it. I also think that it would benefit the player if UI would pop up telling the player if they can or cannot unlock the door.

After the playtest, I made the grapples more clear by making the hooks that the player can grapple to glow when pointed at.  The mouse will now also lock to the center of the screen when clicking on the game window. 

During this sprint, I also made a spreadsheet with weapons to add to the game. Some weapons can be picked up by the hand, while others cannot. Each weapon has a different amount of damage, amount of duration, and type of attack. Some weapons are used to hit enemies, while others are shot or thrown. The different numbers are based on the assumption that most enemy health is at 5. Balancing would have to happen after the weapons are created, so that we can test different damage and duration amounts.