Some interesting things that we noted from the playtest:

1) need more scaffolding

- it was too hard to combine by level 3 because there were too many bullets flying around by then.

2) visually the islands didn’t blend into the background enough.

3) more visual cues to damage player and enemies are taking

4) player planes need more distinguishing characteristics

5) players want a score

6) powerup + combined is too powerful, the movement restrictions on combined form are not enough of a deterent to prolonged combined form.

7) even though the players had finished all the content they continued to play
not all players realized the end goal was to have two controllers.

Some things we had wished we had done better to get a better play test experience (besides fixing the bugs and such):

1) a better tutorial for the physical controller

2) better difficulty ramp level for the playtest levels

3) ended the playtest after the boss fight, since every level after the boss fight just repeated, it didn’t have a satisfactory ending

4) more of a fleshed out game play experience.

The big take aways:

We were happy that people seemed to enjoy the physical controller. The combine mechanic which is echoed by the controller was interesting to the players. These were two of the main things that we were hoping to confirm.

The first playtest of “Spacewolves” occurred last Thursday. Overall, playtesters seemed to enjoy the experience, particularly the humor and the voice-acting.

Perhaps one of the most important things we learned was that players had difficulty understanding the function of the “lure” – one of the main mechanics of the game. The lure is a player tool meant to be used to distract the enemy wolves, altering the target of their movement from the space station to the more mobile spaceship. The space station must be defended by the players in order to complete the level, but is placed in a fixed position at the start of the level that cannot be altered. The spaceship, which controls the lure, can fly around through space, and therefore, through use of the lure, drag the spacewolves away from their primary target and into the defense line of the players’ guns.

However, due to the ambiguity of the language in the tutorial and the lack of introduction time for the mechanic, players misunderstood the function of the lure. Players seemed to think that the lure was used to bring forth spacewolves, i.e. to trigger an enemy wave. Thus, when the spacewolves began to attack en mass, they did not use the lure, since they believed it would make the problem worse. Since the lure is the only way to keep the wolves away from the station, this meant that the playtesters were quickly defeated. (There was an exception for the first playtest, where players picked up on the mechanic immediately – so it is not a universal problem. However, it is still an important one, since the lure is one of the game’s primary mechanics.)

We plan to fix this problem by changing the second tutorial level so that it requires the player to repeatedly distract a single spacewolf before the players are allowed to continue. This will introduce the mechanic more gradually, and ensure that the ship player has mastered it before the game can continue.

Some other things that we need to change/implement based on the playtest:

* The station/mouse-based player needs more control. Implement bombs that can be used strategically by this player to blow up wolves and/or the players’ own structures.

* Implement health bars on the wolves, to give an indication of how close they are to death. Also a wave indicator, showing how far the player is through the level.

* Increase the size of the play field; shrink all the elements to give the ship more room to fly around.

Overall, we had a good experience playtesting. People were fairly positive about the game, but we still learned about some major areas that needed fixing. It was interesting to see playtesters of different ages trying out the game (one of our testers was 11), and to see how players who didn’t know each other versus players who did interacted with the cooperative system. The observation room felt a little creepily voyeuristic, but was ultimately valuable.

But there is another set of mannerisms that may prove as successful on hyper-realistic models and that is the chaotic jerks associated with seizure disorders, like epilepsy, and tic disorders, like Tourrette syndrome.

The difference being that this class of expressions can generate sympathy in the audience, rather than revulsion which is typically associated with this phenomenon.

Judge for yourself by making the trek to the Orange County Museum of Art in Newport Beach to see Call Me Ishmael by Daniel Joseph Martinez. This sculpture that looks just like its creator, uses hydraulics to mimic everything from small spasms to violent seizures, and includes an eye-roll that gave me a strong urge to hold him so he would stop hurting himself.

Daniel Joseph Martinez, Call Me Ishmael or The Fully Enlightened Earth Radiates Disaster Triumphant, 2006; United States Pavilion Cairo Biennial, Installation view, Cairo Museum of Art; Collection of the Artist; Photograph courtesy of the artist and The Project, New York

Note: Overall, the 2008 CA Biennial is very disappointing. I can’t recommend it. Save yourself the time and just drive-by to steal a glance of the yard signs outside, and the 8′ cube of 2by4s and Ishmael in the entryway. Then consider supporting the museum with a donation or a purchase from their great gift store.