Thoughts on Initial Playtesting Feedback

Earlier this week I sent an email blast to playtesters (you can sign up here) to request feedback on the demo I brought to GDC. Within a couple of days, I received some really great input and I feel so lucky to have such a generous and thoughtful community. The Google form I made for feedback asked for a couple of specific things but what I found most helpful was giving folks space to just talk about their experience and let me know what they enjoyed the most and what they enjoyed the least.

Pretty much everyone mentioned how the current dishwashing stage is a bit too tedious. Folks initially pointed out that visual and audio (more on audio later) feedback for correct input was missing. So even when players were performing the task "correctly" there wasn't enough information for the player to know that they were doing a "good job." This is partially because the instructions are too vague, and I think one of the most immediate changes I want to make is to swap out some of the language used to instruct the player. Namely, I want to substitute "press" with "mash." Playtesters were expecting that a single button press or that pressing and holding a button would clean the plate, but that's not how that minigame is designed. Instead, the player is supposed to repeatedly press a button to get through this activity and clean plates as quickly as possible. So I think clarifying this when I want the player to repeatedly press an input will make things a bit clearer (like in the initial diaper change sequence).

More importantly, I think the current design of the dishwashing sequence isn't fun. It is tedious, and that was intentional at first, but now it feels like it's bogging down the otherwise fast pace of the game. So I've been thinking of one of two options: 1) redesign this task to be quicker or use precision/timed input or 2) Make dishwashing a downtime activity. Though finding time to do the dishes is sometimes stressful, actually performing the activity is not very stressful, and as I've written in a variation of this project for The HTML Review doing the dishes has always been a cathartic activity. As I'm typing this, I see how making this activity a downtime activity would really solve a lot of the design issues I've had with this minigame. That sequence was one of the first minigames I designed, so in some ways, it'd make sense that I should scrap it in favor of something more immediate, game-y, and more "intentionally" stressful. I feel like there are going to be a couple of instances of that in the course of this project, so relying on playtesting feedback will be an important gut check.

The other consistent feedback I got from folks is that the game really needs audio. I wholeheartedly agree with this, but idk if placeholders at this point would help or distract from the gameplay. I'm actively reaching out to audio folks at the moment and hope I find a suitable collaborator soon (if y'all know anyone please feel free to comment below). Audio will "solve" a lot of the feedback issues people had in some of the minigames: it'll provide an immediate "response" to player input and also help drive home some of the visual intentions of the work. I initially had this idea of using lo-fi audio techniques of making all the SFX using my (or a performer's) voice, similar to the sound work in Hidden Folks. But I'm not convinced this is the direction I want to go in and would really love to make these types of decisions with a collaborator. I have a lot of other ideas about music and soundtrack as well, including riffing on nursery rhymes, but I'll maybe save those thoughts for another time.

Another bit of feedback I got several times is that the opening feels really good. Players felt it established tone very effectively and I'm really glad of that because tone setting is really important to me. I think using that as a litmus test for future development will be useful: "does this match the opening tone?" If not, how does it intentionally differ (like in the downtime moments)? What does that contrast do to the player? How can you maintain that tone over all of the minigames? How do you keep up that pace? All of these questions have been swirling around in my head as I go back into the design process and expand the minigames section to include a lot more examples of silly/frantic tasks you perform taking care of an infant.

OK, I'm going to wrap things up for now, but as more feedback comes in, I'll be sure to post more reflections. I also want to start introducing and discussing more mechanics that I have yet to implement, but there will hopefully be time for that soon!

Thanks for reading!