Playtesting and Feedback

We used the following template to structure our playtests. For the sake of brevity, we will be summarizing the results rather than posting the full docs for each:

• General Info: Team Members Present, Date, Playtesters Name, Playtest Goal
• Rules Being Tested: Current Rules that were being tested
• Observations: Free space for all notes and observations taken during the playtest
• Questions for Players: 3 - 4 Questions that we had for all the players to answer
• General Player Feedback: Feedback players had outside of the questions asked
• Conclusion: Summary of the playtest
• Next Steps: Tasks set for the next iteration

Preliminary Playtest #1 - Development Team

We tested out our first two iterations within our development team to quickly see if our prototype was working. Our first iteration involved having a limited amount of beats per rhythm alongside a point system depending on the theme card. This became difficult to keep track of quite quickly, so it was scraped.  For our second playtest, we tried to have an incrementing rhythms. For example, having the first round be 3 beats, then the 2nd round be 6 beats, and so on and so forth. While the playtest went better than the first, it was quite easy to get past the first few rounds and there wasn't really a winner. In the end, we decided on not putting a limit to beats-per-rhythm, and instead had the game be played in rounds (best two out of three).

Playtest #2 - In-Class

After polishing up our prototypes, we were ready to conduct our first true playtest in-class. Our playtesters were Alex, Will, and Prof. John. Right off the bat there was difficulty in explaining the rules. Although we thought they were pretty concise, we had to give a demonstration of the game to the playtesters in order for them to understand. This was a big red flag that we noted down for later.  Otherwise, the playertesters were extremely engaged and appeared to be having a lot of fun with the game. Although the referee wasn't supposed to play and just had to observe, we noted that they participated throughout the game.

Some problems that came up were the usage of virtual backgrounds and microphones not accurately picking up sounds. A big concern for us was the length of the game, and whether or not it would be too short. In actuality, it was a good length and rounds played out much longer than we intended! Our main goal now was to create a better series of rules, preferably with visuals to Some suggestions from our playtesters were to add an offensive mechanic, such as being able to pass the rhythm to one specific person in the group rather than just going in a circle. They were also interested in whether or not cards could be stacked throughout rounds.

Playtest #3 - Family

After our In-class playtest, we decided to test out the explorations and continued to iterate on our ruleset with family testing. Milena was able to playtest with her 3 of her family members in-person. It is important to note that this playtesting was conducted in person and not over Zoom, which could have affected some of the results.

The main features that were tested were targeting opponents and the stacking of themed cards. As for the cards being stackable, this proved to not work due to the fact that some cards directly contradicted each other (i.e. "You must use your legs" + "You cannot use your legs"). A potential fix could have been just allowing players to skip cards like this, or to spend more time balancing the cards. Ultimately we did go through and balance out the cards to make sure they were all feasible, but decided not to let them be stackable in the end. 

Playtest #4 - Final In-Class

For our final in-class playtest, we came in with our finished game product. We first asked for 4 volunteers and then ran through our finished ruleset. One player was given the link to the cards and the others stayed put in the Zoom call.

This playtest ran much smoother than our prior ones, and after running through the rules we did not have to play a demonstration round to further clarify them. There was some confusion initially as to what would be considered a valid "beat", so we did have to emphasize that you could quite literally do anything. There was a lot of discussion about one of our "Set-Up" rules, specifically the one that asked all players to list their physical limitations before playing. Our intention had been to rule out certain beats that not everyone can do, such as snapping or whistling. Unfortunately, some players felt singled out as they did not want to list what they were physically not able to do in that moment. While our idea was good in not wanting to exclude others we should have been more considerate of the language that we used. Some potential fixes included changing the wording or creating different themed decks depending on the level of activity players wanted to engage with.

There was also feedback regarding whether or not it was necessary to have a referee in the game. Playtesters believed that while it would probably be beneficial in a much larger group setting, it wouldn't be needed as much in smaller groups. This is because most of the time the entire group will decide whether or not someone messed up the rhythm, or the player themselves tends to take accountability for their mistakes. 

Playtesting Images/Videos

Due to the nature of remote playtesting it was difficult to get images with everyone's consent. We have a good video of people playing from our final playtesting session here. The is currently unlisted but will remain here for a week, afterwards it may be taken down: