Hey there!
This post is about our first game tests, which can be divided into three types of tests:
- A coherence test
- A visual style test
- A functional test
Let's cover each one in order, beggining with the coherence test. This is to make sure that game components can give the feedback necessary for the player to act in the general intended way. This can be done in many ways, wether it is by having a dangerous object stand out or in a more subtle way, like subtly nundging a player through level design, by lighting the correct path or employing a similar method. In our case we're going to test how the player perceives interactable objects, and how the game can teach them how to play.
(an example of how you can guide the human eye with clever tricks)
The visual style test is self explanatory. These kinds of tests are only meant to estabilish the "feel" that the game will provide, and analyze if it fits the game, what works and what doesn't. In this test's case, we'll be testing a general indoors style with wood and wallpaper.
The functional test is also mostly told through the name. It tests wether the mechanics are working properly and how the players interact with them. For our game, we will be testing the LockPick and the Flashlight, along with the movement and general exploring.
Now, instead of testing these three components separately, they'll be combined into one main testing session, which will encompass all that we want to test. What this will end up being is a small "mini-level" that will contain two simple puzzles, to test both solving mechanics, it being inside a generic house space.
Here are some rudimentary sketches of what we want to achieve (mind the portuguese scribbles):
We will iterate upon this for the following days and will then make another post about the results, so stay tuned!
And that's all for this post!
See you next time,
Nymeus Studio
