Game Test Documentation

Test 1 Journal Entry/Summary

First Game:

For the first game, we started with the one that we believe would be the least interesting one, so we picked the “Words Unscramble”. We also gave them a clue so they have a sense of direction of what the word might be. The clue was, “We exist but yet we don’t”. And the actual word we used was “Eaton”. Even though they did not get the word from the hint, but at least they solved it. After explaining the rules to them, we had them enter Eaton and pick their corner to hide and wait for their opponent. The funny thing is that everyone was uncomfortable to begin and they all just gathered in one area and had a staring contest. It took a while before they started playing the game. We had to lead by example and show them around. We knew it was going to be a bit hard to play at the beginning since everyone is unfamiliar, but once they started to play and let loose, they really enjoy themselves. We gave Jerry’s number to everyone so that whoever solved the word would call him and he would confirm if it’s correct or not. Jerry and Norman were the only one with the letter “T”. Even though they could not guess the word since they knew, it was setup that everyone had to find them to link the missing piece. So they were constantly on the run and hiding or cover their letter.

Everyone was a bit nervous in the beginning because they weren’t sure if they were playing the game right. And it’s also their first time playing such an organized game. It was a lot of second-guessing if they were on the right track. Many of the players may have felt awkward and decided to team up, thus little groups were formed. The referees on sight, which were Norman and Jerry, had to constantly inform them to just spread out and play it like it is. Unfortunately we did not have a lot of people showing up at the end, so the referees had to participate the game also. So they were playing mostly as a threat to the players and to give them some chill and constantly watching their own back.

Second Game:

The riddle was an interesting turn of event. We had one who just didn’t want to solve the riddle and started to go around and steal everyone’s flags. The person had 4 flags and just needing one more to win. Some people started to work together and protected the last five flags that were in play. They all work together on the riddle and cast out the person trying to steal the flags. It was interesting turn of event; it was something we were hoping that might happen. We never told them that they couldn’t work together, which was something for them to figure out on their own. We left certain elements out and had them work it out by themselves. We wanted to see how the players can evolve and reaching the highest potential of the game. At the end, the riddle was solved faster than we expected. Many players said that the riddle was a big distraction from protecting your own flag; because they were so concentrated on solving, they forgot that they needed to protect their own flag. We allowed players to continue to play even if their flags were stolen just because the first four flags were stolen within two minutes. In our observation, we had people cheating and did not obey the rules properly. Instead of actually spreading out, the player would follow other before the game started and just steal their flags or even stole them before the game begun. Even though it’s part of the issue that might happen, we were hoping everyone would have actually followed the instruction, but only a few did.

Third Game:

By now, everyone was letting themselves loose. So we had them play our original game, just pure pick pocketing, the survival of the fittest. Everyone was all over Eaton’s first floor, running, hiding, screaming, and stalking. They really started to enjoy themselves and everyone was really into the game. Some people went out of their way started to sprint and really use pedestrian as their way to navigate and block their opponents. It looked like a football halfback running behind the fullback and going in gaps that the offensive line has created. What surprised us the most at the end of the game was that a girl won it. The last two players left standing had a duel off, which unfortunately we did not get it on tape, but all of us had witnessed it. Norman was the one who was battling with the last player, which he went in for the steal, but he missed and the girl capitalized and stole his flags while Norman was trying to regain his balance.

Everyone really enjoy this one because it had a lot of thrill. It wasn’t a slow pace game anymore, it was a very fast pace game. Again, some people cheated but were not their intention. They hid at certain store’s entrance and waited for players to walk by. The interesting thing is that it all failed because they would miss pulling the flag of their intended target and leaving themselves expose and having the victim just steal their flag while they were trying to reach back. This game ended in a flash and everyone was really excited about playing this game. They had a lot of discussion about what happen and what they saw during the time of the game play.

Fourth Game:

By this time, everyone was very comfortable to play the game and not care about the people at Eaton. They started to understand how to play the game better and learn to use the crowded area as their advantage. So we finally introduce our final game, which was also the favourite among half of the players. It was the game we subtitle it “Murderer”. During this game, Jerry decided to participate in a different approach of the game, while Norman and Amin played what seems fit. Norman and Amin went all out and started to steal other people’s flag and just hoping they will kill the murderer. The funny thing is that they did not succeed, only leaving one person standing which was Norman. Jerry on the other hand decided to give the game a little spin. He was trying to get people to reveal their identity and work together as a group; unfortunately, he picked the wrong person to work with. Out of all the people that were participating, he had got himself working with the murderer. The murderer was able to trick Jerry and stole his flag at the very end. Other than that, Jerry decided to waited out until the storm was over. He waited until there were only one person left standing and on the other hand, he had the murder with him. They work together to get the last one and then the murderer stabbed Jerry in the back after they got Norman’s. The winner was a girl again but not the same person.

This was probably the best test we had because everything we wanted to happen happened. We were hoping that everyone would start to kill each other and trying to find the murderer while none of them are. We were hoping that the murderer would win. We were hoping for people collaborating and then betrayed. We wanted players to play the game to the highest potential, which we left a lot of elements out and hoping they would fill it in themselves. In our case, we had Jerry to make that happen. Everyone was so intrigue by this game just because how there is so many twist and turn that is available to play the game. In the end result, we have decided to officially make this game the “Urban Hunt”.

TEST 1 SURVEY

Survey

1. Did you enjoy the game?

2. Playing in a place like Eaton, do you think it’s suitable for this game?

3. Was the riddle annoying or was it interesting?

4. Was it difficult to steal the straps from your opponents?

5. Was it uncomfortable to steal from people you don’t know?

6. Did you felt stupid going around Eaton with all the people around you?

7. What was the biggest challenge for you? Did you find that to be a fun factor to the game or did you just wanted to give up instead?

8. What did you dislike the most?

9. What was your favourite one?

10. What would you change to your favourite one to make it more interesting or no adjustment?

11. Would you play this game again?

12. What did you get most out of this game that you felt it was rewarding?

13. From a mark from 1 to 10, what would you rate this game?

14. Do you think this game is better than playing a digital game?

Survey Results

1. Did you enjoy the game? Which parts of it?

--- It was fun, the first one was the most interesting but ended to early.

---Yes! The stealing.

---Yeah, sneaking up on people.

---It’s really enjoyable, I like the stealing and also how someone is following you.

---Yes, I did. It was hard to get into the game at first, but once I played more, it was fun. I like the murderer one because you want to convince other people you are not the murderer and work together.

---Yes.

2. Playing in a place like Eaton, do you think it’s suitable for this game? Where else would this game be playable?

---I think its decent, but as long as you don’t disturb other people or bump into them. Need some kind of populated area to play it, so maybe somewhere that have a lot of foot traffic.

---Very good for pick-pocketing idea.

---Yeah, definitely with so many distractions around.

---Eaton is a good place because there is a lot of people, but have to watch out in case bumping into them.

---Although the place is big enough, but I think it’s not really suitable for other shopping people. I don’t know where else could be play though, have to think about it.

---Don’t know.

3. Was the riddle annoying, interesting, or difficult?

---I think it’s just okay.

---I think it’s interesting.

---I think it’s annoying.

---I think it was difficult, not just solving it but also looking for it.

---Interesting, make sense, they made me think.

---It was fun!

4. Was it difficult to steal the straps from your opponents? Tell us about your experience.

---Actually I lost them all, so it’s hard to keep them away from you and steal theirs instead. I can’t really answer it since I’m always on the lookout instead of trying to steal.

---Yes, once I start to prey, someone else is preying me.

---Yeah! People thought I was a stalker or sexual predator.

---Hard, because boys run a lot faster and hard to catch up to them.

---I think its kind of hard to get close to other people’s butt without them notice.

---It was okay.

5. Was it uncomfortable to steal from people you don’t know?

---It wasn’t uncomfortable at all.

---Never, break the ice.

---Yeah! It felt weird with people looking at me at first but I got used to it!!

---Not at all, when I see it I steal.

---No.

---Kind of.

6. How did you feel about going around Eaton with all the people around you?

---I didn’t mind, I was more concentrating on the lookout to see if anyone is coming to steal from me, so I didn’t really care.

---Interesting, reminds me of “Improve Everywhere”.

---Weird!! Awkward!!

---Some people thought we were crazy, but I don’t care, as long as I don’t bump into them.

---Feel sorry for them, feel kind of embarrass.

---No, it was pretty fun actually.

7. What was the biggest challenge for you? Did you find that to be a fun factor to the game or did you just wanted to give up instead?

---The number of people were too small.

---Preying and stalking, cause everyone was on me.

---Sneaking up on people without them notice, yes it was a fun factor.

---I didn’t want to give up at all. My struggle was that I was out of shape.

---Protecting my straps. At first I wanted to give up because I feel embarrass, but after a while, I got used to it.

---Steal the straps from someone. And that I did find that I want to give up.

8. What did you dislike the most?

---The Number of people were too small.

---The words unscramble, and not enough people.

---The riddles and people thinking I am a stalker/sexual predator.

---Riddle was hard and also have to watch out for other opponents.

---Keep blocking people that were not involve in the game.

---Walking around Eaton Centre when I can’t find anyone else.

9. What was your favourite one within the four different versions?

---The armband one was the most interesting.

---Murderer.

---Murderer.

---Murderer.

---Murderer.

---The puzzle.

10. What would you change to your favourite one to make it more interesting or no adjustment?

---Maybe the flag can be change.

---Nothing.

---Having more people or having more distractions to make the game more interesting.

---Can’t think of anything.

---The place I think, others are good.

---Don’t know.

11. Would you play this game again?

---Yes.

---Yes.

---Yeah.

---Yeah.

---For the last one, yes.

---Yeah.

12. What did you get the most out of this game that you felt it was rewarding?

---The most I enjoy is the thrill because someone is chasing you.

---Able to move around freely.

---The sensation of grabbing the straps without them noticing.

---It was thrilling and also get a lot of exercise.

---Exercising is healthy.

---Starbuck Green Tea Latte.

13. From a mark from 1 to 10, what would you rate your favourite game out of the four?

---7.5.

---8.5.

---9.5.

---8.

---8.5.

---7.

14. Do you think this game is better than playing a digital game?

---Definitely better than digital game.

---Yes.

---YEAH.

---Yes, because you can exercise for analog game while digital you cannot.

---I can’t really decide because there is there pros and cons for each one.

---Yeah, it is.

Analysis

1. Everyone in the game really enjoy the stealing and sneaking on people. It was a thrilling experiment for them and was also our original intention for the game. So we would keep the main structure design of the game and not change it.

2. People found Eaton to be a suitable place because our original idea was pick pocketing, since there is a lot of foot-traffic; sort of simulating an actual pick-pocketing scenario.

3. People were so-so on the riddle; some find it interesting while other did not. Our final decision was to take it out, since it was a test to see how the game flow would be like and to create a distraction. It caused the game flow to be too slow than we wanted and did not had that much of a thrill then our original plan.

4. We had everyone’s straps put in their back pocket, so whenever people were trying to grab it, it looks like they are going for other people’s butt and can confused a lot of the people who did not know what we were doing. So we are looking to make an adjustment on the straps, probably make it into an armband. It’s easier visible to the players themselves too, since there were a couple of incident where the straps fell and the player did not realize.

5. Mostly everyone was comfortable of stealing from people who they do not know. So we don’t have to worry about a bunch of strangers playing with each other and feel uncomfortable.

6. People actually enjoy going around Eaton chasing each other without a care in the world. They thought it was fun even though people were glaring at them.

7. The biggest challenge for everyone is sneaking up on people and stealing their straps, especially for girls. They always get outrun, but most of them find that to be a fun factor because it’s exciting and thrilling.

8. We did not had a lot of testers out that day, so most of the complaints were the amount of people. They hoped there were more; we’re hoping our final game test would be a lot more people and actually have it properly played.

9. Everyone enjoyed the murderer, so we will tweak and make adjustment and add more twist and excitement to it. We had Jerry to play a different style of the game while we were testing and it worked pretty well, so we’re going to use something like that to enhance the game play. We have added group discussion and extra lives for the murderers. We believe it would definitely make this game a lot more fun. It can easily be a game like “Killer” where people don’t spread out, instead gather up and discuss who can be the murderer, or it can be a game of just running around and chasing.

10. People weren’t sure what to change and make the game better, but one thing for sure is that the place where the flag was, was a bit of a hassle to them and hard to reach.

11. The positive respond from everyone was that they would play this game again.

12. There were various of answers what people got the most of this game, so we’re just going to keep this open ended and draw our own conclusion and not factor this much into our final game concept.

13. The final average score for this game out of ten, people generally were pretty pleasant and rated around 8 to 8.5.

14. One thing we love about is that everyone enjoyed this game more than they enjoyed playing a digital game. So we’re definitely on the right track. We have added extra element to the game that would definitely make it more fun. Even when we’re discussing about the extra stuff to add to the game, we were so excited that we wanted to play it too.

GAME CHANGES MADE BASED ON TEST 1 DOCUMENTATION

Our original game concept was to just be stealing in a populated environment, but as we played the game ourselves, we felt that a purpose was needed. So during our beta game testing, we added a potential game that could be our final game concept, which was the “Murderer”. As we interview people and listen to their feedback. We sat down and thought there should be more twist to the game then just one person trying to go around and steal everyone’s flags. Murderer was mostly everyone’s favourite, so we work with that.

We discuss that it seems like communication is a strong element in street games, especially playing with strangers. Observing and playing during the beta test, we thought that mind games and deceiving element in a street game would be really fun. So we added the element of “Message Box” where players are able to use this to listen to messages. Some may not see the importance of this new added element, because it seem so useless from the naked eye. But if you understand the strength of it, it is a strong element of using it to deceive others or to team up with people. It would become the players’ best friend during the game. We give the freedom to players to use it the way they want, but we do have a layout how it’s supposed to be use.

A hunter in the game has the privilege to leave a message through the phone. They can use this advantage to leave a quick message in the beginning to find other hunters. The other hunters should find a referee as quick as possible as soon as the game starts to listen to the first hunter’s message. However, that is only possible in a perfect world. So the twist is that it’s up to the prey to scramble the messages and beat the hunters’ to the message box and mess with it. Causing everyone unable to trust each other, then it’s up to the preys to just stay alive and hide away from everyone else.

Another thing we add is that a hunter has two lives. It doesn’t just make prey afraid that they can get killed again; it gives the hunter a bit more advantage since they are outnumbered to begin with. It is a fair trade for them to gain an extra life but yet outnumbered. However, there would be a debate that the hunter can easily be spot if he start hunting again, but, not everyone would be there when the hunter dies. It is up to the hunter to deceive the other prey and have them trust them instead. It is a lot about mind games then about athletic ability.