Version 1: Player Feedback
For the first test I had four testers playing the game alone at different times. I logged the progress of each player and then brought them together later to observe what would happen.
The reason for doing this was to have all the players playing simultaneously at different power levels, after they have separately progressed their characters.
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Player 1 had progressed the most:
5 Power
14 Hit Points
Player 2 had:
4 Power
12 Hit Points
Player 3 had:
2 Power
14 Hit Points
Player 4 had not played yet:
1 Power
10 Hit Points
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Player 2, 3 and 4 started playing together. So far none of the zone bosses had been defeated so all the players started exploring Zone 1.
Player 2 and 3 did not need help in beating anything in Zone 1 with their current stats. Due to this they did not ask, or allow anyone to help them with any of the encounters. Player 4(Weakest) wanted to group up but the other refused.
Player 2 encountered the boss of Zone 1, Player 3 and 4 offered to help, but were turned down as they were told "No need, I've got this."
Player 2 and 3 progressed to Zone 2, while Player 4, knowing he wouldn't be of any use to the others, stayed behind to get more gold in Zone 1.
At some point Player 4, encountered an enemy he could not handle, and did not get any help as nobody else was in Zone 1... Player 4 lost all his progress, and rage quit the game.
Player 1, joined the game shortly, Player 2 and 3 recovered their Hit Points in town and bought items from the market, then all players headed back out to Zone 2.
Even though all the players were on the same team and it would have been beneficial for them to group up, players still chose not to do so for competitive reasons. This behavior persisted until Player 1 encountered Zone 2's boss.
Player 1, would not be able to beat the boss alone so he asked for help. Since the others wanted a share of the gold reward, and also wanted to unlock Zone 3, everyone grouped up and defeated the boss together.
The players returned to town as they unlocked Zone 3, at which point we agreed to end the session.
Important Points & Feedback Summary
- Players have no time limit, and can ask for help from people in their zone after they realize that they cannot otherwise beat the enemy they encounter. this means they there is no real threat and thus, The player is in control.
The result of this was that players did not need each other, and started competing instead of co-operating.
- There was a big power gap between the new player and the others.
The result of this was that he felt useless, ignored and unneeded. This player's assistance would be negligible even if he was allowed into groups.
- Items in the market were limited, the only heroic cape available was purchased by Player 1.
As a result result, other players were annoyed that they had to share limited resources, since now they could no longer get the heroic cape themselves.
Other Feedback
The game was pretty boring due to a lack of challenge. Since encounter cards are shuffled back into the zone deck after an encounter, there was no reason to take risks in exploring a zone further. The player would lose no progress for returning to town and restore their health, and the turn they spend returning to town, is free since there are no timers or turn limits.
The weaker players felt it was unfair that other players were stronger just because they had been playing longer (even though they are on the same team).
Possible Solutions
In a previous blog post 'Possible Solutions to Design Barriers Hindering People Fun', I had mentioned how some of the issues above might be tackled in order to improve the social experience.
