I wanted to be unique with my feedback and create a questionnaire myself with my own questions that I was wondering specifically, on top of the questionnaire that Ames already provides to everyone during a play test. I asked everyone:
- What did you think of the colors/aesthetic? Would you change anything? Were the colors denoting the type of question properly?
- Would you be open to experiencing a video as a ruleset instead of a written, lengthy ruleset? Why or why not?
- Was the 2-minute sand timer enough time? If not, what do you think it should be?
- Did you enjoy the red bolt category (actions)? Do you have any recommendations for actions to add or ones to adjust? Why?
- Would you recommend this to a friend? Would you play the finished version/play again?
Shane’s Answers
- I like the idea of having categories/colors. I think stating the color of the card could make the game more interesting/add more strategy.
- A video ruleset would be nice. Seeing the game played out is always easier than reading.
- I think the time was good. It never felt too short and never felt too long either.
- I thought having actions was a fun way to spice things up. Having more active ones could be fun and make managing your time more interesting.
- I would recommend this. I had a fun time and it felt competitive the whole time. It was a good mix of fun and educational.
Ben’s Answers
- I think a various color boxes (red, yellow, green) for correct answer to fill and a reward of a meaningful object(s) (like Beatstar).
- I think both are fine since I saw the written rules are organized; video is a bonus for fun exploration.
- I think it’s a fair amount.
- I enjoy it since it’s a mission trivia for fulfill the level of striking signs.
- I would recommend for video game designer field and students since this mechanics are very towards the video game reward system.
Shane Ames’s Questionnaire
- What was the most frustrating moment or aspect of what you just played? Some questions I had zero idea on the topic, but I’m not sure anything could be done to help that.
- What was your favorite moment or aspect of what you just played? The competitive aspect of trying to get enough cards was a lot of fun.
- Was there anything that you wanted to do that you couldn’t? I would have liked to know the color of the card I was being asked.
- If you had a magic wand, and you could change, add , or remove anything from the experience, what would it be? Know the colors easier for more strategy
- How was the play experience changed since the first play test? n/a
- Is this a game you would play again? Why? Yes, mentioned on other sheet.
My response to user feedback
I think a lot of what Shane and Ben said is valid. I was already thinking about a lot of their concerns and questions such as the color of the cards and potentially playing around with the concept of changing the back of the color to whatever color the bolt is on the front of the card. Given that the user answering doesn’t get to see the question/answer side, it makes sense to change this so they have an idea of at least what kind of question they are going to be asked. Also, I’m glad that both of them thought the time given (2 minutes) was good because that was one of my main concerns given the variety of questions/actions on the card.
Clay added some insight as well. He was talking to me about explaining the answer to the person answering if they answer incorrectly. In the play test I left that open ended to see what the users would do when answering incorrectly. Would they be curious and ask what the answer was? Or would they simply fall into a cycle of confusion? Unfortunately it was the latter. This wasn’t the end of the world, but I edited the ruleset to explain that and even added in the house rules section an optional hint section.
Ames talked to me about my blue bolt section. Some of the questions weren’t necessarily “general knowledge”, so I changed this section to be classified as “Pop Culture” to give me some leeway in that regard.
Lastly, from just observing, I found that I wasn’t specific enough about who was flipping the tube and who was picking the card. In most card games, if it is your turn you are the one picking the card. However, in this game, since the answer is on the card, the person not actively answering (the person who’s turn it is NOT) is the one picking the card from the deck to read to the other. That means that the player that is actively answering is the one flipping the sand timer.