NPC Design User Testing Team8
Considering the success of our previous approach to design user testing, we again have adopted a similar testing style in terms of user design testing. This follows a process whereby preliminary testing is conducted followed by user ideation followed by the final exhibit test (previously referred to as the 'Eye Catcher') test.
The preliminary test hopes to gain insight into user expectations and a better understanding of our non-playable characters, conforming to criterion 1 and 2. The test follows a simple, basic survey-type research conduction for which users are simply required to select their preferences from a range of design-oriented questions.
The purpose of the Preliminary Test is to gain insight into user expectations and a better understanding of our non-playable characters, again conforming to criterion 1 and 2.
- Launch the Google Form to answer the following questions:
- Which of the following design forms do you think is most appropriate for our NPC's?
- Understanding the NPC must tie in well with the overall storyline of Atlantis Sinks, how do you imagine it's design to be with respect to this?
- Is there a specific colour-scheme you believe should be adopted for our NPC's?
- Looking at the basic, draft NPC below - what elements would you change to have this tie in with the storyline of Atlantis Sinks?
- Please elaborate on any of these suggestions or further comments you may have.
Unlike tests conducted with the crystal previously where preliminary testing involved a delineation of two separate audiences - that is, those internal to the Atlantis Sinks project and those external to it. The test audience pool is dependant on those internal to the Atlantis Sinks project. Should the partaker be external, they must be explained to and demonstrated the rules and storyline of Atlantis Sinks. With this, User Ideation involves partakers to sketch their own interpretations of the NPC on Pixilart in the game of Atlantis Sinks and demonstrate their understanding of how they should be implemented in. Being a new feature to the game, User Ideation almost acts as a preliminary test but requires an understanding of the game in order to gain valuable insight into its design and hence its role in the game.
User ideation here follows on from our research into existing platforms for inspiration. It hopes to elicit key insight into the expectations, of the NPC. Ideally, it should have the ability to answer the following guide question:
- How many NPCs should be present?
- What is the main objective of our NPC’s? How should this be demonstrated in terms of design?
- Should the design conform to the design styles of all other game elements or are there justified reasons for it to alter in style?
- Will we be required to broaden our current colour-scheme?
- What are the user’s general behaviours and attitudes toward the NPC? To achieve the best responses to these questions, our approach to testing here is not quite verbal, but more so hands-on.
As done so in previous sprints, our participants will be taking a more hands-on approach to testing here, requiring them to sketch their own iterations of the NPC. What differs from our previous tests here however is the absence of the need for internal and external participants. As our purpose identifies, what we want is for our user’s sketches to express to us the expectations of our NPC designs. Hence, all partakers will be simply given a blank canvas on Pixilart to sketch any variation/form/ideas and contributing accessories they deem necessary for the NPC. This test holds the assumption that our users do however understand the storyline and overall gameplay of Atlantis Sinks. Should users not (for example, our external users from before) know, they must be given a brief explanation/backstory of the function and role of the NPC. Inclusively, we as testers will again have the critical role of observing the behaviours of our participants in extracting responses to guide question (5) above.
Overall, across the range of our partakers, we established altering perspectives of the overall NPC. For the majority, we noticed a fairly simplistic approach to designing. For example, Partaker 1 specifically comes to draw a NPC which adopts a predominantly square interface, that is - no emotion, no details in clothing but simply square approach to body, arms, head and legs. Whilst the team admired the simplistic, squared approach here, further discussions suggested a detailed NPC would align better with not only our individual criteria, but also the existing game features a whole.
Taking on board insight from Preliminary Tests, we found the preferred colour-scheme to be adopted be blue, white and gold and hence present the following colour codes: ad954e, 1e2963, e1bee7. Justification for these colours is researched in the Exhibit Test.
From both User Tests 1 and 2, we elicited several ideas for the design of our NPC. Using these ideas, we used insights to comprise the following NPC.
Draft 1:
Draft 2:
Draft 3:
From here, we again applied further intrinsic insight and developed this into the below iteration:
However, from this, we received further feedback to consider the importance of animation. Hence, this took our design further and evolved into the below:
Without proper testing and validation, we cannot be sure as to which design here is most efficient. Hence, the Comparative Test looks at application of all developed design iterations in implementation and compares the feedback of our users from each iteration.
As mentioned, without proper testing and validation we cannot be sure as to which design is most efficient. With several different approaches to the design of our NPCs, we cannot be sure which is most effective toward the overall UX element of the game. Hence, our intention with the Comparative test is to take these iterations and perform several comparative tests on users to gain insight into their behaviours and attitudes towards all iterations and hopefully elicit that iteration/design that provokes the most positive feedback. The method discusses how this is to be done.
With close integration with the developers, we have implemented all of the above design iteration ideas into Atlantis Sinks in four different pushes. Upon gameplay, different users would test different iterations and comment on the iteration/design they had. This would directly release great feedback to guide questions 1, 3 and 5. Ideally, we would have preferred one user to test all four iterations but due to timing constraints and feasibility, this could not be achieved.
Comments and feedback received successfully validates and proves the success of the design of the NPC. Below are three critical analysis':
- The purple gem at middle adopts an element of signification. It demonstrates the NPCs role to fight for the main character in attempting to save the crystal which is also purple in interface.
- The NPCs skin colour-scheme was suggested to be of same colour coding to that of the main character to also signify an existing relationship there.
- The Partakers from the Exhibit suggested the animation be adopted for its alignment with the enemies and 'intriguing' factor. Upon discussion, the team delineated this comment to two. They team suggested that having it align with other game elements was critical but since there should not exist any relationship with the NPC and enemies (like the NPC and the main character), having an alignment here is not critical. As for the comment on the 'intriguing factor', we hence treat this as a bonus and further comments suggest this is not an essential component but still can contribute to the overall UX and aesthetic of the NPC and game a whole.
We had to create NPC conversation modules to introduce the NPC and explain why we have the NPC. The NPC would converse with the main character whilst explaining to the game player its role and how it can aid the main character. Based on feedback from our user test and the framework of the body of the NPCs, face of the NPC is created.
the inpiration for the converation is
Draft 1:
Variations created for draft 1:
From the feedback for this first draft, we changed the NPc so that the skin of the NPC matched that of the mai character based on these guidlines available on team discord:
In final drafts we focused more on this inspiration image from google image for expressions of the face
Based on which our draft 2 is as given below:
We created another draft with the character having shoulders:
And then created a background and super imposed the face on that background
