User Testing
So, I tried letting people play the game. I realized that most of them didn’t really look at the instructions. At first, I let them figure it out on their own, and after the first round, they usually managed to understand how to play, which was nice. However, starting with the third user, I started making more of an effort to explain things minimally, answer questions when they came up, or suggest they check the “How to Play” manual.
People really liked the design I was going for, so I kept that aesthetic and focused on making it pop and align with the theme I envisioned. One thing I noticed is that the wires could be better hidden with blue tape (to match the box), so I’ll likely add that along with other cosmetic improvements. I also want to tweak the win conditions, like changing how hearts are deducted or how chips are counted, because I felt it was a little too easy to win. I’d also like to add an LED that reflects the state of the game for clearer feedback.
One issue I noticed was that players didn’t fully understand the joystick controls, especially since there’s no visible cursor. I had to explain to at least two people that the joystick only moves left and right, not up and down. To help with this, I plan to make the “How to Play” manual more detailed so users can understand the controls better from the start.
Video
(I know the video is after I added the LEDs..imagine them without because those were actually last minute additions + also for some reason I can’t attach the video as media so I’ll add a google drive link :>)
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1lNbEfx_gUZIfRPWL0JcJXUbqzv9c68sE/view?usp=sharing