My game is a two-player game, so I tested it on my younger brother and my mom. I gave them only brief instructions to give them some context, I informed them that it’s a two-player game, that they would use the buttons for the first 2 mini-games and the joysticks for the last game. For the first game, I just read out the text on the screen (TAP FAST) and they found it easy from there. I think what helped here is the feedback from the LEDs as well as their score going up live on the screen. Having some kind of responsive feedback reassures the user that they’re doing it correct. For the second game, I also read out the text on the screen (REACT FAST) and explained what they were reacting to (the LEDs lighting up). This explanation was sufficient for them to get the idea of the game. In addition, the responsive feedback from the LEDs and the text on the screen did guide them through the game.
The final game, and the one that probably needs the most improvements, is the maze. For this game, I did have to explain a bit more, specifically that they would need to move their characters using the joystick. A problem I’ve been having with the joysticks is that when they’re not held correctly, the movement direction is all messed up. That’s something I hope to fix by fixing how my project is presented, and manually orienting the joystick correctly so that it works as expected. Despite this, my mom was able to cross the maze and get to the other side. One other thing that I need to fix is the p5.js sketch for this specific game, I think the maze needs to be a lot bigger in size and probably have just one valid path so that it’s a speed-based competition to match the vibe of the other games.
I think adding brief instructions on the p5.js screen would guide my users better. Overall, my p5.js sketch is not fully complete yet, I’m still planning to change the aesthetics of the game and make the whole experience more seamless. There’s also some miscoordination between the which player is on which side, depending on how I orient the breadboard. So, in addition, changing the presentation of my arduino would also solve a few issues and make the game look more fun and less intimidating.
Video of my mom and brother attempting my game, I’ve just included short clips from each mini-game: user testing