For this 1st In-class playtest, I used a short prototype of my story in Twine. Beginning at the middle of the plot, I wanted to show players a slice of what the dialogue and choices would look like. Furthermore, I wanted to gain a sense of how players think and feel about the premise and choices.
After playtesting I learned that:
- The dystopian aspect of the story may be a little too extreme and introduces implications that affect the choices and content. As a result, I may shift from the original idea of “outlawed writing” to a ban on documentation of history/culture.
- Choices should introduce a perceived dilemma in order to create tension and give value to each option.
- The presence and/or absence of certain choices can be as powerful as the story content itself. For example, it can make players consider and rethink their own beliefs.
- I need a more explicit way of creating stakes and conveying the theme. Could be either visual or text based.
- Players like the idea of partially understanding a language, but I need to fully flesh out what choices are associated with that and what type of consequences will be imposed.
