P2: Refined Prototype

Time: 10/29

Version: Complete Video Game (10/29)

Participant: Ryan Esteban Loo (student of CS377G)

Recording Link here. (Main discussion in the last 4 minutes and 33 seconds)

My Observations

Guidance friction points:

The “File” area was “not very conspicuous,” causing the player to “search for a long time” to see it.
The player “didn’t proactively use clues,” preferring to “review previous mems” (re-read memories). This caused him to spend more time “looking for words.”
In the deletion phase, he entered /delete #18, indicating the # prompt was misleading.
Bug: The gun keyword was not highlighted.

Puzzle-solving Process:

When solving puzzles, the player relied heavily on “re-reading, iterating, and going in chronological order,” showing great patience.
When answering “Type A B,” he tried answers like “make up” and felt the question was misleading.

Ryan’s Feedback

Highlights

He repeatedly emphasized the UI was “very cool.” (“I think the design, the ui. It’s really cool.”)
He really liked the combination of “fragmented memories” and the “sorting mechanism.” (“I like how it’s like the fragmented memories and then how you introduce the sorting mechanism.”)
He believed the game’s biggest appeal was the sense of mystery at the beginning. (“I like how you don’t really know what’s going on at first because everything’s contradictory… I think that’s like obviously a big allure of the game. Like that’s the big draw…”)

Suggestions

Adjust the timing of the “sort” function’s introduction. He suggested introducing the “sort by time” function after all “base memories” are unlocked.
Highlight the currently read file. When a player clicks on a file in the file list, that file in the list should be “lightly highlighted.”

Empathy

He clearly understood the game’s narrative layers. He mentioned that after sorting, he could “more understand what’s happening,” and through the “files,” he could understand the story from an “outside perspective.”
He thought it was a “very clear and well-organized” story, especially “the way it all comes together at the end.” He concluded: “I think you do a really good job narratively.”