PLAYTEST: BATTLE OF THE BANDS (v.4)
This playtest (v.4) was held in Green library with 4 playtesters, all master’s students in the Education department. One student has extensive experience with video games and game design, as well as musical and band management experiences. One has moderate knowledge and experience with game design, and the remaining two have played games before but have never taken on designing games themselves. The playtest lasted a little less than one hour, with only one more round of the game remaining.
Figure 1. Playtesters gathered in a study room in Green library to participate in playtest with newest revisions and prototype designs.
v.4 of Battle of the Bands contained the most revisions than any other previous versions of the game. Following feedback on past versions of the game, our team executively cut out many components/rules of the game that felt redundant (i.e replacing “Special Taste” cards with a revised “Shopping” phase with cards that more effectively and engagingly reflected the nature of a band manager (i.e picking/swapping old members for new members, drafting ‘Legendary’ members that were of higher value)). By focusing on refining the components that were core to the system and narrative of the game, v.4 was designed for the game to transition from being overwhelmingly complicated to one that promotes flow, fun, and agency (through various viable strategy paths for success) among players.
Overall, the playtest was successful and went smoothly. All players reported that they enjoyed this version of the game. Specifically, they appreciated the new elements of game balance that were added to this recent version (i.e the new revision included that each round progressively increases in points, so even if a player is dominating in the first two rounds, other players still have the opportunity to win the game if they win in the next few rounds). This version also contained new revisions that focused on connecting the rules more effectively to the narrative of the game. For instance, to help players better connect their understanding of band management to different musical genres, we introduced a new metric for point accumulation– “Ideal Combination”, where each musical genre has a set combination of foundational instruments core to the genre. Players reported taking this new rule into consideration when planning for their individual strategy to win the game. The leading player provided insightful feedback on their strategy when they reported selecting cards that maxed the “Technique” scores, but after round 2 realized that they also needed to take the musical genre into consideration since despite scoring the highest on their “Technique” scores, they came in second place in the second round since none of their cards aligned with the musical genre of the city. This prompted them to reconsider their strategy for the upcoming rounds. This insight was also helpful in highlighting how the current version of the game allowed for a variety of viable strategies and paths to success, which would promote a sense of agency for the players.
Regarding what could be improved, one main feedback that was unanimously shared among all the players was the need to reduce player’s mental load during the game explanation phase. The rules are long and complex, and many players reported that given the complex nature of the game, it was difficult to pay attention to absorb all the information. Instead, they suggested that in the game explanation phases, the game should begin with a hands-on no-stakes round of play for players to just familiarize themselves with the rules of the game. Players in this playtest reported that they quickly picked up on the rules of the game simply through playing, so by having the game explanation phae be more hands-on and educational, this would help retain player attention and engagement while also improve efficiency of the gameplay experience. So going forward, we will be revising this part of our game by introducing a quick no-stakes round to help players familiarize themselves with the rules.
