Playtest & Changes from V1 Prototype
In my v1 paper prototype, I playtested with Alex, a fellow CS377G classmate. He was initially confused by the bathhouse setting (“I wouldn’t know because I’m not Japanese”), but since the game is personal, I chose to keep the Japanese references like the sento and the word baachan, but include more contextual cues through dialogue and animation. His bigger reaction came at the grandpa moment, where baachan asks if grandpa has returned to the lounge, even though he died last year: “Why would anyone choose to tell her the truth? She’s going to forget anyway.” This made me realize the choice felt one-sided, and that the moment came out of nowhere.
For v2, I added build-up dialogue so the player faces a lower-stakes version of the same dilemma first. Early on, baachan remembers bringing the player’s mom to the sento; later, she tells the same memory with the player in it (which is a false memory — baachan retells the memory with the player instead of their mom), and the player must choose whether to correct her. Moreover, I moved the prototype from paper to Ren’Py.
Playtest for V2 Prototype
Today, I had the privilege of testing V2 of Sento with Baachan; the very first digital prototype of the game on Ren’Py. Yan is a Stanford master’s student in Sustainable Design and Construction, and also my boyfriend. He is a gamer who loves all sorts of games, from board games like Code Names to narrative adventure games like Detroit: Become Human and sports video games like Rocket League.
What went well
Yan responded most to how the memory loss unfolds: “I like the slow reveal that she is losing her memory.” The game also stayed with him afterwards. He reflected, “I wonder how long I will see my grandparents for,” which is the kind of personal connection to memory I’m hoping players will make.
What didn’t go so well
The context of the game wasn’t clear enough on its own. Yan said, “I had extra context because I knew you were back home in Japan, so I knew in the game, you’re back home after 1–2 sentences. But I don’t know if all players could make that connection.” Some moments also felt too sudden. “When are you flying back?” needed more build-up, and “I can’t die until you’re married” jumped too quickly into the grandpa moment.
Changes for V3
To make the setting clear without relying on outside knowledge, I’ll add more context through dialogue and the player’s inner dialogue. For example, the game will open with “You are back home, and you take baachan to a sento. You slowly help her into the bath,” and the conversation will include lines like “I missed this, I’m glad I’m back” and “Oh yeah, they don’t have this in America, right?” to build context that the player has not been home for a long time — and home is far away for them.
To fix the pacing, I’ll add more small talk before the heavier moments, such as baachan asking “How’s school?” and “Any cute boys?”, so the conversation builds more naturally toward the last grandpa question. Finally, I’ll replace the “…” option with a “stay silent” option, so it’s clearer what the player is choosing.
Videos for playtests can be watched here
