Feedback from Yan and Rachel, and the changes made
My playtests with Yan (V2) and Rachel (V3) gave me similar feedback, making it clear what to fix next. Both players got stuck on the Japanese references (“Who’s baachan?”, “What is baachan and what is sento?”). Then, both were unsure how to move forward in the game — Yan read the “…” option as a sign of more options instead of the option of “staying silent”, and Rachel didn’t realize she had to click choices in the middle of the screen. Rachel also couldn’t tell two of the choices apart because they were too similar, because my hidden intent behind each option was not clear. Moreover, both felt that some moments, especially the ending, came too suddenly and out of nowhere. However, I think that somewhat, the emotional message of the game had landed the way I’d hoped. Rachel connected the game to her husband’s grandmother, who is also in a similar situation to Baachan.
In response to this feedback, I made quite a few updates on the game – most importantly, I added more textual, visual, and auditory context to familiarize the player with the terms “baachan” and “sento”. In addition to explaining them clearly through text (…baachan, your grandma … at the sento, a public bathhouse…), I drew backgrounds and characters that add a visual reference to these terms. I even added background water sounds to reinforce the sento setting. Moreover, I moved the choices into the dialogue box with a hover arrow and click sounds to make sure that each interaction with the UI gives clear feedback to the player. To address the intent of each option, I added labels like *play along* and *correct her* to clarify and distinguish each of the dialogue options that the players choose from. I also redrew the story map so that there is more small talk and shared memories that build up to the “big” moments in the story, and added a short “cool down” moment at the end.
Playtest for V4 Prototype
My latest playtest with Yuming suggests that most of these changes worked (yay!). Yuming is a Master’s student in computational math, and she says she’s “not good at games”. However, she understood the setting right away (“Ooh, baachan is grandma!”), and her reactions seemed to show that the central theme/dilemma landed with her as she realized baachan’s memory was fading. Like Rachel, she connected the story to her own family. Her grandpa sometimes looks at her cousin and calls him his son, which was the same kind of mix-up as Baachan confusing the player with their mom. Afterward, she told me, “I wonder if they play along too”, which was a perspective I’d never considered before. Her reaction to the game led to a reflection on her own relationships with her grandpa, and I was glad that the game sparked a conversation about our own experiences.
Some things still needed change, and my latest V5 prototype reflects those changes. In the playtest, there was still some friction in the controls; Yuming didn’t know she had to click to get past the “…” pauses, and both she and Yan instinctively tried the arrow keys to continue before trying to click on the screen. In my next iteration, I plan to let the arrow keys advance the dialogue and to auto-advance the “…” pauses after a short moment, so no one gets stuck. I also need to fix a glitch where one choice appeared twice.
Sento with Baachan (V5 prototype) can be played here (fyi: might just be me, but Chrome doesn’t cooperate well… try changing the browser if you run into any issues – Safari works for me)
Videos for playtests can be watched here
