Playable Link: https://syenko.itch.io/p2
Password: nicole
In class, I playtested with Emma. Emma would likely be in my target audience, but had written a very tonally different game, so perhaps approached the game with a different mindset of what it would be like.
Regardless, the playtest went relatively smoothly and Emma was able to play through all the content.
The key takeaways were the following:
- The plot is understandable, however, the surface level ideas (of losing a friend, not having enough time) are much more strongly conveyed than the underlying message (self doubt).
- Some of the feelings of the underlying message are there: Emma noted that she related to overthinking whether to place the letter in the mailbox and the uncertainty of friendship when there is a big decision.
- The most emotionally impactful ending is difficult to achieve and in not doing so, the ending is more difficult to understand. Emma expressed confusion about why you would ever apply on someone else’s behalf. The gated ending explains why, but cannot be reached without choosing to leave a line uncrossed (more on that…).
- Choices about framing do not have immediate payoff and therefore are not as impactful. The choices Emma mentioned that stuck with her were the ones that immediately caused a change (eg: having to choose which option to let go of) or that encapsulated an action. She did not mention the small choices of choosing how to frame a decision, likely because these choices did not seem to have an immediate impact on the story.
The core issue is that the choices only strongly and immediately support the external conflict (losing time with a friend), while the choices around self-doubt are subtle and have no consequence until it matters most (the ending). Instead, I want players to sit with their decisions a little more.
Core questions:
- There’s this core tension of the obvious theme and the underlying theme. Currently, the way the “underlying theme” is designed is that its payoff is subtle and at the end: choosing to accept and acknowledge self-doubt allows the player to become more vulnerable, unlocking the most emotionally impactful ending. However, in contrast, the other endings feel less satisfying. Would it make sense to always have the player progress to the strongest ending or still have a gate, but make it far more obvious how to unlock said gate?
- Because of the medium of journal entries, it’s difficult to express events in progress. Should I lean into the absurdity (“Yes, I am in fact writing from a rollercoaster”), avoid it entirely and only recap / plan events after / before they occur, or have players suspend their disbelief and narrative events live?
