CAGD 270 - 3D Game Level 1 v1 - 4/12/2023

What went right during the playtest is that the players were able to complete the game without too much difficulty. Something that the players told me that they liked was that they knew where to go and that the level was not too difficult. Something that went wrong was that some of the spots were too close together and some of the walls and doors were too small. With those things happening in the level, it allowed the player to just jump around the wall or door and skip certain parts of the level. Also, it allowed the player to not even try to open the door because they are able to just jump around. Another thing that went wrong was that some of the chomper enemies were broken and not moving around and chasing the player.

    To help improve my level for the next time, I could add some more blocks with the cluster of enemies. By doing so I would have some of them more hidden and allow them to almost ambush the player or catch them off guard. Another thing that I could add to the level is some health packs. While watching the play testers I noticed that there were a few spots that would have made the level a little easier and less stressful if I was to add some health packs, the reason is because they were running low on health and then had to go and fight more enemies and sometimes their best option was to jump into the acid and reset their health. I believe that the challenges were appropriate to the players skill level because when I would play test myself, I did not even think about just jumping around some of the doors and walls and I believe that a new player or even the average player would even realize that they would even be able to do that.

    The critical path was obvious as the level is very linear and there are no secondary paths that the player could take or explore. The only way to have the player progress through the level was to keep going forward and pushing the buttons for the doors and in doing so the doors would show the player where they are supposed to go next. The flow of the level was very smooth as the player would not get stuck anywhere and they were always going to the next spot they are supposed to go. The only time the player really stopped moving was to wait for the moving platforms or to fight the enemies. Something that I could do to the moving platforms is have them pause at the end for a few seconds before they go back the other way. This might cut down on some of that player waiting throughout the level.

    Throughout the level it was very obvious to the player where they were supposed to go. There were a few parts of the level where the player could get lost and that is at the first door and the third door. It could happen at the first door because the switch for the door is behind the player when they walk through past the breakable blocks so it is possible to miss it, but it is quite easy to find as all you need to do is turn around and then you will see it. It is possible to get lost at the third door because the switch for the door is right in front of the fourth door so the player could just think that the switch isn't working if they do not see the third door opening.