Planet Amvlys Playtest

This week we held a playtest for our Game Studio 3 project! We had twelve players try a demo of our game and answer a feedback survey. The goal of this is to inform our further development based on player feedback and identify issues to resolve.

The Demo

Our demo features one completed level, four main items to collect, and a boss fight. The main point of this level is to test the gameplay, and its design will be completely reworked for the final game.

I was responsible for programming each of these items using the inventory system I developed previously. Additionally, I created level elements such as automatic doors, moving platforms, and levers which can activate various other objects.

Feedback

Most of our feedback was quite positive. On average players rated their enjoyment a 4/5, said they understood what they were supposed to do, and felt motivated to explore the level, which is an important feature of a Metroidvania game. We also identified many problems to solve. Some players got stuck at certain points, such as not understanding how to interact with levers or how to use the laser weapon to break rocks. There were also some bugs during the boss fight, including its shockwave attack being unavoidable.

In the future we will work to resolve these issues, as well as expand on the features players liked. I plan to add more items and weapons to use in combat, more level and puzzle elements, and a scanning system which will help inform players about the environment and how to progress within it.