SaED Week 2: Research into Chosen Methodology

15/03/21

Testing is the most important thing when it comes to balancing. There is only so much I can test, as a developer, therefore it is important to specifically select people, who do not have a hand in development, to participate in testing. I have decided, through testing previous projects, that much of the most important playtesting is obtaining when I directly observe the players.

The goal of using the method of observation, to monitor players for testing purposes, is to gain a better understanding of the players’ experiences during gameplay, by paying careful attention to how the testers feel and respond during the game. This method will require me to be completely focused when watching the players and to take meticulous notes while the testers are playing. While collecting feedback through written forms has its place, I could potentially risk losing important data that can only be captured through observation. As the experience of the game is only achieved during gameplay, it is less impactful to record data afterwards.

Observational Playtesting

In a blog post written by John Brieger (2017) on the topic of Observational Playtesting, he outlines the key moments when observing testers during gameplay.

Player Engagement

This is probably the most important part of any game, with balancing playing a key role in the players’ overall enjoyment while playing. During observation, I shall be taking notes that indicate the specific places where a certain tower, creep or wave is affecting the players’ enjoyment, and whether each place is positive or negative.

Above is a graph taken from Brieger’s blog that I will refer to whenever I analyse the notes of the observation. I will make sure it lines up as close as possible, so that the upturns and downturns during gameplay are consistent and synergise well with each other.

Player Confusion and Answering Questions

Being able to witness first-hand how testers react to the usage of certain mechanics in the game, is vital. I want players to be able to instantly recognise what a new tower can bring to the table, to understand why it’s worth upgrading or building that tower, and to see its effect to be immediate and impactful. Before my testers play the game, I shall give them a general overview of the game, explain to them what their goal is, and refer to the controls. I want to refrain from giving them certain information as I would like the game itself to teach them. This is to test my theory about how I have labelled and constructed the towers in a way that are immediately obvious in their function and impact. Each time a tester asks a further question, I intend to keep notes of it, so that I can apply it to the game to make certain elements clearer.

Player Dynamics

It is important to determine how my testers make strategic responses. After all, the game can only be won successfully if players are able to make intelligent decisions to wipe out the enemy. Their emotions will also play a part in how waves are constructed and they will give me a better idea of their mood changes, when tweaks are made. Will players become frustrated if it’s too difficult? Will they become bored if it’s too simple? These are the questions that I hope to get answers to and these answers should provide me with satisfying solutions, through a positive feedback loop.

Scope

In an article by Keith Burgun (2011) on the topic of scope when balancing a game, he writes about how certain mechanics in games can feel overpowered at first glance but contain weaknesses that are not immediately clear. This is something I want players to take note of while playing. I have already come up with several ideas for creeps and towers including, if it feels like the towers are immediately in the players’ favour, then creeps of equal strength will be included in the game to help balance it out. For example, a tower that freezes enemies, so that they are slower within the tower’s radius, can seem very overpowering when used in the right situation. However, a creep that I have dubbed the “Buff” creep, in this moment of time, is one that must be handled carefully under this circumstance. This creep affects the speed of all other creeps that surround it, so if this creep is slowed to a crawl, then it will only make all the creeps behind it more powerful, which can overwhelm the players. Sometimes elements in games like these seem imbalanced, as in this instance, but when looking at the whole picture, they are actually balanced out quite well. As seen in games like Team Fortress 2, the lead designer, Robin Walker (2008), commented that the most important aspect of each character was actually its weakness, not strength. This ideology of having mechanics that may seem overpowered at first, but through gameplay their flaws can be learned, is something that will be used throughout tower and creep development.

In Comparison to other Tower Defence Games

In an article by Alexandra Sidorina (2013), the game designer of Goal Defense, she refers to her own process for balancing a Tower Defence game. A good balance of resources, options to place or upgrade towers and a steady wave of creeps, was paramount to the game’s success on the US App Store in the summer of 2012. In order to achieve the same success, I will have to examine closely, through testing, whether or not players will have enough resources to be successful. Off course, giving players too many resources to build as many towers as possible in the shortest amount of time would make the game too easy and, in turn, boring to play. But I do not want players to have too few resources so that they are clearing waves by the skin of their teeth. A balance must be struck so that players have enough resources to build towers and experiment with a variety of them, while also having enough creeps to deal with, in order to constantly make minor decisions to achieve victory.

When I observe my testers in a few weeks, I will be taking notes on each occasion that they build a tower, on the type of tower that they build, and on how conscious they are of their resources at all times. I will ask testers whether or not a sufficient number of resources were given in the early stages of the level to allow them to feel confident for the upcoming waves. This is something that I may have to test more than anything else, as each week, depending on what my testers use, the value of towers and their upgrades could rise and fall, with the number of resources being handed out between each wave continually wavering.

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References

Brieger, J. (2017) Falling Together, Available at: http://johnbrieger.com/blog/?p=285 (Accessed: 19/03/2021).

Burgun, K. (2011) Understanding Balance in Video Games, Available at: https://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/134768/understanding_balance_in_video_.php?print=1 (Accessed: 19/03/2021).

Sidorina, A. (2013) Balance in td-games, Available at: https://www.gamasutra.com/blogs/AlexandraSidorina/20130605/193108/Balance_in_tdgames.php (Accessed: 19/03/2021).

Breckon, N. (2008) Valve's Robin Walker on New Team Fortress 2 Content, Future Maps, and Awesomeball, Available at: https://www.shacknews.com/article/52238/valves-robin-walker-on-new (Accessed: 19/03/2021).