What I Did This Week

This week, the team conducted a classroom playtest and gathered a great deal of feedback on gameplay, interaction and visual clarity.

Although I did not participate directly in this playtest, I subsequently gained an understanding of some of the issues players are currently encountering whilst playing Soul Keeper through the feedback notes and discussion records compiled by my teammates.

In addition, I also had a one-to-one meeting with my PAT, Marie, this week. This meeting has given me a clearer understanding of the requirements for this module in terms of research, process documentation, reflection and evidence of teamwork.

Understanding the Playtest Feedback

After reading the feedback compiled by my teammates, I began to notice that many of the issues currently being raised by players relate not only to interaction, but also to the readability of the environment itself. For example, some players mentioned that certain key resources are difficult to spot, and that the visual focus in some areas is not clear enough.

At the same time, some players have provided fairly positive feedback regarding the overall art style and atmosphere. This feedback has made me realise that world design is not merely about visual presentation; it also influences players’ understanding of space, exploration paths and gameplay progression.

PAT Meeting Reflection

This week’s discussion with PAT Marie has also prompted me to rethink the current issues with my blog and development documentation.

Previously, I focused more on the final outcome itself, but my tutor reminded me that this module places greater emphasis on evidence of the process. For example, research sources, iterations, feedback, team communication and the development process.

Marie also mentioned that although there is already quite a lot of content on the blog, it still lacks citations, role research, evidence of testing, and clearer documentation of the development process. This meeting made me realise that even if I have completed some of the design work, without process documentation and reflection, much of this work will be difficult to demonstrate in the assessment.

Reflection & Learning

This week has helped me gain a better understanding of the importance of testing and documentation in game development.

Previously, I tended to focus more on the design content itself, but now I’m beginning to realise that research, feedback, iteration and reflection are equally integral parts of the development process.

At the same time, this week’s discussions and feedback have made it clearer to me that I need to continue strengthening my process documentation, research references and evidence of teamwork.