Results of the Playtest

On the 5th of October, we held our first play-test for Outstanding in the Field. It was very successful and before i discuss the results I'd like to thank both the members of Double Ducks Studios, for facilitating the play-test and all of their hard work, as well as our play-testers (Harry, John, Mitch, Felipe, Lindsay, Vittoria, Daniel and Brad) for taking the time to test and review our game.

For this post, I will be including the questions provided for the testers, as well as a generalisation of their feedback.

Which title do you like most for the game?

"Udder Nonsense" won with 5/8 votes. 3/5 votes were suggesting a new title, but offered no suggestions.

What are your thoughts on the visuals?

Visuals are considered "appealing" and "stylised". Several testers noted that they matched the simple gameplay of the game.

What is your favourite part of the game?

Almost all of the responses mentioned that fighting with other players, as well as being competitive, was the major draw of the game.

Is the gameplay enjoyable? Why/why not?

A general yes. Several testers noted that the game could sometimes be frustrating however, due to both a bug related to picking up animals near other objects simply not working, as well as the rocks not actually working as cover.

Would the game be more enjoyable with more players?

Most testers expressed interest in playing the game with more players, however, none expressed it in a way that would overshadow the fun of the 1v1 mode. There was one tester worried that the screen would be cluttered with more players however.

What would be one change you would suggest?

There were 3 common suggestions of additional features.

Firstly, the addition of more power-ups, or even rarer "variant" power-ups, which could offer more powerful versions of the standard animals.

Secondly is the suggestion of a sprint feature, to allow players to catch up with others, mostly suggested to allow players without an animal to catch those with one.

Thirdly, the addition of a point system for attacking other players, to allow for different play styles.

Would you suggest this game to others? Who?

While several of the testers specifically mentioned suggesting the game to younger children, most expressed that they would suggest the game to anyone, as an all ages party game.

Does the camera angle work? How/would you change it?

All testers had a positive opinion of the camera angle.  Although testers specifically mentioned moving it closer a touch.

Are there any control issues?

There was one major control issue with the game. Testers universally thought that pick-up and put-down should be mapped to the same button, whilst shoot should be separated to the current put-down button, or even moved entirely to a trigger button on controller and space bar on keyboard.

Round time?

Positive overall on the current round time, and the number of rounds was suggested as 3 multiple times. The idea of possible shorter rounds was suggested multiple times.

Any other comments/feedback.

Firstly, filling the map up a bit more with more obstacles and scenery. Another suggested lowering the rate of fire on the Milk weapon, and increasing the usability of the Wool weapon.

Rating out of 4.

An average of 3.375/4, or 84.375%

We will endeavour to integrate as much of this feedback into our final product as possible, and I would like to once again thank both the rest of the team working on the game, as well as the play-testers for their help with this play-test.

Thanks guys!