Prototypes

For this week, the team discussed some aspects of the game that should be prototyped and tested with people from the Focus Group. We came to the conclusion that prototyping user interaction before (Character Selection, etc.) and during the battles was crucial. Simulating a battle scene was also very important, to decide on aspects such as movement and ability range. Finally, a technical prototype that tests how both players join a game was also envisioned.

I was tasked with creating the interfaces for Character and Special Ability selection, Victory and Defeat screens, and prototyping a way for the players to choose their upgrades. For that, I created some low-fidelity paper Prototypes and gathered some feedback.

First Iteration

For the first Prototype, I started by focusing on “Character Selection”. The idea here is that the player can read some information about each one before choosing them. Another important aspect is the Special Power. A whole screen is dedicated to describing each and every power, to support the player’s choice. Before starting each battle, a Tower Climb screen is shown to both players, giving them information on the status of the climb (how many battles have been cleared and how many are left).

To complete the Prototype, Victory and Defeat screens were created. The first “Victory” screen gives the player information that the encounter has been cleared and presents information about the upgrades that the player can choose from. The “Defeat” screen gives the players information about the rewards that were earned and gives them the choice to either start another climb or exit. The “Tower Complete” screen indicates that the players defeated the last stage of a certain tower, and therefore unlocked some rewards.

User Feedback and Changes

After presenting the Prototype to Focus Group users, some changes were made to incorporate some feedback. The Focus Group member suggested that the Character Selection and Special Power Selection should be sequential activities, to make the selection clearer, so, the “Character Selection” and “Special Power Selection” screens are now sequential, followed by a “Character Overview” screen for the players to review their choices and confirm them.

The differentiation between permanent rewards and tower climb upgrades was not clear, so a new notification-style box was created to support the permanent rewards, while the temporary ones were kept in the same style. Finally, some buttons were added for more efficient navigation, such as a “Select New Character” button, to allow the players a quick way to progress into Character Selection.

Other Prototypes

Throughout the week, we also assessed our group’s Prototypes, providing feedback and suggesting changes.