The symbol Test!

Upon completing the Symbol test level I had 6 people test out the level to see how they played it. The results were interesting with only 1 person not completing it again, but everyone took between 5-20 minutes to figure out how to complete the puzzle.

The centre symbols

The puzzle itself was pretty simple, however was made difficult due to the fact of the player getting little feedback, and also being thrown into an environment without knowing what to do. There were 4 doors (which were not shown as doors, the only thing showing something was there was a symbol above them) Three symbols on in the centre of the starting room (which could be activated to open some of the doors in this area) and a switch again with a symbol below it which activated a lift down to more symbols (The switch was activated by one of the three symbols in the centre). The main objective was to climb the tower, which I had made tall and looming, to see if players thought it was their objective.

The 'Looming' Objective

The Solution: Activating one one of the symbols in the centre would then allow the player to activate the lifts switch, this would then take them down to more symbols. If the player ventured behind the symbol they are confronted with in this area they will notice another, if this is activated it will stay activated (unlike the three in the centre, as only one of these at a time could be activated) If they also activate the symbol they see at the base of the lift this will then allow them to access the corresponding door in the main area. When entering this door, they will then see two dots which are used together with the other symbol that was activated below, this will then allow them to access another door in the main area. Should the player then activate the symbol through that door and add it with the symbolthrough the Square symbols door, they will then create the grid symbol which allowed them to climb the tower.

The lift switch

Most of the testers managed to figure this out, however observing them play I noticed certain patterns most of the players took. For the start, they instantly went straight to the switch for the lift, but then realised it did nothing however they still persisted as they didnt know that the symbols in the centre could be activated; however once they noticed the symbols could be activated they then understood that they had to match the symbols together. The thing that threw most of players was when I decided to change the mechanics part of the way through, which was to add the symbols together to access different doors. My initial idea for this was for players to wonder why one sybol didnt turn off but other did, and then hopefully piece together that the ones that didnt turn off had to be added together. eventually the players did realise this which was great! Also another thing that confused them was the fact that the walls were actually doors. This was interesting to see as because there was no indication that underneath the symbols above the walls that a door was there, players seemed to not approach them. Though when they did approach them and realised they opened they then understood the level that bit more.

An example of a symbol that is activated

Two testers got confused at the begining of the level due to not knowing what the controls were, I made an effort to not tell them the controls due to this being a test, however i gave them 5 minutes to see if they figured them out. I only had to tell one of them that 'E' was interact which them allowed them to continue. The other tester ended up quitting after 10 minutes, due to no hints being shown and them not realising that the walls were doors.

My tutor seemed to like the fact that I changed up the rules part of the way through as it toally threw him and caused him to re-think the level, at which point he then thought one of the symbols was actually a map. He wasn’t sure however if it was a good or bad idea. Mainly because some people might find it frustrating, as I have told them symbols can be pressed, but then suddenly two can be added together; whereas some might think ‘YES! I beat the system.

Below are two videos that I took of two very different testers, one that quiteand one that completed it pretty quickly:

 
Hoey! - Ended up quitting after 10 minutes, I also asked some questions about the level towards the end of the video.

Tommy! -  Completed it after about 5 minutes, unfortunately my phone decided it didnt have enough space to film more so this cuts short and I didnt get to have to questions on film!

It’s hard to pinpoint exactly how a player is going to think when creating a puzzle like this, one might get it straight away, and another might take their time. Maybe adding such an obvious objective, E.G a giant lift, will make the player figure things out too easily? due to the fact they know exactly what they have to work towards expecially when posed with buttons like this level. The door test seemed to be a bit more confusing for people which made them take a while to realise what was going on; whereas this one might have seemed a bit too straight forward? - I asked myself this question after only two people had tested the level, but upon observing other testers I think I managed to do things quite right. Either way, my views on adding an eyesore may change as I test a bit more, I think having to explore for the eyesore may add a little more to the gameplay E.G. the player will be running through the jungle then suddenly be posed with a cliff face, and on the horizon they can see a giant structure in the middle of a lake. Once they see that they may think that that is where they have to go and will then try to find their way there. 

Laters taters!