Sprint 4 Game UI and Animation Testing

Sprint 4

User testing was conducted to test the aesthetics and interpretation of the newly implemented animation.

Focuses: Aesthetics, interpretation.

Interview Questions (Main title screen):

• Overall, how do you find the animation? Do you think it is a reasonable implementation?

User 1: I like the new addition to the game. It adds more creativity and interactivity to the title screen.

User 2: I wasn’t expecting the animation to be honest because it seems a little out of place. But after playing it once, it was oddly satisfying and it added more “wow” to the title screen.

From analysing these interview answers, it was evident that the animation, as a whole, was a suitable implementation to the game. User 1 mentioned that it added more creativity to the title screen, which was a main goal in incorporating the animation – to encourage and boost players’ willingness and want to play the game.

While also observing and assessing the attitudes of the participants, the facial expressions of participants seemed to indicate excitement, and although one user seemed sceptical (at first) of the animation, quickly changed their mind on the animation after being debriefed further.

• How is the design of the virus’ head in the animation? Is there anything you would change about it?

User 1: I really like the 3D effect that it shows off. It was kind of intimidating actually because all I could see was red at the end. But it was exciting.

User 2: The design is super neat. I like how it looks spherical and real which is different to the head on the actual main screen. It would’ve been even neater if the red part of the head could follow my mouse but maybe the animation is too fast for that?

From these results, it was evident that the 3D design (done by redesigning lighting adjustments) was creative and thoughtful enough to draw players’ attentions. The head gave off a live effect, which was satisfying to see, as players were intrigued by the way it was designed and the fact that it had a different feel to it in comparison to the 2D virus head on the main title. A tracking function of the head and the player's mouse was considered after one participant recommended this. However, alongside the time frame of the animation and the functionality implementation in terms of the code, it was decided that this would not be incorporated.