•How well does the game accomplish what you set out to do? I think that what I originally intended to do with the game was definitely reflected in my final project, however, many major changes were made along the way which I did not plan for. When our class received the project details for the game it was a while before we were even done with the second inform game. Already while making that game I felt as though there were many new things that I wanted to try during the next project. In that sense, I planned for this project to allow me to experiment with new and creative code that I heard about previously, while improving on failed ideas that I encountered in the last two projects. Another aspect I wanted to work on was the ability for my game to connect with the people that play it. In the second inform project, though it was short, I was able to get some good and humorous reactions out of my beta testers. In this project I wanted to expand on that by creating a humorous yet dramatic story that would impact the players for longer than a brief moment. When I read my final story and the ending I feel as though I have definitely improved on building a bond with my players and creating something that will hold some weight. •Discuss a time when you got stuck, and how you got unstuck. One of the most crucial times that I got stuck during the project was when I was designing a secret door that was supposed to work in correlation with a magic word. Many different sources gave examples of different ways to do it, however they were all for the old form of inform and didn’t even come close to working. What I had to do was sit down, use the knowledge that I had, and the knowledge the web was giving me. In the end after many trials and looking at numerous sources I was able to write a code that could create a secret door. This was probably one of my most significant achievements in inform because it was a time in which I received almost no peer help, yet I was able to accomplish the problem at hand. Although I did use some outside sources I felt as though it was a time where my will and ingenuity was what solved the problem. •Describe each of three puzzles in your game and how to solve each puzzle. The first puzzle that I created combines a magic word with a secret door. More specifically, this puzzle is an information and code puzzle. Hopefully I will provide the codes and information in a way that it will not be a designer puzzle. In the game you have to cast or say the word RICE, in the room called "WOK INN". Once you do that there will be a secret door that will appear in the rooms description. You will additionally have to find a pearl under a tarp in the Water Basin. This pearl unlocks the secret door. I intend for the puzzle to be solved when the player finds the corresponding letters scattered throughout the map. The NPC that I will program later will be responsible for telling the player a hint to what order the letters go in and where to say the magic word. There will also be hints throughout the game about the main antagonist's interest so that the player could maybe guess how the letters come together on their own. Overall the puzzle portion is done I just have to program the letters in, which will be earned through the completion of other puzzles, along with the NPC. ⁃The second puzzle that I created was a combination and key puzzle. It could be classified as both a building puzzle and a logic puzzle based on the parameters that the player must follow to complete the task. In the puzzle the player must go to the Antagonist room, explore and find a lighter lacking fuel. From there they must then traverse the map eventually finding their way to the REC Center. There after examining the room for a while they will find their objective, fuel locked inside of an equipment cage. They will then need to throw the broken barbell that is in the room at the equipment cage. I did this so that it wasn't necessarily a simple key puzzle. After opening the cage and the boxes inside they will find the lighter. From there they will combine the fuel and the lighter together to get a working lighter. This lighter will then be used to light a firework to scare an NPC into giving them the Magic Word Rice to open the last and secret room in the game. ⁃The third puzzle that I created was a logic and information puzzle. I made it so that the player has to interact with my NPC, get documents then insert them into a fire. The way that this puzzle works is that the player must first investigate all of the other rooms and complete the puzzle before this. After doing so they will have the items and information they need to complete the puzzle. They will talk to the NPC who will give them the task of disposing of some documents. The player must take these documents to a fire in another room, put them in the fire and destroy them to change the NPC's mood to one that will lead them to the next step. After completing the task, when the NPC is talked to it will cause you to use the rewards from a previous puzzle to force it to change its mood. Then it will give you the answer to another puzzle which will allow the player to beat the game. • Discuss the gameplay mechanics in your game and how they improve the user's experience. ⁃ I think that the main gameplay mechanics that I added in the game were focused around the choice system and the reward system. In my game I focused a lot around different choices that the characters made and that the player CAN make throughout the story. Each ending has a different undertone to it which allows the players to choose where they want the story to end, and on what terms it should end on. The reward system was mainly implicated by the fact that after completing each puzzle the player not only gained a physical item or move towards the ending but also the feeling of sweet success. In most inform games the reward system is implemented by solving puzzles or seeing character progression. I felt as though my game focused quite heavily on these two aspects. I thought that these two important game mechanics would urge the player to complete the game and have fun while doing so. • Discuss the beta testing process: Who tested your game? The people that ended up testing my game were Dylan Vodzak and Nicole Baptist, both of whom are students in the class. What happened in my beta testing was quite a different story from what others in the class were able to do. I had an AP Biology test on that day so I had to do the beta testing outside of the classroom. For this process I used the application called ScreenHero. This app allowed me to watch someone play my game and see their overall reactions to the challenges they faced. As I watched people play my games I took notes on what exactly needed changing all while staying quiet. After the person gave up or finished the game I got their immediate feed back via verbal response and written responses. When I finished reviewing the feedback I asked the players in depth what about a certain challenge or item made them feel as though there needed to be a alteration made. Based off of the responses to my questions I determined what changes were relevant to the general player and what changes may not need to be implemented. I was also able to obtain clarity on what their notes and ideas meant. • How did their feedback affect your game? I think that their feedback played huge role in the development and completion of my game.For one, they gave me the perspective of an average gamer who knows nothing of what the designer knows. This helped me build a game that appealed to the gaming demographic that would play my game with no prior knowledge. It helped me refine the way that puzzles worked and make it so that inform would understand words and actions that they would use, most of which were not bin a format which inform could understand. Another thing that they did for me was improve my story telling abilities. Again this has to do with the aspect of knowledge, but this issue dealt more with how to build a connection with the gamers mind. Some of the feedback I got bowed that people weren’t on the same wave length when it came to the emotional parts of the story, whether it be the subtle comedic undertones or the tear invoking ending. Their comments helped me lead a story that could build into a strong, impactful climax. Though last but not least their feed back helped with a lot of bugs and exploitations that were prevalent throughout the play through. Some of these were huge game exploitations that lead to the game becoming un winnable. They helped me fix these grammatical and technical errors. • Whose game did you beta test? I beta tested both Dylan’s and Nicole’s games after they had tested my product. • What feedback were you able to give? A lot of the feed back that I was able to give was centered around fixing the “designer” aspect of the game. For example, in Nicole’s case I commented a lot on the idea that players may get confused in her puzzle without appropriate directions and implications. I also talked a lot about how theres a difference between a good hint and a blatant answer. In many cases it was refining and defining the fine line between these two possible solutions. Some descriptions had to be changed to be more ambiguous while others need more of a push to lead the player towards the desired outcome. I was also able to help develop some new aspects of their stories, such as a second ending or multiple endings. Of course, I also looked over basic grammatical and spelling errors. • What are you most proud of? The thing that I am most proud of is the fact that I was able to accomplish this project while still adding in my own personal flare. What I mean by this is that I felt good that I was able to meet all of the requirements set by Mr. Kiang, but I am also happy that I was able to sculpt the game into something that represents me and that makes me proud as a creator. Creating a story was hard on its own, but incorporating player interactions, mainly puzzles, added a whole new level to the project. The daunting task that was given to us was something that made me feel as though I was facing not only a massive academic but also psychological hurdle. What made me feel as though I passed these hurdles was when I got the feed back from my beta testers. Yeah some of what they said disappointed me, but having them say that they enjoyed the game and had a good laugh was extremely rewarding. I’m most proud of creating a product that benefits and makes an impact on those that come into contact with it. • What would you do differently next time? I would probably start the planning portion of the project differently. Overall this project received a huge revamp after the Day 1 work day. You see what happened was, my idea really didn’t live up to the standards that the others around me had set. To at least get close to or reach the bar they had set I had to remake my whole map and game idea. Throughout this project I pretty much pieced together a story that was changing constantly. This lead to many, many rewrites of puzzles and descriptions just because I didn’t have a concrete idea of where I wanted my game to go. Next time if I do do a revamp I will be sure to have as much as I can in order before attempting to work on key aspects of the project.