Testing
After deciding to do testing in two different groups I began tests with 5 participants. The idea was that I could use the feedback from the first group to make some small adjustments to gameplay and gather feedback from the second group to see if the adjustments had been effective.
In the first group 4/5 people claimed that the game was too easy. This was because one of the player’s spells was too powerful and could be used in a way which was not originally intended. As a result, the spell had its damage and slow effect reduced before the second group tested it. There were no comments from the second group about the game being too easy. However, it was highlighted that the game now became too difficult as the rounds progressed (3/5 testers). It was suggested by the second group that gaining levels should have more of an effect on the player’s power, with 4/5 mentioning this in their feedback. As 3/5 testers in the first group said the same things it is clear that this would make a difference to the gameplay experience.
Another common theme among both groups of testers was that the movement controls were not ideal. 7/10 of the testers indicated a preference for using WASD keys to move the player instead of the arrow keys. This would be fixed with an option on the main menu screen to switch between the two.
Final Thoughts
Learning Phaser has been challenging. Although a lot of examples and documentation are provided on the website they aren’t always clear for a beginner to Phaser. Although as the time progressed I did find I was able to make better use of the documentation and find answers to my questions.
One of the most difficult things about working with Phaser has been getting to grips with the scope. There were many times where I wanted to allow custom functions to create items in the scene but because of the scope this is not allowed. Although I did figure out a possible solution to this towards the end of my project I did not get enough of a chance to test it so can not say if it completely solves the problem.
Overall, this has been a fun project which has given me the chance to learn a new programming language and test my abilities in a relatively short amount of time.
THE GAME
Finally, I present to you the finished game. Please enjoy (highest round is currently 49, good luck!).
www.joshdawes.nuacomputerscience.co.uk/WizardsVsZombieGargoyles
The finished game
