Initial Issues :

 

1. Abrupt ending to the game

2. Game was too short and not structured

3. Fungus spawning out of nowhere

4. No sense of progress

 

 

Solutions :

 

Dividing the game into 3 parts - introduction, main body and ending.

 

 

Introduction :

 

This phase became the tutorial with the aim of getting the player accustomed to the HoloLens AirTap gesture. The player was asked by the live actor to pinch, lift and throw the fungus away from the actor’s body. It was this phase where we could decide whether or not the player was comfortable with the AirTap gesture and if not, a clicker was placed in the player’s lab coat pocket for them to switch to it for convenience sake.  

 

 

Main Body :

 

I worked on placing the splines on the arms and legs of the skeleton. The splines on the legs were a straight line following the bumps on the skeleton. For the arms, the spline went around it so that it would make the player search for the fungus when it hid under the arm. To show the effect of their actions, that is failing to throw the fungus away in time, the heart turns to lighter shades of red until it becomes grey to indicate critical state.

 

Ending :

 

The last scan is performed which introduces anticipation. When the last fungus is detected, the player is an expert by now and does not expect the fungus to hold onto the heart when it is thrown. This was done explicitly to introduce panic and urgency when the heart is on the floor and anticipation once the heart is placed back in its spot.  

 

 

The above structure gave the game a sense of progress and build up.

 

Other issues :

 

1. The players weren’t able to see the fungus as it was small in size and far away and when they did take a closer look, it was not interesting. I came up with the solution of orienting the face of the fungus to face the player when picked up and translating its position such that it was also closer to the headset. It also helped to invent different personalities to the fungi.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

           

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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Playtest Observations :

 

• Aligning the pointer to select or pick the fungus also proved to be a struggle to comprehend. This issue was fixed by changing the colour of the pointer when hovered over the fungus.

• People did not remember the instructions to perform an AirTap. So instead of giving all the instructions at once before putting on the headset, the player had a chance to practice the AirTap gesture with one fungus. Lesson learned, ease or reveal information slowly rather than at the same time.