Hi,
I've got a first set of feedback from users based on the version
currently on http://humanityprojectonline.com (obtained through
feedbackarmy.com ). It's interesting to get some reactions from users
who have never heard of the game before!
Obviously this first version needs a lot of polish - but getting this
already is a good way to start the week of polishing. You can read the
full comments below - the main points I see are:
* The introduction is too long - need to speed up the tempo a bit
while making sure we can still understand what's going on.
* Some people don't get passed the introduction - need to make the
flow more understandable. I think the fact that the screen is
black while the video is loading is a blocker - need to put some
kind of loing message there
* Some people got confused by an unexpected change of mission -
need to check if it's not a bug, and if it's not probably warn
the user when he selects another mission to play and a mission
is already active
* Slow down the text in the chat a little bit to give a more
realistic feeling - but we'll need to make sure the text is not
to long then
* Improving the recognition of what the user says in the chat -
some got frustrated by this.
________________________________________________________________________
You Asked:
We are developing a web game, and starting the polishing phase - it is
still very rough but we'd already like some feedback to improve the
comprehension and ease of use.
Try to complete the first mission (in the chat after the intro). Get as
far as you can and then answer these questions:
1 - What did you understand of the game?
2 - What were you supposed to do? How far did you get?
3 - How "believable" was the experience? (ie. did you feel like a real
agent? : ) )
4 - What aspect of the game confused you?
5 - What was fun?
Please also include the name and version of your browser, and the
operating system you're using (Windows, Mac, Linux...)
You've received 6 answers!
* 1In Project Humanity,I guess is was a secret agent of some sort.
I did not get much beyond that. After the chat, I really didn't
know what to do. There was a toolbar, but no pictures or
anything. More than anything, I just felt annoyed. I am actually
a gamer (have been one since before grade school) and I must
tell you that it took forever to get started. I want to play
now! Also, I don't like the fact that I was trying to read and a
screen popped up and I didn't know what was going on. I am
supposing this is more for teenage boys, though. Mission 1: A
Potential Agent wouldn't play.
I can't really say whether it was fun or believable, because I
don't think it's targeted to me. I was only confused when the
game screen popped up. The best advise I can offer is to grab
people's attention. You have to bring them in, especially
gamers. We have very short attention spans and get aggravated
easily. If an intro is taking too long, we won't waste our
time...unless it's really interesting.
Firefox 3.6 (Windows)
Review time: 15 mins, 30 secs
* 21. I understood that the system reads all of my information
from my computer system, as to where I am located from my IP
address and my computer details.
2. I am not sure of what I was supposed to do besides click on
the remote desktop link after it scanned my computer.
3. I thought it was a very believable experience, because it
showed me information pertaining to my computer and location,
and the information was true.
4. The only thing about the game that confused me was at first I
was not sure of what I was supposed to do and what type of game
I was playing.
5. I thought it was actually fun just watching it read through
my computer and how important it made me feel.
Chrome 8 (Windows)
Review time: 3 mins, 6 secs
* 31) I understood it to be a bit like Uplink, and the
similarities at first were what intrigued me the most.
2) I was supposed to find the name of the painter, and I did,
but shortly thereafter I seemed to be in another mission
entirely, and couldn't give my answer. I had to stop when the
person who was chatting with me asked if the homepage had a
hacker's call sign on it, but no matter what I said I got the
same reply: "no".
3) It was pretty neat, though in my opinion the IP trace popup
should start when the user clicks onto a link or tab on the
site, furthering the illusion that it's not much more than a
cover website.
4) Where the mission seemed change abruptly, and not being able
to continue. The chats also lack a lot of understanding of
English - "sure thing" didn't register anything while "sure"
did.
5) It was fun at first, but as I said I couldn't continue very
long for some reason.
I'm running Mozilla Firefox 3.6.13 on Windows XP 32-bit.
Firefox 3.6 (Windows)
Review time: 28 mins, 36 secs
* 41. It seems like a great original concept through which users
are pursued to change their behavior and the way they perceive
themselves on planet earth.
2. I went through all the information which brought to my
attention, my role on planet earth and proper conservation of
the economic as well as the ecological systems and see myself
from a brand new perspective. I was supposed to become the new
agent recruit out on a mission. I was able to follow through
till the end.
3. Well the experience was very "believable". It seemed like I
was playing in real-time.
4. I was wondering what would the following imply... Calculating
potential of visitor as an organization agent.............VERY
HIGH ( 9/10 ). It would help if certain terms were simplified
slightly or explained in common terms such as good work, try
harder, keep at it, etc.
5. The entire mission as well as the gaming experience was great
fun, particularly the aspect at the beginning where the
following information began popping up on my screen.It was
extremely thrilling.... Obtaining visitor
IP.............120.60.17.170
Retrieving host name.............
Locating visitor.............Unknown (hidden)mic and ecological
systems.
Calculating coordinates.......
Firefox 3.5 (Windows)
Review time: 38 mins, 57 secs
* 51-Everything
2-You were supposed to assist in proving certain information
true or false and to find corroborating information on the
internet. I got to the second mission however the web pages
failed to load so I couldn't continue.
3-It was fairly believable, however the speed at which new text
appeared made it hard to keep up and slightly spoiled the
illusion.
4-Nothing
5-The research aspect, and also I could see it being a useful
tool to teach people information assimilation through the web.
Chrome Version 9.0.597.42
Mac
Chrome 9 (MacOS)
Review time: 20 mins, 18 secs
* 61 - I understand the game is a story based interactive
experience, probably with the intention of educating about
current environmental and political issues.
2 - It appeared that I was supposed to solve puzzles and
roleplay as an agent.
3 - It was quite believable, although the limited chat responses
did hinder the immersion.
4 - I became stuck after the chat told me to find a hacker
symbol on the home page. I wasn't certain if it was referring to
'The Humanity Project' site in the browser or not, but couldn't
find anything relevant there.
5 - It was fun solving puzzles, and following a mysterious
story.
Firefox 3.6.13
Windows 7 64bit
Firefox 3.6 (Windows)
Review time: 9 mins, 31 secs
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