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In the Nick of Tie-m

In the Nick of Tie-m is a single-level, black-and-white, stealth platformer game with small roguelite elements. Players play as a robber trying to escape the cops. Players traverse rooftops, sneak past searchlights, hurtle through windows into apartments, and climb up fire escapes in order to avoid getting caught. 

Overview:

Playtest plan:

I communicated with the creative directors and compiled a list of intentions to test. I then transformed the list of intentions to a formal list of research questions.

I divided the list of research questions into observation metrics (what to look out for during playtest sessions), interview questions (in-depth questions to ask players post-game), and survey questions (players’ evaluations of the game as well as additional comments).

Playtest moderation:

I recruited, conducted, and moderated 3 one-on-one playtest sessions over Zoom. Each playtest session lasted around 30 minutes.

Participants were first briefed about the game, and were instructed to “think aloud” as they play the game for as many times as they can/want in a 15-min time span. During the gameplay, I noted down participants’ in-game behaviors as well as any important comments they made. After the time is up, a semi-structured interview was conducted to further understand participants’ gameplay experience. Finally, the post gameplay questionnaire link was sent to participants to complete.

Playtest report:

I gathered playtest data through the playtest observations, interview answers, and survey responses.

I coded and compiled a list of findings according to severity, and gave a playtest report to creative directors and interested teammates.

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