BETA Test Go!
I was lucky enough to recruit a few friends (and some old Forever Tourist players!) to try out Everlife yesterday.
This is always weird because I never know what they’re going to think or if the game is going to be “their thing.” It’s really different from any sort of stamp game I’ve made before; it has a lot more layers and a lot more things you can do…. s for some people, that’s awesome! They love having options, especially once they figure out how to do everything in the game. But for some people, that can be a little overwhelming.
Right off the bat, I learned that I need more documentation — better documentation. More videos, tutorials, and examples.
The next thing I learned was that almost everyone I watched interact with the “box” that held their stuff attached it first, instead of being an oldbie like me and rezzing the box on the ground. I need to change my delivery method to an attachable delivery system that people can just “add” and have it unpack for them.
My Adventure installation scenario was also being weird. I had one BETA tester report an issue right away, and then another reported an issue later that day. I think I’ve fixed the Installer, but we’ll see what happens. I’ve also closed off every other Adventure possibility except “Lighthouses,” mostly because it’s the most developed and has all of the elements that need to be tested.
My “Daily Compass” reported like it was supposed to; that’s pretty fun for me to see in action. It’s supposed to “report numbers” to players to give them prompts about things to create and places to visit. I’m pleased with the result, and I’m curious to see what this looks like with lots of players, too.
My feedback on the Lighthouse Adventure was good overall. I had a few hiccups in the beginning with the Steps not having updated correctly from the Workbook I use to record all the details, but we got that fixed early on. It also allowed me to work my way through the Adventure again and make sure it could actually be completed.
One BETA tester even said it was fun, which was nice!
That being said, nobody really liked my Region Clues. LOL.
I say that with love because I think if I hadn’t made them, I’d really struggle with them myself. You basically have to be a hardcore mainlander…. or REALLY old school… to know a lot of these off the top of your head. It’s also brutal for anyone who doesn’t speak English as their first language.
Yes, it’s possible to get more details about which region to go to with an “Inspired” mood, but I’m wondering what my numbers are going to look like for people who never really play with that part of the game. I’m also pondering whether I even need to hide the region name at all. Arriving in the correct region is likely still going to require some hunting with PING to locate the right place anyway.
I’m still pondering this to see if there’s a way I can mix up the mood bonuses and how the clues are structured so they’re fun for explorers, but don’t cripple the importance of the mood system as a whole.
My goal today is to double-check and restructure the “Welcome to Bay City” Adventure, finish setting up Cranston’s Artist Adventure on the Summit Pines lands, and then put them up in the store so the BETA testers can play with them if they want. Once all of that is up and running, I may log “Lilith” in to do some testing again… just to see how it’s going.
There’s a new event going around targeting “games that can be played in Second Life.” Part of me is pondering participating, but I really don’t want to get sucked into the “Event” loop to make sales for the business. I’d really like to try to build Everlife organically.
But this may be a smart way to introduce Everlife to people who… well… like to play games.
So, it’s going to require a little more research.
Stay tuned for more updates! :)
PS - Check out this WICKED picture TJ did while he was testing. :) SOOOOO cool
