Session 1 · DESIGN: Improve
First play-test with juniors
- 5 minPlan: each tester watches one player. No helping unless they ask twice.
- 25 minJuniors play your game. Tally where they get stuck, what makes them laugh and when they stop.
- 20 minBack in class: choose the three most important changes. Fix the biggest first.
Session 2 · DESIGN: Give Value
Design for every player
- 15 minAccessibility check: can a player who cannot read yet understand it? Add spoken or picture instructions.
- 20 minMake it fair: a clear goal, a clear ending, no tricks to keep playing, a kind message when you lose.
- 15 minAdd polish: start screen, sounds, your own artwork. Credit any sounds or images you did not make.
Getting started
Fix the single thing most players got stuck on.
Stretch
Add an easy and a harder level, chosen on the start screen.
Checkpoint
Play-test notes and version two with at least three changes based on what players did.
Activities for this week
- Watch, don't help: junior play-test: What do real young players do with your game, not what you think they will do?
Useful this week
- Algorithms ↗ Why some sets of steps are faster and better than others.
- Human–computer interaction ↗ How to design interfaces that people find easy to use.