Week 9 Play Testing

KCC Event

Prototype / Critique

On Sunday we play tested our games with kids from KCC that Sarah had organized. Our group play tested the catching game, sea crossing and the nest hunt. 

For the play testing we aimed to:
- cater for different kids who like physical/ puzzle and strategy/ communication and teamwork games
- explain the process of translocation of the Kakariki - 3 main steps - catching the birds, crossing the sea to a safe new home, and finding a nest to start a family
- for the kids to have fun

We set-up our 3 games outside the Garage and Tussock, playing the catching game on the grass and the sea crossing and nest hunt on the concrete.

We tested our fused shapes for the sea crossing on level D but they were too slippery on the concrete and the carpet so we moved outside onto the more rough concrete so the shapes wouldn't slide around. Ideally the game would be played on the grass where the shapes wouldn't move around. We also found that the fused shapes blew away in the wind which made it hard to step on them as they flopped around. For this we may need to make the shapes heavier so they stay put on the ground and won't blow away. We also need to think about how we could make them less slippery for health and safety reasons - the kids could slip on them and hurt themselves. 

We had two groups of kids test our games and observed the following for each activity:

Catching game:
- first group were a lot more active and the game was faster - finished in 4 minutes
- first group of kids were more confident - a few older kids leading the groups
- second group took more time to catch all of the kids 
- probably because the kids were all younger and only a few older kids 
- second group were more shy and reserved than the first group but still participated with the help of other kids
- had to stop the game for the second group as they took longer to catch all the kids, however it still fit with the context of our game so some of the Kakariki couldn't be caught because they were so cunning and fast. 
- 3 kids at the end of the play testing said it was their favourite because it involved more physical play and running around. 

Sea Crossing:
- game went smoothly for both groups - after explaining the rules and the objective, the kids got straight into the game
- we were asked a few questions including: Can they position themselves behind the line differently to get closer to their first resource/ beanbag? Can they walk on the other teams shapes? Do they have to bring their shapes with them to the island? 
- We told the kids they were allowed to move behind the line as a part of their strategy to get their resources and that they were not allowed to walk on the other team's shapes only their own
- For the first group we didn't specify if the teams had to bring the shapes with them to the island but for the second group we said they had to bring the shapes with them - this added another aspect to the game and means that the team has to think about not leaving anything behind
- the concept of not leaving anything behind in the game also translates to not leaving anyone from your team behind/ not leaving a bird behind
- one girl suggested that we could hide the resources to make it harder as well or have more of them to grab on the way to the island
- a few kids said that this activity was the best activity for them as well which is great feedback

Nest hunt:
- both groups of kids finished the game and got all of their beanbags onto the shapes
- because the shapes were made out of cardboard we had to tape them down to make sure they didn't blow away or move 
- we will need to re-think what the shapes are made out of - laser cut MDF? and also could be rings instead of full shapes
- beanbags worked really well - especially having them colour coded
- will need more beanbags for each team to keep the game flowing
- 4 kids told us that this game was their favourite

Overall:
- the fact that a range of kids said that each activity were their favourite is exactly what we wanted from the play testing as we want to cater for every child and their way of playing
- the games all worked very well and there weren't many problems
- one mother came up to us and said our activities were the best of the day and that she will use the games for birthday party activities with lollies - which is really encouraging, that the games were so successful that parents want to play them again for other events
- Our Kakariki activities also won best teamwork game of the day which is awesome and also what we were aiming for - kids to work together in teams to reach objectives and make it through challenges

Things to do after this play testing:
- re-think the fused material shapes for the sea crossing game - how can we eliminate the slipping
- nest hunt shapes - MDF laser cut rings to relate more to the nests
- more beanbags