Playtest Wizznic

[dusted]

Hi all, sorry for not posting more often (and not posting less me me me related stuff..), but I've not really had anything to add to the discussions, though, I'm often lurking these great forums, it's great to see the progress of many of the projects you guys are doing

Anyway, I'm doing a small puzzle game called Wizznic, it started as a project for a handheld system called Gp2X Wiz but have since been ported to a couple of other platforms, official released for:
Gp2X Wiz (duh)
Linux
Windows.

And also available for other strange systems.

The game is an extrapolation on the well-known arcade classic "Puzznic".
The objective is to shift bricks about in a way so two or more of the same kind of bricks are next to eachother, which makes them dissapear, and by doing that, clear the level of bricks.
Here's the project page: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wizznic/
Here's a screenshot: (running in 640x480 by specifying the -z 2 option, yes, some day there will be support for opengl and high-res graphics, maybe...)


There's more here: https://sourceforge.net/project/screenshots.php?group_id=286702&ssid=132675

I'm trying to figure out which levels are hardest, so that I can order them accordingly (that's a bit hard to judge when you're then one creating the puzzles..)
So I'm asking for a bit of help, I've written a blawg (thanks Qubodup) post here: http://dustedgames.blogspot.com/2010/07/halp-plz.html
It's a bit much, I know, asking people to playtest 75 levels, but well, any help would be greatly appreciated (and noted in the credits file unless asked not to)
Ofcause feedback can be given in this thread aswell

Basically, what I'm asking, is that you download wizznic, and the feedback package, (then extract the feedback and move the dir into wizznic/packs/ ), then complete as many levels as you can/want to, and write down the stats after each level, in this format:
levelnumber moves time
and when you have a nice list, please give it to me so I can get some idea of which levels are hardest.. Time is not an issue here, as there is 16 minutes to complete each level. (I'll be using your feedback not only to sort the order of the levels, but also to estimate a realistic time-to-complete)

Download the files here: https://sourceforge.net/projects/wizznic/files/
The feedback pack is in the "More Content Packs" directory.

Best Regards
Jimmy.

[qubodup]

Hello DusteD,

Playing the 35 level Wizznic pack (is this right?):

Um, I didn't write down move amounts..
L7 is easy
L8 is hard
L9 is easy but requires a new way of thinking. You could add something like

this.gif (3.64 KiB) Viewed 6738 times

to teach them the 'use your own block as a platform' principle (maybe it was used before and I just didn't realize it)
L12 is kinda hard, but I somehow managed it
I'm stuck at L14. No way I'm gonna solve this.......

I might have installed ( mv 00_wizznic-feedback/* wizznic-0.8_final-src/ ) the wrong thing though.

[dusted]

Hi Qubodup,

Sorry nope, it's the 75 level version I'd like for you to try out.
I'll try to make some better manual, maybe an instruction video of how to install and select a pack, but steps are as follows, assuming both the wizznic-0.8_final-src and the 00_wizznic-feedback directories are in your working dir:
mv 00_wizznic-feedback wizznic-0.8_final-src/packs/

Then enter wizznic and go to the bottom of the menu (under exit) that says "Pack: Wizznic" and press ctrl, then select the feedback pack and press ctrl again.

It's a good idea to make some easy way of introduction to the function of the diffrent bricks, I've been worried about the teleports/oneway bricks and magnets aswell,
I'll try making an introduction level before each new thing is used, maybe with some obvious hint or a background that explains it.

[qubodup]

mv 00_wizznic-feedback wizznic-0.8_final-src/packs/

Ah, much better!

Your suggested level would not be completable

Haha, d'oh on me!

Ok, I tested it again! (The right one this time.)
L4: Good job at teaching that order is important
L7: haaard
L11: Confusion!
L16: Too easy?
L24: hehe, good intro into magnets and arrows
L27: lol, why so easy?
L29: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I give up! (will return with fresher/less tired brains probably)

[dusted]

Ok, I tested it again! (The right one this time.)
L4: Good job at teaching that order is important
L7: haaard
L11: Confusion!
L16: Too easy?
L24: hehe, good intro into magnets and arrows
L27: lol, why so easy?
L29: aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa I give up! (will return with fresher/less tired brains probably)

Thanks, I'll try and order them diffrently.

Btw, for the "intro" levels, I've done a "paper" theme, just for fun, by drawing on paper and scanning it.
I was thinking about this for an introduction to "blocking a teleports destination in order to allow bricks to pass through it"
Here's a gameplay video of the level: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yuL_jNdZIWM

This kind of graphics might be hard for people with weak vision, I'm working on a "Force easy graphics" option which will be a very simple, high-contrast/unique shaped graphics, which will be easy to see for people with bad vision or color-blindness,
at the same time, that theme will be optimized for power-saving on an oled display (where black pixels do not draw current)

[qubodup]

The paper theme is freaking amazing!

Did you get any other play test replies?

[dusted]

Thanks!
Nope, no other replies, but I've made the game send anonymous usage statistics instead (by using the curl command line tool, if it's there), which will be included in the next release.

[charlie]

You should make that optional, it's not nice to do stuff without first asking permission.

[dusted]

Thank you for your feedback charlie, I've made it optional, however, I'm not sure exactly how I should approach the user.

One thing I was thinking was simply printing out a message that stats were being sent and that the behaviour could be disabled by editing the settings file.
Because I'm pretty sure most users won't think of it as a big deal (which, it is not, unless you're having a technical problem, like your netcard crashing each time it tries to open an http connection).

I also thought of presenting the user with a dialog box when first starting the game, asking them if it was okay to send statistics,
I'm a bit against this, because many users will simply select no, not because they're really against it, but because asking might scare them to thing that there are some consequences to allowing it (I remember when debian started asking if it was okay to send package usage stats, the first few times, I answered NO, because, well, WHY ?), also, this option is additional code, and might make users worry about things they shouldn't..

Also, I'm allready doing lots of stuff without permission.. Creating config directories, reading their enviroment variables, even reading and writing files from their file system..

But I'd like more input on how to handle this?

Maybe move the thread to a more relevant section?

[charlie]

I think there's a big difference between software operation and reporting of data. One is necessary, the other is considered an invasion of privacy if it is not explicit and optional.

[charlie]

FWIW I got 7 levels in (I think) before my short attention span meandered elsewhere.

[dusted]

Okay, I've been talking to the nice guys at #freegamer about this and they agree with you, I've made a screen where the user can disable the function, this screen is shown the first time the program is executed.

7 levels in, okay, I'll take it that they're way to easy for you

[qubodup]

Add
"Remember! If you disable repoting, the graphs showing player progress will be less rich and your player type will be less represented! Keep reporting on for cool and pretty statistical graphs!"

[dusted]

There's a new version out, featuring music (woho!), automatic feedback (which can be disabled at first game start), and all the 82 new levels, which have been sorted lightly (and given proper author and completion time).
A good tip, if you can see that you messed up, restart (Alt) instead of making the level "unsolvable" or letting the time run out.

Get the new version at:
https://sourceforge.net/projects/wizznic/files/