Week eight update:
This week we have been gearing up for halves presentations. In addition to this, we have worked on running a couple last minute tests on polished aspects of Hearth.
With our Hearth prototype, we have been testing the new UI system involving the television, giving agency to the host to summon portals that provide access in and out of their space. With the addition of portals in this week, we have also been testing whether or not portals inside the home space or outside the door feel more comfortable to users. Most of our conclusions about the invasiveness when teleporting were proven correct by these playtests – even if the teleporter asset is present in the space, it doesn’t provide enough feedback for users to understand when guests were about to enter the space.
Putting the portals outside the door made more sense overall – they added a layer of privacy and especially in the exit sequence, helped users understand that it was the boundary/gateway for the space.
In addition to this, we have our first draft of the garden space up and running, and tested it on Friday for comfort and how users felt in the space.
In general, there is a bit of work that needs to be done to refine the garden as a space that people would want to occupy for long periods of time. This is something that we believe we would be able to do mostly internally for now.