Hello,

It is week 10 and we are working towards playtesting our personality engine.  First though, the feedback we got from halves is worth discussing.  We got a variety of feedback, from utilizing different distances of the character to support different emotional contexts, to how to go about testing, to making Mixy’s arms shorter.  All this feedback is awesome, and we are incorporating it where and when we can, and will have a better product to show for it.  

Tech is a good place to start as far as what has been accomplished this week, as we have reached a large milestone.  We have, after halves, focused on the personality engine, and the biggest part of that is creating a custom Behaviour Tree tool, which we are proud to say is done!  With that tool in  hand, our design team can begin to create the personalities and roles that we talked about at halves, in time for a playtest next week.  Next up is refining that engine and adding functionality to ensure the richest personality possible for Mixy.

Art is continuing to chug along, with all of our “Must Have” animations and their variations completed.  Examples of those animations include variations of an idle post, waving, smiling at the guest,  nervous fidgeting, and more.  Next up is “Nice to Have” animations, such as pointedly ignoring the guest, clasping hands behind the back, or a theatrical flourish.  

Design wise, we are focusing on what the behaviour trees will need to look like, as well as preparing for the playtest.  Our first playtest will be  Friday, 11/11/16.  We will be focusing on whether distinct personalities are noticeable, and how those differences are received by guests, using an A/B testing method.  The following week, we will be testing how the experience is perceived with, and without Mixy present at all.

Till’ next week,

~mixAR