#schellgames

Our Exhibitions

The team was at AWE 2017 showing three different experiences- Happy Atoms, Domino World, and SuperChem VR. Happy Atoms, our digital and physical chemistry modeling set, was the experience up for an Auggie Award in the category Best Game or Toy. (spoiler alert: big news at the end!)

The team had a large booth and plenty of room to show all the experiences.

“It seemed like we were the cool kids on the block,” says team member and game designer Ryan Hall. “All the experiences showed really well. We had visitors come back to our booth to show others what we were exhibiting. Even one attendee said ‘I haven’t seen AR/VR for education done like this before.’”

The exhibit hall, Ryan says, was full of designers and developers from all over the world.

 Ryan continues, “People really gravitated to Happy Atoms, but Domino World and SuperChem VR drew crowds as well.”

(pictures of the booth with SuperChem VR, Happy Atoms, and Domino World)

The 8th Annual Auggie Awards

The Auggie Awards was the recognition AWE gave to those experiences and projects that excelled in particular categories. First, each category was subject to a public online voting. Once that phase was done, the awards committee picked the top 8-10 of each category as finalists. Happy Atoms made the finalist phase in the Best Game or Toy category.

At the award ceremony, there was a mixture of excitement, anxiety, and confidence among the team members. But, the hard work paid off- Happy Atoms won!

Here’s a video to see the rest of the Auggie Awards ceremony (The Best Toy or Game category starts around 18:08).

Overall Experience

Team member and general counsel Chris Arnold said that he had a great time. Chris loved talking to the people in the booth and was excited to see how people loved playing Domino World. Ryan said, “this is something I would definitely do again. I was glad that Schell Games was a part of this. The event was well organized, and it was cool to see how passionate people are around AR/VR development.” 

According to the team, there were a lot of cool projects and experiences around AR developing around the world. Companies from Ireland, Belgium, Denmark and dozens more were in attendance. AWE attracted over 212 exhibitors, 200 speakers and over 5,000 attendees. From AR in Enterprise and training, to experiences that are tied to different movements, people are trying to see how AR will work on our everyday lives. 

The order is on purpose. And yes, you may get some of the same responses, but often you don’t, and those subtle differences can be telling. Someone might say X was the most frustrating but then what they wanted has nothing to do with it, or their wand changes something else. All are good ways of getting input, which then you will have to decide what to do with the information- but at least you’ll have it.

And number 6, ‘describe’, is very interesting. If they describe your game as a puzzle game and you thought you were making a story game- where is the disconnect?

Always keep in mind that your goal is to analyze the results and determine what actions to take. Not all problems need a fix, but if you note obscure issues and then you start to see them, or variants, more often, you’ll be able to piece together trends that may need addressing.

When in doubt, during or after a playtest, if they ask a question, you can always just ask it back to get them thinking:

Tester: "What should I do with this laser?" Me: "What do you think you should do with that laser?"

Below are some answers to playtest related questions I have given over the years:

1. What form(s) of feedback do you collect from playtesters? (e.g. survey, focus group, 1-on-1 interview, playtesters voice thoughts while playing, etc.) If you collect multiple forms, which form do you think gives you the most useful information?

I have used all those forms in the past. Sometimes the effectiveness depends on the stage of the project and the feedback you need the most.

Surveys are good for base information and comparing a bunch of answers to simpler questions. 

Focus groups are good at early stages when you want broad opinions on your project.

1-on-1 interviews are the best (and, ideally, required) after a playthrough of the experience.

Voice thoughts and (even better) video while playing are super useful for team members who can't be there or for reviewing after a survey or a 1-on-1 has dug up a few outliers.

The most useful (in my opinion) is the 1-on-1 interview.

2. If you have playtesters fill out surveys, do you prefer open-ended questions or close-ended (e.g. likert scale)? How come?

Again, it depends on the data you want to get. If you're comparing different parts of a game, ratings may be fine. However, we mostly use open-ended questions.

3. If you have playtesters fill out surveys, do you have them fill out any questions before playtesting so that you can assess changes in variables like mood, energy level, etc.?

Mainly the pre-playtest questions are getting used to the process and being comfortable. Generic things like age, current play habits, current games, etc. are captured.

4. If you have playtesters participate in a focus group, do you have any strategies for reducing the degree to which an individual’s response biases the responses of the other focus group participants?

If we do a focus group it's always at the end after any playthroughs, surveys, or 1-on-1 interviews.

5. If you have playtesters participate in a focus group or 1-on-1 interviews, what are, in your opinion, the most important questions to ask?

See FFWWDD above. :-)

6. If you have playtesters voice their thoughts while playing, how do you ensure that their playing experience doesn’t feel too artificial or contrived since usually they wouldn’t be narrating their own experience?

I encourage them to speak stream of conscious style. Most peter off and just focus on playing. That in itself is telling of course ( “ooh, your game is interesting enough!” ) Some keep it up the whole time, but either way I just let them play.

7. What specifically are you looking for during playtest sessions?

Always go into a playtest session with a primary goal. 

Does this tutorial teach what it needs to? 

Is this weapon overpowered? 

Did they find their way through the level?

But always be ready and willing to take notes about whatever comes up. You never know what you'll learn!

8. In your opinion, what are a few common ‘do’s and don’ts’  that people who run playtesting sessions should be aware of?

Do: Put the playtester at ease. Let the player know that they are helping you. If something breaks or is confusing, it's your fault, not theirs.

Don’t: Help them through tough parts, or if they get stuck and ask. Tell them ahead of time that asking questions is great! But you probably won't answer them; you're interested in seeing how they respond and play. You're not trying to be rude, you just want to see how they play unaided. If they do get really stuck and it's because of something you know you'll fix or change, note where it happens and exactly what you said as a hint or prodding. Keep that phrasing and timing throughout those playtests so your data is useful and so you have a good idea of how to fix it for the next build.

Do: Always make it clear at the beginning that they can play for as long or as short as they'd like. (If they want to quit out, that's great data! Keep a record of where and when it happened!)

Don't: Ask leading or too-specific questions! You want to see what they thought or remembered:

Example 1- The Puzzle

Bad: "Did you not understand the tree hint?" Better: "Was there anything special about the tree puzzle?" Best: "What could have helped you solve the tree puzzle?"

Example 2- A Trap

Bad: "You died a lot at the 3rd trap, what's up with that?" Better: "Was the 3rd trap too hard?" Best: "What did you think of the 3rd trap?"

Example 3- Powering Up

Bad: "What gave you speed boost?" Better: "What did the red power-up do?" Best: "What power-ups do you remember? What did they do?"

Keep On Playtesting!

Following FFWWDD will help you and your team design post-playtest questions that will get unbiased feelings and thoughts from the playtester.

Supporting a game studio, I think a good characteristic to have is being technologically advanced. It's important to know the latest game consoles, computer functions and brands and cellphone applications. I think that using the internet and social media is really great to show off Schell Games’ work and demos and if you don't know much about technology and devices, you could be really lost on what's happening here at the studio and how. I think that people-skills and friendliness is really important while working in a studio like Schell Games. Our work spaces are all very open and everyone really works together on almost every project. You have to be a good team player and know your role in groups so you can work successfully with others in a setting like ours.

What are some things you do that many people in the outside world wouldn’t think that a games studio would need done?

The amount of "event planning" and "meeting" set-up I perform is pretty crazy! I feel like my job is sometimes to feed people and make a party/event for something in the studio happen is part of my main job/duty. It has made me really enjoy party-like work and planning parties/meetings for clients and people in the studio. 

Schell Games Open House in October 2016

If you could, provide three things the operations team at Schell Games does very well to make sure the entire studio is clicking.

The three things the ops team does well are: communicating, working together as a team, and meeting a lot. I think that our communication with the studio is consistent and done really well. I feel like we are all really personable and we are friendly with everyone in the studio. I think we work together well; we are a smaller group of operations so I feel we know each other well in a good way. We meet a lot. We discuss issues, and studio-wide things a lot. We are in constant contact and always in the loop with each other on almost everything studio-wide which helps keep us in the know. I like that we're pretty tight-knit.

You were here when Schell Games moved out of its earlier location, to a bigger, more open-spaced location where it is now. What was tough about helping move the studio?

I think working with outside vendors was really time-consuming and challenging. We met and interviewed a LOT of moving companies to get us all packed and moved. We had to rent a dumpster and CLEAN the old space. Operations also had to spend a lot of time traveling from location A to location B to work on logistics of where employees would go and HOW to best set everyone up in the new space. Lots of research and time was spent on desk-separators, furniture, my new desk, paint colors. Planning the work to actually complete the new space was really time consuming and crazy busy! 

Old Office Space on East Carson St.

New Office Space in Station Square

(Related: Read the Pittsburgh Business Times article with Schell Games COO Jake Witherell talking about looking for office space)

Was there anything you needed to learn in order to continue contributing positively and effectively on the operations team?

I think communication is and STILL is something I am working on and learning to effectively work with the group of operations, here. This is my first job in an office-like setting and my first job in operations. I am still really thankful to be learning how to best communicate with managers and employees/peers in the studio. I think miscommunication happens enough in any work environment and having the skills to perfect communication is key to being successful.