Interactive Narrative Design | Task 3
|| Tee Zi Tong, 0366165
|| Interactive Narrative Design | Task 3
|| Week 10 - Week 15
Task 3 focused on evaluating and improving the prototype through user testing.
We tested the project with eight participants using three methods:
- Observation
- Survey
- Peer review
The purpose was to identify problems involving the Rules, story clarity, UI design, video pacing and overall player experience.
During the observation sessions, participants played the prototype while we recorded their actions and reactions.
We observed whether participants:
- Understood the Rules
- Connected the Rules to the choices
- Knew which button to select
- Understood the story progression
- Experienced problems with the UI
- Had to wait too long between videos and dialogues
The observation method helped us identify issues that participants might not mention in the survey.
After playing the prototype, the eight participants completed a survey.
The questions focused on:
- UI design
- Story quality
- Character design
- Rules
- Dialogue system
- Game experience
- Overall satisfaction
- Suggested improvements
The survey allowed us to compare responses and identify repeated patterns.
The peer review focused on the quality of the UI, story, game, character and overall presentation.
The feedback suggested that the narrative concept was interesting, but some Rules were confusing. The Dialogue and Game Over UI also needed a more polished appearance.
After comparing the three testing methods, we identified several common issues:
- Some Rules were difficult to understand.
- The relationship between the Rules and choices was unclear.
- The Dialogue UI looked too basic.
- The Game Over panel needed improvement.
- Some videos contained missing narrative information.
- Some scene transitions were too slow.
- Unity bugs interrupted the video and dialogue sequence.
We simplified the Rules to make them easier to understand. The new wording more clearly explains which actions are safe or dangerous.
We redesigned the Dialogue panel and Game Over panel using darker textures, clearer typography and improved button placement.
The new interface is easier to read and matches the horror theme more effectively.
The beginning of Scene 2 originally did not show the protagonist walking to the file rack, taking the file and returning to her desk.
The video also moved into the next event without showing that the time had reached 8:00 PM. This confused players because the time was directly related to the Rules.
I edited Scene 2 to include the missing file-rack sequence and make the time change clearer.
Scene 3 originally contained a long pause at the end of the video. Players had to wait too long before the Dialogue panel appeared.
I shortened the final pause so that the Dialogue appeared more quickly and the story maintained its momentum.
We fixed several technical problems:
- Missing VideoPlayer references
- Missing Dialogue Manager references
- Dialogue panels not appearing
- Rules appearing in later scenes
- Incorrect scene transitions
- Missing Game Over panel references
- Video playback issues
- Duplicate scripts
Task 3 allowed me to observe how real players experienced our project.
It was useful to see participants react to the Rules, videos and choices. Some issues were difficult for us to notice during development because we already understood the story.
I observed that players became confused when important actions or time information were missing.
The missing file-rack sequence in Scene 2 affected the continuity of the story. The long pause in Scene 3 also made some participants think that the game had stopped responding.
I learned that user testing is important for identifying both narrative and technical problems.
A small missing scene or delay can affect the player's understanding of the entire story. Feedback helped us prioritize the most important improvements instead of making changes based only on personal preference.
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