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One of the best things I've read in past relating to this topic dealt with the playtesting that Valve held for (I think) Half Life 2. If anyone could supply me

One of the best things I've read in past relating to this topic dealt with the playtesting that Valve held for (I think) Half Life 2. If anyone could supply me with my lost source, it would be greatly appreciated. They would sit a wide range of users down in front of a new level or scene, and silently watch them play, with no help, and with analytics running in the background. If they noticed players taking too long on certain puzzles, dying too often from certain monsters, or just not grasping the expected flow of events, there was further work to be done; likewise, if players blew through a level or puzzle too quickly, didn't have any troubles with a "boss", there was also work to be done.

lmkg 17y ago
The Director's Commentary in Portal and Episode 2 is particularly revealing. One major lesson: it's impossible to teach players to look up. Bungie had a laboratory for testing players playing Halo 3. I remember seeing heat maps of where players died the most frequently.
- bradbeattie 17y ago
  Heatmaps in HL2: http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/death_maps/ep2_outland_08_deaths.jpg http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/death_maps/ep2_outlan... http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/ep2_stats.php http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/ep2_stats.php Interestingly, they provide them for TF2 maps as well: http://www.steampowered.com/status/tf2/tf2_stats.php http://www.steampowered.com/status/tf2/tf2_stats.php
- gridspy 17y ago
  One particularly interesting idea Valve used was a "Gate" where a player had to demonstrate that they had learned a new skill or acquired an item to proceed. For example, breaking boards with the crowbar, using the gravity gun to remove sheet metal or using your new lightning power in Bioshock to short out a switch. From that moment on, the designers could be confident that the player understood their new ability and only required some repetition to cement that knowledge.
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JMStewy 17y ago
I'm pretty sure you mean this article: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3408/the_cabal_valves_design_process http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3408/the_cabal_valves_... It's about the unusual design process Valve went through to produce the original Half-Life, and I too found it a fascinating read.

lmkg 17y ago

The Director's Commentary in Portal and Episode 2 is particularly revealing. One major lesson: it's impossible to teach players to look up. Bungie had a laboratory for testing players playing Halo 3. I remember seeing heat maps of where players died the most frequently.

bradbeattie 17y ago
Heatmaps in HL2: http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/death_maps/ep2_outland_08_deaths.jpg http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/death_maps/ep2_outlan... http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/ep2_stats.php http://www.steampowered.com/status/ep2/ep2_stats.php Interestingly, they provide them for TF2 maps as well: http://www.steampowered.com/status/tf2/tf2_stats.php http://www.steampowered.com/status/tf2/tf2_stats.php
gridspy 17y ago
One particularly interesting idea Valve used was a "Gate" where a player had to demonstrate that they had learned a new skill or acquired an item to proceed. For example, breaking boards with the crowbar, using the gravity gun to remove sheet metal or using your new lightning power in Bioshock to short out a switch. From that moment on, the designers could be confident that the player understood their new ability and only required some repetition to cement that knowledge.

deleted 17y ago

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JMStewy 17y ago

I'm pretty sure you mean this article: http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3408/the_cabal_valves_design_process http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/3408/the_cabal_valves_... It's about the unusual design process Valve went through to produce the original Half-Life, and I too found it a fascinating read.