Today was the first time I could play the whole module! There were lots of bugs, massively more visual flaws and even a few real stoppers that I had to use my debug tool to get around. But still it 's the first time I could do it! I hit one big bug that allows the player to get GamePoints above the maximum because the orignial "permanently mark item as complete"-function don't work as it should (or I believe it should). Fixing this it a huge amount of manual work. I have to go through every items on_aquire-script and every else where I've used the original function and change it to my own. working one. Then I have to double check it :) When revisiting the Coal Mine areas I realised how much better I am when designing areas with the toolset. It's just butt ugly. So I've started to fix it up match the other areas. Lots of work too but the fun sort of work.
I wonder how other module makers do their play testing? Heres how I do it. Lots, and lots of stickies. Yellow for bugs. Red for BIG TROUBLE and bigger design errors. Green for visual problems and a notepad for text that have misspelling. Then I use a highlighter pen to mark everything done and when I've verified that it's really fixed I just throw the stickie away in a big pile. When the last thing is fixed I start the play test over again.
2 comments:
I always find your shots of your work desk interesting - not just cos I'm nosey ( ;) ) but because I'm curious how others work. I have a notepad specifically for bugs noted from playthrough, and I can cross them off line by line once they are resolved. I like the post it note idea. My only post-it note is a big one saying "BAKE!" stuck on the bottom of my screen ;)
Yes, I'm also curious about how others work and what tools they use. The post-it notes is an idea that the software developers at my work use for keeping track of their projects. They say that Toyota used tons of whiteboards and trillions of post-it notes when developing the Prius. It don't know about that buy it's very hands on and easy to keep an over view.
I have a whiteboard above my desk that has a large blue text that says:
ALWAYS BAKE!
and under it
MAKE COPY - EVERY TIME! :D
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