v5 of Cogshel featured the new and improved breathe activity visuals, which were determined during playtesting v4.
I asked my younger brother (13) to test the new version and see what he thinks.
New breathe activity visuals
Testing new breathe activity visuals
Testing new breathe activity visuals
He also tested the new pet arrival feature where players can name their tiger. He really liked this element of the game and one thing he suggested to improve Cogshel was by making it more customisable e.g. choosing your own pet or choosing the way they look. I have received feedback like this before, however, it is simply out of the scope for the meantime. If in the future I choose to continue developing the game, I will definitely implement this. For now, the naming mechanic was a success and added a touch of this personalisation aspect that was highly desired.
I also tested to see if he would understand how to reach the shop, since I removed the button and made it so that when they move the tiger to the edge of the left side of the screen, the scene changes. He hadn’t previously tested the version with the button, so I was interested to see what he would do.
Verbal feedback (audio recording):
I also got him to test the coins system in the game. Currently, there are two areas where the player can earn coins - the breathe activity and the mini game.
He liked that the amount of coins depended on him playing as he felt in control and responsible for the pet, which encouraged him to do the mindfulness activity for longer, and play the mini-game more times.
He said he’d like more ways to earn coins though, as it might get boring and repetitive over a long period of time. I will see if there is an additional activity that can be implemented.
Update: See here for additional activity.
Overall, he found the coin system rewarding and motivating.
More on the coin system can be found here.
He also commented that he likes the free 100 coins provided when you first enter the game because it was nice to purchase items and see the pet interact with them to get an idea of what he can do.
Verbal feedback (audio recording):