Beyond the Liminal Pt. 1: The Analysis

Preface

Now that voting has ended for Harold Jam 2023, we are finished with Behind the Liminal and are now in the two-part Beyond the Liminal! This was originally going to be the last part of Beyond the Liminal and would come after the results and postmortem. However, some issues arose with the results that the organizers of Harold Jam are looking into. I don't want to say too much other than things can get a little hairy when the stakes are high.

On the other hand, nothing says reliable like some good ol' objective data; just like the feedback I was able to garner through the Stuck in the Liminal Completion Form! As we wait for results to roll in, we're going to take a data-driven approach to these results to see how we can further improve The Colors of Life and make something creative and challenging without being confusing.

Introduction

I think data analysis is really cool. Noticing patterns, making it look pretty, using it to better humanity; everything about the process from getting your hands on the data to leaving your stakeholders with a message makes my heart sing. I recently got my hands on a Google Data Analytics Certificate and I’m hoping I can make a career out of data analysis at some point.

So why am I humble bragging about it in a devlog? Simple; I found a cool way to combine it with Stuck in the Liminal! That feedback form you may have filled out at the end wasn't going to go to waste. Today's devlog will center around using this beautiful data to observe what players gravitated toward, what they struggled with, and how to create my dream game while keeping the player experience paramount. While one of the biggest lessons I learned from SITL is to make art more for yourself than others, when you’re dealing with a game you have to factor in the player. You’re always used to your concept but not how others would approach it. To ignore the player is unwise and could even be looked at as pretentious. Consequently, to factor in the player benefits everyone, as the dev learns while the players enjoy the game more.

But I’m a busy guy. Work, other personal projects, finally trying to start a full-length game, throwing all my free time away into Elon Musk’s Paradox Form Twitter; I can’t go out there and peg everyone for their opinions!

So I sent her off into the great unknown to collect as many signatures as she could muster! After 26 days of procrastinating until the end of the game and stammering through the script I wrote on the back of her envelope, she came back with…

Thank you again to all of you who were able to fill out the form, even after voting ended. Your feedback is priceless regardless of the experience you may have had with SITL. The negatives tell me how I can improve from here and the positives make me feel all big and strong.

Now because of the way Google Forms lets you copy summary charts, I’m seizing the opportunity to present my findings in a slideshow as most data analysts would. Here's the kicker; it's 54 slides long. Yowza. At the very least each slide doesn't have a lot to read. Additionally, I’ll also be summing up the results below in case you can't view the slideshow or want to skim through the key takeaways. With that out of the way, let’s dive right in!

Changing Colors to Access New Movesets

Pretty much everyone who left feedback saw potential in different movesets per color. The one signee who thought it was poorly implemented bemoaned the lack of attack power for Introspect.

• Changing movesets works but needs balance throughout
• Have every color able to deal basic damage
  
• Learn differently-colored moves as you level up

Changing Colors to Change Stats

Another resounding success with only one signee not a fan of its implementation. More players believed stat changes would need more colors to really shine than new movesets.

• Stat changes had little effect on gameplay compared to movesets and elemental types
• Stat changes would benefit from additional colors more than movesets and elemental types
  • Just be sure to balance appropriately
• Weigh stats less than elements

Changing Colors to Change Elemental Type

Reception was a little more mixed this time. Still a success, but with more players saying it should be paramount or it did not affect their experience much.

• Elements were mixed but overall positively received
• Prioritize elements over stat changes
• Experiment with color changing as a subcommand
• Include indicators for strong and weak attacks
• Experiment with different enemy weaknesses and resistances
  • Subcommand color changes could make this feel more rewarding
  • Octopath-style weakness unlock system?

Overworld Camouflage

Very mixed here with some gripes about how it was implemented. Makes sense since I really didn’t do a whole lot with it.

• Camouflage had more mixed reception than other aspects
• Give a lot more thought to camouflage than I did in SITL
• Find drawbacks for camouflaging other than cooldown
• Camouflaging as a pocket dimension?
  • See and pick up hidden items and solve puzzles
• Retain and improve dynamic camouflage and party switching
  • Set each character to a button or implement switching menu

Additional Colors

The majority of voters believed three extra colors would benefit the game, although many cautioned the additional balancing that would come with it. Basic RPS matchups and one stat being buffed and nerfed per color was also favored by voters, which makes sense as it’s less to remember.

• Additional colors would benefit combat
  • Would benefit movesets most followed by stats and elemental types
• Experiment with different color matchups
  • All colors affected, three-way RPS with other matchups neutral, etc.
• Stat changes should be one buff and one nerf
• Revisit camouflage and see how additional colors could benefit
  • Differently colored areas in each world?
• Emphasize color/matchup information through UI

Key Takeaways and Next Steps

Even with only 11 submissions, we still end up with a very consistent set of opinions towards the game’s aspects.

• Players valued elements over movesets and movesets over stats
• Colors were not balanced across the board
  • Red could be abused to sweep enemies with white attacks
  • Blue was badly designed and did not have a proper attack
• Color changing should be a subcommand instead of a full turn
• Camouflage needs to be revisited with a new approach
• Little UI information meant unnecessary memorization
• Game would overall be improved with 7 colors instead of 4

As Harold Jam 2023 comes to a close, here are some next steps I intend to follow!

• Refine elemental matchup spreads until balanced
• Experiment with alternative approaches for balancing stats
  • One buff and one nerf may feel be more balanced with more colors
  • Change elemental type and stats separately with moveset changes for both
• Experiment with color changing as a subcommand
• Completely revisit camouflage
  • Attempt different approaches such as pocket dimension camouflage
  • Consider if even necessary or beneficial to gameplay
• Start thinking about UI layout and implementation
  • If using RPG Maker MV, look into HUDMaker

Conclusion

Throwing this form at the end of Stuck in the Liminal was a bit of a risk. Guzzling up dev time, pushing the game well over an hour, the cringe-ass way I presented it (although I thought we said cringe culture was dead?); was it worth- Yes. I don't need to finish the sentence. This feedback is far, far more valuable than any observation I could possibly make on my own. I mean come on, you guys actually play RPGs. Taking this feedback right to the jaw can definitely hurt, and there's a lot I'm going to have to reconsider going forward. I might even have to kill a few darlings. However, I will absolutely take that over making a sub-par game. It would kill me to take a concept that means so much to me and hype it up just for it to not feel right. With that said, one more huge thank you to all eleven of you who took the time to give your feedback. If I ever finish and release The Colors of Life, I'll have all of you to thank for helping streamline the process.

I've been keeping everyone's information confidential, but I would particularly like to extend a big shoutout to our title artist Myria. As he filled out this form, he came up with some of the most creative solutions to hurdles SITL faced. For one, he suggested changing your stats and elemental type separately; something I had considered in the past but never really figured out. It's as simple as equipping different weapons or even using a command to change them but it makes a world of difference. He also theorized having differently colored areas across each world, even as minor as fields of green grass in a yellow plain, to make camouflaging a little more intuitive. That will need some prototyping, but it could definitely make gameplay worth it.

All that's left is The Postmortem and Conclusion, the final part of Behind/Beyond the Liminal where all is revealed and we begin to tread the long road ahead.