Sprint 11: Balance

Sam:
    Three characters drawn (HUB world characters: Coolbird  Jim Cunningham, Sir Bearington)
    Draw buildings for backdrop in hub world
    Draw hallway

Zac:
    Get dialogue options working
    Add Sam's characters

Sara:
    Skeleton Outline for Second Puzzle Room
    Skeleton Outline for Third Puzzle Room
    Flavor Text for Second Puzzle Room

Lens #33: The Lens of Triangularity:
    -Do I have triangularity now? If not, how can I get it?
        We haven't considered to include triangularity in our game until now.
        Right now, our game doesn't rely on the player taking any risks because there's
        one way to solve the puzzle, no time limit, and the reward is always the same.
        To give our game triangularity, we could potentially add time limits to our puzzles,
        or some secret areas to reach in the hub world that require spending player resources to get to. Another way to reach triangularity would be to give penalties if the player tried to continuously click on the screen to find hidden items, instead of working towards them logically. A time out screen would pop up, or some other kind of penalty.
    -Is my attempt at triangularity balanced? That is, are the rewards commensurate with the risks?
        The reward is the advancement of the plot, which is really important on its own. The reward is also the feeling the player gets once they solve a hard puzzle by themselves, so if they're clicking about randomly, they won't have that feeling of accomplishment, which is integral to the game's experience.


Lens #32: The Lens of Meaningful Choices:
    -What choices am I asking the player make?
        Dialogue choices, as well as what object to use where/what to examine further.
    -Are they meaningful? How?
        Yes because they can slightly alter the story line and flavor text the player reads, as well as show the player if they're on the right track or not.
    -Am I giving the player the right number of choices? Would more make them feel more powerful?
     Would less make them game clearer?
        We're giving the player the number choices we feel is appropriate without
        overwhelming the player. It would make them feel more powerful because they would
        feel as though they have some affect on the storyline, as well as that they themselves have the capability to solve these puzzles. Giving the player less choices would make the game feel too streamlined and easy.
    -Are there any dominant strategies in my game?
        The only dominant strategy is that of logical thought process, that is to say, puzzle solving. The player must point and click on objects to find out certain clues or meanings, however in the end it is up to them if they use them in the correct order or not. The most dominant strategy is just the gamer's thought process, as it's all intuitive knowledge we have already gathered from everyday life. Example: If there's a lock, there must be a key.

Lens #35: The Lens of Head and Hands:
    -Are my players looking for mindless action, or an intellectual challenge?
        An intellectual challenge, because our game isn't very fast paced and requires players
        to stop, think, and examine at their surroundings in depth to really make sense of the puzzle.
    -Would adding more places that involve puzzle-solving in my game make it more interesting?
        Yes, because puzzles are the focus of our game, so adding more would only help.
        To keep it interesting, each puzzle would be unique, with its own set of items that can also be used across puzzles.
    -Are there places where the player can relax their brain, and just play the game without thinking?
        Yes, that would be the hubworld. In the hubworld, there won't be much puzzle solving,
        but instead some fun platforming action and simple exploration.
    -Can I give the player a choice - either succeed by exercising a high level of dexterity,
     or by finding a clever strategy that works with a minimum level of physical skill?
        In a way, yes. We have dialogue options, each one pertaining to information you can gather. We do not have stats such as dexterity or strength in our game, only the player's brain power itself which we can't set ahead of time. The dialogue options, however, are the ways that the player can gather information and solve the overarching mystery. Some of them will give you different information or responses, giving the player a choice on how to go about interrogating the NPCs of the game.
    -If "1" means all physical, and "10" means all mental, what number would my game get?
        7, although it's dominated by puzzles, we also have the platforming action of the hub world to give the player a little break in between puzzles.