How we user tested a VR game with 680 people at PAX West
A team from Secret Location recently went to PAX West 2016 in Seattle to demo Blasters of the Universe, a new first-person VR bullet hell game.
Though SL aren’t exactly strangers to running VR installations, they are relatively new to VR gaming, and PAX West was the biggest convention they’ve done to date.
Over the course of four days, the Blasters team had about 680 people play the game. That’s 680 chances to make an impression, and 680 chances for feedback. The game was met with a largely positive response, but it’s not to say there weren’t takeaways for improvements. Here’s how SL’s on-the-ground user testing sent them back to Toronto with not only action items, but ideas for the future of Blasters and beyond.
What was learned?
- Users are still being introduced to VR.
Almost 70 per cent of players had never tried VR gaming before and loved the experience.
- Word of mouth is still unbeatable.
A large number of people came back to the booth to play the demo multiple times over the weekend and recommended the game to their friends and other people at the convention.
- Players adapted easily.
Once players understood what kind of game Blasters was and had experience playing it, they could easily form opinions on the gameplay and mechanics and give the team important feedback.
- PAX West is the real deal.
PAX West was the biggest convention that Secret Location has done to date. Because of sheer volume, the team decided to run the booth using a numbered system. Many preferred it to waiting in a line.
- It gave real insight into competition.
Not only did the SL team get players’ real-time opinions of the game as they played, but it also showed the poor first impression or misunderstanding of the game users get based solely on marketing materials. Talking with players about this and getting a look at how other games at the convention position themselves was tremendously helpful and sent the team back with lots of ideas to pursue.
- Always expect the unexpected.
As with any convention, there were moments where things didn’t run as smoothly as the team hoped they would. Most of these issues were because of shipments coming in late or technology needing to be set up, but nothing kept them from successfully running almost 170 people through the demo on each day of PAX.
What could be done differently?
- Revise our branding.
Be more clear about the game’s concept. The promotion of Blasters of the Universe could use a fine-tuning to more directly reflect its bullet-hell VR game nature. Many people who visited the booth didn’t understand the game’s concept at first, so the team is planning on altering the promotional branding to be more descriptive.
- Have a back-up plan ready.
At future conventions like PAX West, expect set-backs during set-up and even during show hours. That way, if things go wrong, there’s a back up plan to accommodate whatever problem surfaces.
- Bring more swag!
Have extra marketing materials and things like handouts and badges on hand. Most people will take whatever is free and return to booths that seem interesting.
All in all, SL had a very successful weekend at this year’s PAX West convention with the Blasters of the Universe demo and believe that the input we got back from our target audience, VR users and gamers will help make the game even better in future updates.
