Prod [10/12] Part 2 
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The team decided to skip the sponsor diner to go over the playtest results to prepare the closing phase.
Let's discover the 16 players playtest insights.
Difficulty level
📈 Lack of difficulty progression:
The advanced ships make the experience too easy.
The game is too hard with the first ships.
⏱ Total average playtime: 25min.
Playtesters played 14 sessions on average.
Playtesters 'quotes':
'Fun game, however the difficulty is all over the place and not logical.'
'The game was quite hard at first, then quite easy. It does not make sense.'
'Why would ships with more canons also have more shields?'
Sense of accomplishment
Lack of sense of accomplishment:
All players beat the game with the top ships.
Top scores are easily achieved and do not differentiate good players.
Playtesters 'quotes':
'The top score is capped and similar to the others.
Beating the game with a great ship was not rewarding.'
'StarShip is too powerful. The game gets boring...'
'The Shields work well, however I never used more than 1 shield...'
'Could my missiles hit and cancel the Alien missiles?'
Feel & Immersion
The immersion is getting there, despite the lack of audio.
UI, ships and aliens design can be improved.
Playtesters 'quotes':
'The game looks good. Space feels a bit static though.'
'Could we get different alien types?'
'The graphics are really cool. Except the 'Shield S' icon: I thought it was a 5.'
'The ships sense of power is great. Too bad there is no audio...'
'Could we get a 'Pause' button?'
Conclusion
&
Recommendations
Conclusion
Average playtest score:
The Alpha build is stable and the game is appreciated. There is a significant issue with the difficulty level.
The players shared some ideas to build a progressive and rewarding challenge.
Recommendations
1/ Progressive difficulty along the game.
2/ Ensuring meaningful players' scores comparisons.
3/ Polishing the UI and the visuals.
4/ Adding a rewarding end game or boss battle.
After reading our playtest insights, let's analyze the players' logs to understand the difficulty issue:
Please make sure to consult all cards.
SpacePlan / Alpha Playtest sample logs for players 1 to 6 / focus on STARDUST & STARLORD
| Player | Playtime | Ship Type | Deaths | Shields Used | Waves Beaten | Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Player 1 | 24s | STARDUST | 1 | 1 | 0 | 6100 |
| Player 1 | 1min 57s | STARLORD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 54900 |
| Player 2 | 1min 47s | STARDUST | 1 | 1 | 4 | 36500 |
| Player 2 | 1min 53s | STARLORD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 52200 |
| Player 3 | 18s | STARDUST | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2900 |
| Player 3 | 2min 14s | STARLORD | 1 | 3 | 9 | 47700 |
| Player 4 | 24s | STARDUST | 1 | 0 | 0 | 8800 |
| Player 4 | 2min 29s | STARLORD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 51000 |
| Player 5 | 2min 34s | STARDUST | 0 | 1 | 10 | 46100 |
| Player 5 | 2min 3s | STARLORD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 54800 |
| Player 6 | 56s | STARDUST | 1 | 1 | 1 | 15300 |
| Player 6 | 1min 58s | STARLORD | 0 | 0 | 10 | 54300 |
By implementing these changes, players will face a steadily increasing challenge that encourages skill development and keeps the game engaging.
The combination of detailed playtest logs and a structured analysis demonstrates why difficulty progression is essential to making SpacePlan more challenging and enjoyable.
You also earned a SPACESHIP card!
Production / Mission [10/12] part 2 completed
Super useful! This was our last playtest. Here is the team's debrief and decisions:
Despite the tight schedule, the team is super energized.
Jessica prepared the test sessions results. Let's have a look to prepare the Closing phase.
