About the test of Eastward

The game Eastward launched for 48 hours for a game test and I took a look of it. This is a Zelda-like game that developed by Pixpil Studio. I really love the pixel art and the lighting of it.

I read a book named Atomic Habits by James Clear recently. There is a habit loop contain four elements just suitable for thining about the game on some specific part.

When I was walking along the path and find a box on the edge of the city, I consider this box should be a sort of container can serve me some treasures. In this way, the box means a CUE, and what happened in my mind is CRAVING which associated with my cognition.

I went there to open the box but there seems nothing happened. Actually, I find some special things happened the second time when I opened the next box--it is a little bit of stronger sunlight pouring down but not easy to be noticed and one more heart point (HP bar) be added in the left bottom corner of the screen. There is no celebrate sound effects and visual effects. According to the Figure, this is not enough for the RESPONSE of players activities. The REWARD is good but players may not know they have been enhanced. This means the CRAVING is not addressed by the further process. We could predict that players possibly ignore the rest designed plot in the future.

I compare the same scene in Zelda, the hero Link will raise the new item with one arm and show it to the camera with a flashlight effect and let the players know what they got with a test bar information system. This feedback in the game is a continual process of the loop, respond to the activities and show the reward clearly to the players.

Use some necessary devices to present the feedback and make a whole habit loop in a crucial time if I want the players to form a new activity in my game.