How well does a cooperative game work when played by the people it is being made for? Last weekend, Onderwijsbeurs Zuid gave CataMiner an excellent opportunity to investigate. More than 180 visitors played the game at the Techplein.
CataMiner is developed by Fontys students coached by GameLab. In this chaotic co-op friendslop game, players venture into caves together to rescue Cat Gremlins. Daniël Klaver is currently working on the cooperative aspect: how do you ensure players need each other and, above all, enjoy playing together?
To assess this more effectively, Daniël has built in analytics. This allows him to collect data from play sessions and investigate how people actually play the game. The playtests at the fair therefore provided valuable data for CataMiner's further development.
The game was available to play on 25 and 26 September at the Techplein at Onderwijsbeurs Zuid, with support from Spelbrekers. Many secondary school pupils visited, precisely the audience the team wants to reach with CataMiner. Their play sessions now give Daniël and the team a solid basis for further improving cooperation in the game.
We previously wrote about the student team behind CataMiner. It is great to see how the game continues to develop and how a busy exhibition floor can also be a valuable testing ground.