Finalizing Our VR Game and Next Steps

Server 17 has come a long way from the idea we conceived at the beginning of Chapter 1, Introducing VR Technology in Unreal Engine 4. From our initial designs and discussions with users, we have created a game prototype with flexible systems that puts player fun and comfort first. In Chapter 5, Creating Optimized Game Art for VR in UE4, we discussed the limitations of game art in VR and some best practices that can be used to build the visuals that this game demands. So, where do we go from here? It's time to test!

Once we have a working prototype, it is time to test with our users and see whether some of our design ideas are right. Only the players can tell us whether we are on the right track. No design is ever perfect right out of production, and our game will often undergo several rounds of testing and redesign before we hit a version...

The importance of game testing

The testing phase is an essential part of the HCD process:

Testing is the fifth step of the HCD process

In this phase, the goal is to gain real and meaningful feedback from our players with the hopes of going over our design and improving it based on this feedback. This phase is the most important part of the process, since there is no way of knowing whether our game is fun without getting it in the hands of the players. This is also the phase where many first-time developers struggle. Many creators feel very connected to their work and view criticism of it—even constructive criticism—as criticism of them or their abilities. It is important that we separate ourselves from our work so that we can accept ideas that will improve the project. Approach all feedback with an open mind and understand that, ultimately, we get to decide which...

Collecting testing data

The data for testing can be collected in the following ways:

• Usability testing
• Card sort
• Expert review

There are several methods that we can use to collect feedback on our game. These methods are all designed to gather specific data from the players that can be used to improve all aspects of the game, from user interfaces to level designs. Some of them are high tech and utilize advanced methods of recording the player, such as eye movement-tracking tests. Others are very low tech and might involve having the players sort cards with certain keywords on them into categories or simply having the player try the game while you and your colleagues record the results.

Usability testing

The first method...

Preparing for distribution

So, we have gathered player data, reworked the design, and tested again. We might have been through this part of the design cycle several times already, but now our game is perfect and ready for release to the masses. So, it is time to cook and package a release version of the application. This process has several steps:

1. Adjust our Project Settings.
2. Launch the ProjectLauncher.
3. Set up a Custom Launch Profile.
4. Test the game build.

Our journey to release starts by adjusting some Packaging settings in our Project Settings:

Project Settings, showing the Blueprint Nativization option

Let's turn on Blueprint Nativization. This option converts our existing blueprints into C++ code, which will give us a bump in performance:

1. Find the Blueprint Nativization option in the Packaging section of the Project Settings menu.
2. Click the dropdown menu and choose...

Summary

Congratulations! We now have a packaged and complete game prototype! So, where do we go from here? With what we have learned throughout the chapters of this book, the future of our game seems vast and infinite. For some of you, you may want to continue with some of the themes that we have created with Server 17. For others, the goal might be to take the systems that we have designed and build and start a new game. Each system we programmed in Chapter 3, Exploring Riveting Gameplay in Virtual Reality, and Chapter 4, User Interface and User Experience inside VR, were designed to be generic and flexible, allowing the reader to take them in any direction that they wished. I can see the same systems that I interpreted as perfect for a hacking puzzle game reimagined for use in a shooter game, vehicle experience, or even a cartoon cooking game. Once you have settled on a design...