User testing week 13

What is your Degree Program?

Interactive systems and video game design (3 Year)

What do you think the story is about?

Originally, I thought it was about some sort of tragedy, then I watched further and realised it was mental health. However, I did not expect OCD. This may be because I do not suffer from it more than the animations fault, but it clarified mental health issues.

Comments on the environment and overall timing & pacing of the story?

As I previously said, it was not completely clear until the end of the animation what it was about. I also am slightly unsure the environment is the best choice, the ice was a good idea giving the feeling of aloneness and a feeling that everything around you is falling apart, however the whole setting being in the icecaps, disassociated me from the feelings, as it did not identify with the subject on a personal level and thus didn’t feel the full impact. The idea would be better if you expanded the feelings the animation portraits, to people who do not suffer from OCD, such as starting in a neutral environment and eventually the environment turns to the snow environment

Do you feel the message is conveyed clearly?

Yes, it made me think about how it is to have OCD

Other comments and feedback?

No.

This feedback is interesting as up to now the feedback has been mostly positive, saying that the message has been conveyed clearly. This one does however state that the message was not entirely clear until the end of the animation. This is part of what I was going for, that sudden shock factor at the end but this user found that the icy setting took him out of the emotional aspect of the animation. This contrasts with everyone else. I suppose that is just an element that not every piece can reach every audience.  

What is your Degree Program?

Interactive Systems and Video Game Design (3 Year)

What do you think the story is about?

At first the Animation starts of with an individual walking across a frozen lake and enjoying himself, then the ice begins cracking and the man becomes distressed whilst he attempts to flee from the danger. He finds himself trapped on both sides and after all of the ice cracks and separates leaving him isolated and panicked on a small floating section of ice. He begins wallowing in self agony as the scene transitions to him sitting dejected on the step of an OCD Mental Health Clinic with a Doctor/Nurse reassuring him that he'll be OK. The scene transitions from that to narrated texts and ends on a final text line.

Personally I didn't expect it to head in this direction although the Title "Cracked" conveys a shattering on the mind like how the ice splinters and fractures. I'm not sure exactly what conveys this as OCD as I saw this as more of an Anxiety Attack and the feeling of helplessness the protagonist has in his situation makes it seem more so.

Comments on the environment and overall timing & pacing of the story?

The environment design was decent the background to the tundra looks good. I think the Ice he's walking over could be more translucent to convey to the viewer how fragile it is and the dangerous water underneath, The show Particles look very square and pixelated and square I think a larger snowfall density and a better pixel resolution would improve this aspect.

I think the facial features on the man are well done, they are exaggerated to the point where they convey the emotions probably but not to a point where they become overly cartoon-like. The animations on the man also fall between a nice area of partial exaggeration but grounded in a reality. Another thing I like was the camera following the ice as it cracks and the scene transition from the man's thoughts to outside the clinic.

Another issue I have is with the Audio. The ice cracking sound is very clearly a plastic noise, it lacks the crunch Ice has as it breaks. Also the voice lines that are said seem too quite to be heard properly mainly on the male voice lines, this could be an issue with the Earphones provided but it warrants a check and maybe a re-recording of those line to be more audibly clear and if too loud can then be reduced during the editing process

Do you feel the message is conveyed clearly?

I think there are decent context clues to what is been conveyed but I personally would've have diagnosed his issues not as a form of OCD but rather another form of disorder that causes anxiety and feelings of uselessness 

Other comments and feedback?

I think having him fall into the water and him having to drag himself out of the water and onto the ice island he ends up on would've make the danger of the situation more real to the viewer. Overall I'd say it's pretty decent especially in the character modelling and animating department but I think the theme wasn't conveyed to me as well as I expected

This feedback is great. Lots of depth and adds great context to the animation as well as people believing it to work as anxiety as a whole.