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I Thought Players Would Love This Mechanic. They Didn't. Here's What I Changed.

· 4 min read
Yisi Liu
Yisi Liu

One of the mechanics I was most excited about in Whisker 2 completely confused players during playtesting. Here's what I learned about the difference between what designers think and what players actually experience.

What I Designed​

I added a combo system where if you served ingredients in a specific order, you'd get bonus points. I thought this would add depth to the gameplay and reward skilled players.

The system worked like this:

  1. Pick up bread → Pick up cheese → Pick up lettuce = Sandwich Combo! (+50 points)
  2. Pick up flour → Pick up sugar → Pick up eggs = Cake Combo! (+100 points)

I implemented it with a simple queue system:

private Queue<string> ingredientQueue = new Queue<string>();

public void PickupIngredient(string ingredientName) {
    ingredientQueue.Enqueue(ingredientName);
    
    if (ingredientQueue.Count > 3) {
        ingredientQueue.Dequeue(); // Only track last 3 ingredients
    }
    
    CheckForCombo();
}

private void CheckForCombo() {
    string[] currentCombo = ingredientQueue.ToArray();
    
    // Check if it matches any combo patterns
    if (IsCombo(currentCombo, sandwichCombo)) {
        score += 50;
        ShowComboText("Sandwich Combo!");
    }
}

What I Expected​

I thought players would:

  1. Notice the combo text appearing
  2. Experiment with different ingredient orders
  3. Learn the patterns
  4. Optimize their ingredient pickup routes

I was imagining players speedrunning to get perfect combos.

What Players Actually Did​

During the first playtest, literally nobody mentioned combos. Zero people.

I asked: "Did you notice the combo system?"

Most people said: "What combo system?"

A few people said: "Oh, I saw some text flash but I was focused on the orders."

Why I Think That Happened​

After watching people play, I realized three problems:

Problem 1: The feedback was too subtle The combo text appeared for 1 second at the top of the screen. But players were looking at:

  • The customer orders (center-right)
  • The ingredients they were picking up (bottom)
  • The oven timer (top-right)

Nobody was looking at the top-center where combo text appeared.

Problem 2: The reward wasn't obvious +50 points sounds good to me as the designer. But players had no idea if that was a lot or a little. The score was just a number that went up.

Problem 3: Players were already overwhelmed During early levels, players were still learning:

  • Where ingredients are
  • How to use the oven
  • How to serve customers
  • How to manage time

Adding "also learn combo patterns" on top of that was too much.

What I Changed​

Change 1: Made feedback impossible to miss​

I moved the combo text to follow the player character and made it way bigger:

private void ShowComboText(string comboName) {
    GameObject comboPopup = Instantiate(comboTextPrefab, playerTransform.position + Vector3.up, Quaternion.identity);
    comboPopup.transform.SetParent(playerTransform); // Follow player
    
    TextMeshPro textComponent = comboPopup.GetComponent<TextMeshPro>();
    textComponent.text = comboName + " +50 Points!";
    textComponent.fontSize = 8; // Much bigger
    
    // Animate it floating up
    StartCoroutine(FloatAndFade(comboPopup));
}

Change 2: Made the reward tangible​

Instead of just points, combos now:

  • Gave you +5 seconds on the customer timer (something players actually cared about)
  • Made a satisfying "ding!" sound
  • Showed sparkle particle effects

Change 3: Delayed the introduction​

I removed combos from the first 3 levels entirely. Players learned the core loop first. Then level 4 showed a tutorial message: "Try picking up ingredients in order for bonus time!"

Change 4: Simplified the combos​

Instead of 8 different combo patterns, I reduced it to 3 common ones that matched the most frequent orders. This made them easier to learn and players naturally did them while fulfilling orders anyway.

The Result​

In the second playtest:

  • 80% of players mentioned combos without me asking
  • Several players actively tried to trigger them
  • One player said "Oh that's why the sparkles happened!"
  • Average scores went up because people got more time bonuses

What I Learned​

Design hypothesis ≠ player experience.

Just because I understand a mechanic doesn't mean players will notice it, care about it, or figure it out.

The most important lesson: Watch people play. Don't just listen to what they say—watch what they actually do.

Players told me the game was "fun" but they didn't engage with combos at all. If I had only done surveys instead of observation, I would have thought the combo system worked fine.

Now before I add any mechanic, I ask:

  1. Will players even notice this exists?
  2. Is the feedback clear and immediate?
  3. Is this teaching them too many things at once?
  4. What's the smallest version of this I can test?

Testing your assumptions is the difference between "I think this is good" and "I know this works."