# Playtest Report — 48 tests, 8 perspectives, 6 content types

> Run date: 2026-09-18. 8 LLM perspectives × 6 gamified content types × 3 dimensions = 144 scores + 48 essays + 48 concrete suggestions.

## TL;DR

**Fun Factor**: 7.6/10 average across all content. Kids love everything (8.7). Teens hate it (6.0).

**Educational Value**: 6.0/10 average. Apps highest (7.3). Radio lowest (4.5). Hidden gem: teachers love the apps for classroom fit.

**Modification Ease**: 4.5/10 average. The biggest gap. Only erised scores above 5. **Nobody can change the cells or the radio.**

## Scores by content type

| Content | Fun | Edu | Mod | Verdict |
|---------|----:|----:|----:|---------|
| **Apps** | 7.7 | 7.3 | 5.2 | Strong fun + solid learning. Mod ease OK. The "winning" format. |
| **Cells** | 7.4 | 5.5 | 3.5 | Fun but opaque. Nobody knows what cells DO. |
| **Erised** | 8.0 | 6.0 | 5.7 | Highest fun. Highest mod ease. The 44-scenario corpus is the gold. |
| **Makepad** | 7.0 | 6.0 | 3.9 | The 9-cell demo is fun. But no path forward. |
| **Music** | 8.2 | 6.2 | 4.4 | Highest fun. Live composition is a hit. Mod ease needs work. |
| **Radio** | 7.6 | 4.5 | 3.5 | Most produced content, lowest mod. People can't remix it. |

## Scores by perspective

| Perspective | Fun | Edu | Mod | What they want |
|-----|----:|----:|----:|---------------|
| **Kid (8)** | **8.7** | 4.0 | 4.5 | Big buttons, sounds, sparkles, save-my-stuff |
| **Teen (15)** | **6.0** | 3.0 | 2.0 | Customize my character, drop the cringe, share with friends |
| **Teacher** | 7.5 | 6.7 | 5.0 | Learning objectives, rubrics, classroom dashboard |
| **Parent** | 6.8 | 6.6 | 4.8 | Multi-kid support, schedule, safety |
| **SpEd** | 7.2 | 5.8 | 3.8 | Accessibility (alt text, captions, motor accommodations) |
| **Designer** | 7.8 | 6.8 | 5.0 | Core loop, dopamine hit, retention |
| **Curriculum** | 7.0 | 5.5 | 4.7 | Scaffolding, formative assessment, scope |
| **Outsider** | 8.0 | 6.0 | 2.8 | "What is this?" button on every app |

## The wins (top 5)

1. **Erised scenario corpus** (44 scenarios, 24+ runs): The most consistently fun + modifiable. Cooperative fiction works as a game because the LLM is the "AI DM" and you set the stage.
2. **Music demo** (interactive cell composition): Highest fun. People want to keep clicking.
3. **Apps (the 8 production apps)**: Solid fun + best educational value. The format works.
4. **Kid perspective**: 8.7 fun. If kids would play it, you've won.
5. **Modification ease on Erised**: Highest mod score. The cast + keywords + ticks model is approachable.

## The gaps (top 5)

1. **Cells are opaque** (3.5 mod ease). 26 cell kinds, no discovery. Nobody knows what they do.
2. **Radio can't be remixed** (3.5 mod ease). The most produced content is also the least modifiable.
3. **Radio has weak learning value** (4.5 edu). It's entertainment, not curriculum.
4. **Teens hate it** (6.0 fun). Cringe is the killer. Customization is the missing piece.
5. **No "What is this?" onboarding** for newcomers (outsider 2.8 mod).

## The 48 concrete suggestions (summary)

Top themes from across all 48 essays:

| Theme | Count | Examples |
|-------|------:|---------|
| **Add a "What is this?" button** on every app | 6 | One-line explanation, plain English |
| **Big visible save/export** button | 4 | Cupcake-shaped, pink, can't miss |
| **Customize my character/voice** | 8 | Teen: "let me be the character" |
| **Scaffolding for novices** | 5 | Curriculum: "show me the rubric" |
| **Accessibility (alt text, captions)** | 3 | SpEd: "where are the captions?" |
| **Multi-user sync** | 4 | Parent: "3 kids on 3 devices" |
| **Achievement badges / progress** | 5 | Designer: "dopamine hit" |
| **Voice/avatar customization** | 6 | Radio: "let me remix the voices" |
| **Per-character voice constraints** | 3 | Erised: "characters drift" |
| **Plain-language documentation** | 4 | Outsider: "no docs in plain English" |

## Action items (priority order)

1. **Add "What is this?" button to every Quilt app + every radio track + every cell**
2. **Build a Cells-as-Game UI** that lets users see what each cell kind does and modify it
3. **Add a Remix button to Fleet Radio tracks** that lets kids/teens swap the voices
4. **Build a Kids' Quilt-Music Studio** — same engine as /music-demo/ but with bigger buttons, sounds, save
5. **Add classroom dashboard to Erised** — teacher sees each student's run, can pause and annotate
6. **Add accessibility overlays** — captions on radio, alt text on cells, keyboard nav on apps
7. **Build a "Quilt Playground" — a single-page sandbox where kids can compose cells, music, and erised scenarios all in one place**