Testing with UCSD students backed up the design: a 90% aesthetic approval rating, and more importantly, a measurable 15% increase in sorting accuracy for difficult waste items after just one playthrough. That second number is the one I care about, because it means the game didn't just look good, it changed what people could do. The takeaway for me is that the "soft" visual choices and the character-driven motivation weren't decoration, they were the mechanism that made the learning stick.