Playtesting

1. Playtesting Ağacan Süleymanoğlu

2. Outline • Overview • Finding the Right Testers • When to Test • How to Test • Guided and Unguided Testing • Balancing • The Artistic Vision

3. Overview • Playtesting is not just a minor stepping-stone. Instead, playtesting is a key time during which you can transform your game from average to excellent. • This is not the same as debugging.Playtesting is the design equivalent of bug fixing. • (Stable + Boring) vs. (Unstable + Fun)

4. Findingthe Right Testers • Not just anyone will be able to playtest a game effectively. • General impression:“that was fun” or “that was tedious” or “that was too hard” • Constructive form: “When I was fighting the twelfth clown on level three, I thought he was too hard to defeat. I had no idea what I was supposed to do to kill him, or whether the attacks I was attempting were having any effect at all. I thought maybe I was supposed to roll the boulder at him, but I could not figure out how to do so.”

5. Findingthe Right Testers • Know how seriously to take their opinions and what biases they may have. • Whiners: who complain about everything, even things that do not need fixing. • Shy: “Maybe you should look at the power of the Elephant Rider unit” • Regardless of the testers’ tendencies, if a number of them bring up a similar issue, then something probably is wrong.

6. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould Test • Have some from each group working on your project. • With playtesters more truly are merrier. • Broad Range of opinions • Different types of playtesters: • Member of Development Team • Traditional Playtester • First-Impression Testers • Developers outside team. • Non Gamers

7. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould Test Memberof Development Team • It keeps them enthused about the project. • They can provide you feedback about how the game is working and what you might do to improve it. • May be far from objective in their comments about it. • They may tend to like or dislike their own work for personal reasons. • Similarly, they may like or dislike the ideas of other members of the teambecause of their opinions of that person.

8. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould Test First ImpressionTester • Many «kleenextester» wereusedtoperfecttheinterface in TheSims • They can provide essential feedback about unintuitive controls, unclear presentation of information, or unfairly difficult portions of the game. • Youmust keep bringing in new ones, since a human can only truly have a first impression of a game once

9. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould Test Developers outside team. • These testers understand game design. • They can analyze how your project may come up short and how it might be improved • Whatever feedback these fellow designers give you can be extremely helpful

10. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould Test Non-gamers • Gamers will have an especially high tolerance for the things that games traditionally do badly. • Non-gamers provide fabulous feedback, pointing out fundamental problems that hard-core gamers will overlook and forgive. • Useful in determining if an interface is too confusing or the game is too unforgiving

11. Findingthe Right TestersWhoshould NOT Test • Boss • Hemaytry to impose a solution on you • Marketing Department • Instead of theiropinions, theywilltrytofigureoutwhat the “target demographic” wants. • “Gameof the week” syndrome • Friends • Theywill sugarcoat their opinions out of misguided kindness. • Idiots • Idiots tend to say idiotic things and have idiotic opinions • Hard-corefans • Fanaticalabout your game’s genre orthe previous version of the game

12. Whento TestEarlyPlaytesting • Early playtesting requires that the tester overlook many problems • the game crashes frequently • art is place-holder • there is only one level to play • sections of the game are obviously incomplete • Game developers inside or outside the team • will be able to recognize and explain fundamental problems

13. Whento TestGUI andControls • Bring in some first-impression testers to experiment with these new GUI and controls. • If players do not figure them out immediately, you will know your game needs work.

14. Whento TestAlpha • As the game becomes more complete. • Traditional Testers who will try to find bugs • But you should encourage them to look beyond the bugs and give you feedback about the gameplay itself if they can, before beta.

15. Whento TestBeta • Laststep before a game is published • Supposedto handle bug fixes. • At thispoint, you stop being able to make fundamental changes to the gameplay for fear it will break the game in some major way • Balancing

16. How to test • Observetesterswhiletheyareplayinginstead of tellingthem how toplay • Nothing can be achievedbyguidingthetesters-problems of thegamecannot be learned • If the testersreallyget stuck, the designer needs to ask himself what is causing these problemsand he shouldtrytofix. • The designeralsoshouldconsiderwhetherthe game supportvariousplaystyles • Whenobserving is not possible, designershavetorely on testers’ reports. • Thedesignershould be opentocomplaintsandcriticisms.

17. Guidedandunguidedtesting • Guidedtesting • Earliertogetideasandfeedback • Latertocheckfixed/reworkedsections • Testingforwhetherthegamebreaksundersomeconditions • Unguidedtesting • Testingthewholegame, not justsomesections Whentestersaredoingguidedtestingandiffindout a problem in a partwhichtheywere not responsible, taking a note is important.

18. Balancing • Most proper time to balance the game is when its finished • Preliminary balancing may be done too • Most of the time, game will be too difficult.

19. TheArtisticvision • Focus groups:Random people who are given a one- or two-hour presentation and particularly gathered early in a game’s development. • Many times they are not allowed to play the games. They are informed about game concepts and, based on the descriptions, they are asked whether they would be interested in buying such a game.