Playtesting for our board games starts tomorrow, so naturally I'm going to dedicate this blog post to it. Here's what I've learned. Games, be they board games or video games, need to be playtested to see not just if they're good, but in what ways they are and in what ways they're not. I read this article on leading board game playtests, which nicely summed up what the point of playtesting is: figuring out what does and doesn't work. To do this, you have to give the testers autonomy and avoid interfering. Don't give them ideas, and don't discuss strategy, since you (hopefully) won't be in everyone's houses to tell them what to do once your game is available to the world. Let them figure it our for themselves, because chances are, that's what other players will do. Of course, if the testers have to keep asking you to what to do, there's probably something wrong, especially with the directions. Another thing you have to do is keep an open mind and avoid getting defensive. In order to find out how you can improve your game, you have to find out what's bad about it. If you're going to improve anything, you're going to have to have testers tell you all the things that are terrible about your game. You're going to have to change or get rid of things that you put so much work into. As a designer, it will probably be painful to hear, but it will improve your game in the end. These two articles suggest treating playtesting like a scientific experiment. Have a goal in mind and consider what parts of your game you're trying to improve. Collect as much data as you can, on things like pacing, parts of the game that were unpleasant, and strategies players used. Write it down! Analyze suggestions to see why the tester said what they did; suggestions are often made in response to some kind of problem. Take suggestions with a grain of salt, since you don't want to overcomplicate your game, but consider them all. It's also important to have the right kinds of playtesters. You need members of your target audience, to make sure the game will appeal to the people you want it to appeal to. There should be testers with varying amounts of experience; you need to see first impressions, as well as how your game stands the test of time. Most importantly, you need your testers to be honest. Sugarcoating will get you nowhere. So, to summarize:
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AuthorI'm moving on to my 4th (and final) year as a Game Art & Design student at Durham School of the Arts. I'd like to call myself an artist, but I'm a programmer at heart. Archives
February 2020
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