Lessons from Playtesting Everstone
I’ve been running playtests for my game Everstone consistently for about four months now. I am not an expert in it, but I definitely have hit a comfort level doing it where it feels routine. It didn’t start that way, and it doesn’t always feel like a breeze, but it’s something I enjoy doing during the process of game development.
Today I wanted to reflect on a few of the lessons I’ve learned in the process, hoping that it will help if others are looking to get the most out of their playtests.
The first 5 minutes will dictate how the session goes.
If you are engaging and logical about teaching the game, you will have much better feedback from testers. Mumbling will low energy, getting too focused on a specific detail, and explaining too quickly are all mistakes I’ve made while learning how to playtest.
My goal now when getting new players into the game is as follows.
Bring the upbeat energy
State the goal of the game in one sentence (how to win)
Jump right into the main actions players will take on their turn
Show an example of a turn in 1 minute
Skip talking about strategy. You want to see if players gain that knowledge while playing.
After I have gotten a general overview of all the parts of the game, I will ask the group if they would like to have an in-depth explanation of any parts of the game or if they would like to jump into trying to take a few turns.
Playtesters often will be more engaged in a turn example when it is their turn they are taking.
Be clear on what you are looking to get out of the playtest.
Suppose you are looking to test the end-game scoring of your game, state that before even teaching play testers your game. You shouldn’t need to spend over an hour getting to the beginning of what you want to test. Stage a mid-game setup and have players take over from that point. It’s better to be respectful of everyone’s time. If players enjoy the staged configuration and want to play a complete game, they will always offer their help to playtest again.
Remember that you are the one in control of the playtest.
When getting feedback from the playtest, please don’t lose sight that it is your game design. The audience will be great at pointing out what they perceive to be an issue. They will be correct on the game's issue 99% of the time. It is not their responsibility to fix the issue. No matter how many ideas or solutions they will recommend to you. Take them into consideration and thank the tester for highlighting the problem. You don’t need to commit to figuring out if their solution is the right or wrong one at the moment.
Scoring won’t matter until the game is fun.
The game's core loop is more important to set before you focus on scoring. Also, the majority of playtesters will not care about the score because they are more focused on being able to give you their feedback. This means that you don’t need to get a full game in or worry about balancing the scoring during most of the initial playtests. Focus more on uncovering real issues that won’t be solved by balancing the game. This balancing is meant to come later.
These are the main lessons that I’ve been able to gather from the mistakes I’ve made during my playtesting sessions. Luckily I was able to learn from them.
Here are two other articles on playtesting that you should also read!
In this article, Gabe gets into the details of everything around playtesting. What it is, why it’s essential, and how to do it effectively. These are just a few of the many playtesting topics that Gabe goes over.
Backerkit provides an excellent timeline for the different stages you go through for playtesting as you work to complete your game.
I’d love to hear any playtesting stories you have in the comments below!
