Playtest
At the heart of the game production journey is the playtest phase: with dual forms of quantitative and qualitative methodologies, it reveals the raw, unfiltered experiences of players that are essential for refining, balancing, and aligning the game with the vision of its creators.
This toolkit distills playtest best practices, ensuring that every iteration leads to actionable insights and brings you one step closer to crafting a game that captivates and enthralls.
Playtest rules and principles
The 5 rules for playtesting:
You are never part of your target (never!)
The #1 UX Tool: customer centric philosophy to embrace
Playtests have to be analysed according to the state of the version. No version is ready yet!
The consumer owns the truth
Rely as much as possible on neutral and experienced moderators or discreet team members
Quantitative testing
1.Gather Objective Data: Utilize tracking tools to collect quantitative data such as death counts per level, the usage of medpacks, heatmaps of player activity, favorite weapons used, and average timing.
2.Involve More Testers: To ensure statistically significant results, engage a large number of testers. The more you progress in development the more testers you should involve.
3.Iterative Testing: Analyze the collected data and adjust the game accordingly, then retest to evaluate the impact of those changes.
4.Gap analysis: Use quantitative tests to compare the design intentions with the actual player experience (XP).
