flâneur

Moderate your first Live playtest

blog.playtestcloud.com · 1,357 words · saved by 1 readers

The first time I sat down for a live playtest, I was petrified. I was unsure how to build rapport, when to jump in to ask questions and the atmosphere must have been very tense for the unfortunate player stuck with me. Overcoming my fear was worth it though - during that session we discovered critical usability issues. Fixing those meant we didn’t lose players in the first hour of gameplay. Live playtests are one of the most valuable skills for uncovering real insight into how players think and act. By coming up with and asking new questions live, we can understand and explain player behavior in enough detail to understand the root cause of the issues we spot, and make effective fixes. I’ve mentored many game developers on how to run their first playtests, and seen some of the challenges that people face. I’ve also seen the value that running those sessions has created for their game, and understand the potential of Live studies. Live playtests are the fastest, most effective way of ge

The first time I sat down for a live playtest, I was petrified. I was unsure how to build rapport, when to jump in to ask questions and the atmosphere must have been very tense for the unfortunate player stuck with me. Overcoming my fear was worth it though - during that session we discovered critical usability issues. Fixing those meant we didn’t lose players in the first hour of gameplay . Live playtests are one of the most valuable skills for uncovering real insight into how players think and act. By coming up with and asking new questions live, we can understand and explain player behavior

related reading