A playtest is the process by which a game designer tests a new game for bugs and improvements before bringing it to market. Playtests can be run "open," "closed," "beta," or otherwise.
Playtests are very common with computer games, board games and table top role-playing games, where they have become an established part of the quality control process. A computer game is a game composed of a computer-controlled virtual universe that players interact with in order to achieve a defined goal or set of goals. ... A board game is any game played with a premarked surface, with counters or pieces that are moved across the board. ... A role-playing game (RPG) is a type of game in which players assume the roles of fictional characters via role-playing. ... In engineering and manufacturing, quality control and quality engineering are involved in developing systems to ensure products or services are designed and produced to meet or exceed customer requirements and expectations. ...
An open playtest could be considered open to anyone who wishes to join, or it may refer to a game company's recruiting testers from outside. Closed is an internal testing process not available to the public. Beta testing normally refers to the final stages of testing just prior to going to market with a product and is usually run semi-open with a limited form of the game in order to find any last-minute problems.
The playtest has several characteristics that are essential for obtaining quality, actionable feedback from consumers about their perceptions of a game’s key dimensions.
In addition to the standardized questions, the design of the playtest also gives the user researcher flexibility because he or she can add questions to assess dimensions of the game that are unique to the game being tested.
Playtests are not generally intended to serve as a test of the game’s “quality.” The tests focus on the first hour of gameplay, which we feel is critical.
Playtesting is the process of playing a new game design, over and over, in order to spot flaws and improve playability.
There is no excuse for failure to playtest a design thoroughly before putting it on the market [although you’ll hear a lot of such excuses from publishers, particularly software publishers]; it indicates either gross ignorance, total egotism, or an absolute lack of interest in giving the gamer their money’s worth.
The playtesters had a pretty good game worked out, but the designer never found out what it was… and the designer’s version was published and fell flat.
Feeds |
Contact