Playtesting - PowerPoint PPT Presentation

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Playtesting

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Game Design Workshop: Designing, Prototyping, and Playtesting Games ... Reveal glaring problems. Then testing with friends. Not objective. Then test with strangers ... – PowerPoint PPT presentation

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Title: Playtesting


1
Playtesting
Cheryl Seals sealscd_at_auburn.edu
2
Assignment
  • Read Chapter 8
  • Game Design Workshop Designing, Prototyping, and
    Playtesting Games
  • By Tracy Fullerton, Chris Swain, Steve Hoffman
  • http//www.tar.hu/gamedesign/gamedesign0057.html

3
Playtest Final report
  • Select playtesters friends/classmates, not on
    team
  • 5 required plan the playtest (see rest of
    slides)
  • Observe playing your game
  • What is harder/easier than expected
  • Interview them after
  • What was fun about the game
  • What could be improved short long term
  • Improve the game based on comments!
  • Read and follow directions on http//www.eng.aubu
    rn.edu/sealscd/COMP7970/project/Group_Project_Spe
    cs.doc

4
What is Playtesting?
  • The most important activity in game design
  • It is NOT
  • Casual weekend gaming
  • Just play the game and gather feedback
  • might not reveal real issues with the game
  • Internal Design Review with team
  • Designer team play the game and talk about the
    features
  • Need real players
  • Bug Testing by QA team for debugging
  • QA team goes through and rigorously test each
    element of software for flaws
  • Focus Group Testing
  • Marketing exec sit behind two way mirror watching
    sample group play and discuss the game with a
    moderator asking them how much they would pay
    for game
  • Usability Testing
  • Systematically analyze how user interacts with
    your software by recording their mouse movements,
    eye movements, navigation patterns, etc.

5
What is Playtesting?
  • It is
  • Something the designer performs through the
    entire design process
  • Getting insight into how players experience game
  • Informal/qualitative ?? structured/quantitative
  • Somewhere along this continuum
  • Answers questions
  • Is the game functioning the way you want?
  • Internally complete?
  • Balanced?
  • Fun?

6
When do we Playtest?
  • Iterative
  • Less fundamental changes as process progresses
  • Lets wait till we have a beta productPlayers
    will get the best experience
  • NO!

7
Model for iterative game design Playtest,
evaluate, and revise
8
Steps in Playtesting
  • Selection
  • Recruiting
  • Preparation
  • Controls
  • Analysis

9
Recruiting and Selection
  • Self testing
  • Reveal glaring problems
  • Then testing with friends
  • Not objective
  • Then test with strangers
  • Selection is important
  • Target demographics
  • but widest selection possible (AOE II case study)

10
Age of Empires II Case Study
Graph of player Errors over time
11
Running a playtest session
  • Dont talk too much
  • Use a script
  • Let the user make mistakes/figure things out
  • Its the game thats broken, not you
  • Think Aloud
  • This practice has players talking constantly
    while playing
  • Can be distracting, but can give some good
    insight
  • Interview/survey
  • Beware of leading questions

12
Running a playtest session
  • Dont be defensive
  • Bewaretesters will want to please you
  • Really!
  • Groups generate ideas
  • Individuals evaluate
  • Can use groups, individuals, or combination

13
The Play Matrix
  • Core aspects of all interactive experiences
  • Stimulates discussion
  • Have tester analyze gameplay using matrix
  • Should your game be moved in the matrix?

14
Play Matrix
15
Running a playtest session
  • Note taking critical
  • Video or audio recording
  • Interview
  • Game specific questions needed
  • Dont wear out your participant

16
Playtest data
  • Objective or subjective
  • Quantitative or qualitative?
  • What can you measure?
  • Develop clearly defined questions to answer with
    data
  • Test control situations
  • New feature, special event, common technique, the
    end of the game
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