Playtest from AAA to III

PLAYTESTS:
FROM AAA TO III
SLAVA LUKYANENKA

… AND WHO AM I?
WHO ARE YOU?

ME: Not Important Things:
WHO ARE YOU?
… AND WHO AM I?
• 7+ years in IT
• 5 years in Game Industry
• Former QA Manager (ISTQB Certified)
• Certified Scrum Master
• Bla bla bla …

WHO ARE YOU?
… AND WHO AM I?
ME: Important Things:
• Master of “Dungeons & Dragons”
• Created 5 D&D Modules (3.5 edition)
• Last played 2 years ago :(
• Had 150+ playlets during the year instead

WHY PLAYTEST?
…
Myth Reality
• “We are experts, we don't need to
test”
• “Yes, you are. But you are not the
target audience”

WHY PLAYTEST?
…
Myth Reality
test”
• “Our game is small and simple: no
need to test”
target audience”
• “Small game is still a game: are you
sure it’s fun for the others?”

WHY PLAYTEST?
…
Myth Reality
test”
need to test”
• “It’s too expensive to test now.
Maybe later…”
target audience”
• “More expensive is to close the
project after release with zero
revenue”

WHY PLAYTEST?
…
Myth Reality
test”
need to test”
• “It’s too expensive to test now.
Maybe later…”
• “We will track statistics, no need to
test”
target audience”
• “More expensive is to close the project
after release with zero revenue”
• “Ok. But measuring fun after the
release is too late”

YOU AND YOUR TEAM
IN-HOUSE PLAYTESTS
+ -
• It’s cheap (not free)
• You don’t depend on externals
• You can do it on any development
phase
• Losing the touch
• Game completely depends on
developer’s experience, instead of
target player’s
• Waste of time (sometimes)

OF PLAYTEST
MAIN FLOW
Preparation
Developer
Player
Questioning
Play
Survey
Survey
Analyse
PROFIT!

DO YOU HAVE…
Money?
Time?
HOW TO PLAYTEST?
CREATE YOUR
OWN TEST LAB

SERIOUS BUSINESS WAY
CREATE YOUR OWN LAB

DO YOU HAVE…
Money?
Time?
HOW TO PLAYTEST?
CREATE YOUR
OWN TEST LAB
OUTSOURCE
PLAYTESTS

TWO WAYS
OUTSOURCE PLAYTEST
It’s time to decide
Outsource organisation only Outsource organisation and
analysis
Different feedback

OUTSOURCE PLAYTEST
http://playtestcloud.com http://playtestix.com

DO YOU HAVE…
Money?
Time?
HOW TO PLAYTEST?
CREATE YOUR
OWN TEST LAB
OUTSOURCE
PLAYTESTS
REMOTE
PLAYTESTS

EASY-PEASY
REMOTE PLAYTEST
• It looks simple:
• Find the players
• Send them a build
• Wait for the feedback
• Survey
• Analyse
• It’s not so easy:
• Only 50% persons you found will
play the build
• Only 5% of players will provide
you feedback
• Only 15% will fill the survey
It means, If you found 100 players, You will take 15 survey responses and 5 feedbacks

DO YOU HAVE…
Money?
Time?
HOW TO PLAYTEST?
CREATE YOUR
OWN TEST LAB
OUTSOURCE
PLAYTESTS
REMOTE
PLAYTESTS
FIELD
PLAYTESTS

LET’S THE HUNT BEGIN
FIELD PLAYTEST
• Go outside your home / office
• Find players
• Ask them to play
• Immediate collect feedback
• PROFIT?
• Not so easy

NO GOAL - NO RESULT
TIP 1: DETERMINE YOUR OBJECTIVES
• “… Does [this feature] make my game funnier?”
• “… Is UX intuitive?”
• “… Does new ranking model work?”
• “… Is player portrait correct?”
ASK YOURSELF: I WANT TO KNOW…

…
TIP 2: TEST YOUR TEST BEFORE YOU
TEST!
• Make sure your build works as planned:
• No bugs
• Unavailable content is hidden
• Train on your colleagues:
• Short brief for players
• Answers on typical questions

AND THEIR ENVIRONMENT
TIP 3: FIND YOUR TARGET PLAYERS
• Create your player’s portrait Name: Bogdan
Gender: Male
Age: 27 years
From: Ukraine
• iPhone and iPad owner
• Like to play with his wife and children
• Truly in love with narrative driven games
• Doesn’t like competitive games
• Fan of Steven King’s books
• Travels a lot
• Go to the forums (twitter, facebook)
• Go to the cafe, bar, etc.
OR
OR
• Go to the conference, exhibition
• Communicate!

TIP 3: FIND YOUR TARGET PLAYERS

TIP 3: FIND YOUR TARGET PLAYER

…OR AT LEAST TRY
TIP 4: STAY ANONYMOUS
Do not tell… Tell instead…
“Wanna try MY game?” “Wanna try MY FRIEND’S
game?”
Here is why…
PEOPLE are victims of cognitive biases.
Help them to avoid It.

AVOID DIRECT QUESTIONS
TIP 5: ASK QUESTIONS
• “How much time did you feel like you
were playing for?”
I ask I want to know
• “Did you feel fun?”
• “Could you play the game again
without looking at the rules?”
• “Did you understand the rules? Is It
memorable?”
• “What was your strategy?”
• “Does the game bring you new
experience?”
• “Can you explain why the victorious
player won?”
• “Did you understand how to become
better in the game?”
• “Could you name the game that is
most similar to the game you played?”
• “Are you really our target player?”

AVOID DIRECT QUESTIONS
TIP 6: RECORD
• You will not remember everything -
record!
• You can notice something
interesting a bit later, watching
video
• If you can’t record, at least try to
make notes
• Give player a pencil and a notepad,
if he wants to write or draw you
something

…
TIP 7: ROCK THE SURVEY!
• Make it short
• Focus on questions, that makes you closer to goals
• Remind your players about survey (once or twice, no
more!)

EXAMPLE “BREACHED”

EXAMPLE “CAT CAT”

… AND NOT ONLY
TIP 8: ANALYZE IN AGGREGATE
Net Promoter Score - is a tool that
can be used to gauge the loyalty of a
firm's customer relationships
Net Promoter Score
+
Median NPS
+
Average NPS
=
Mental Pabulum

… AND NOT ONLY
• You have 112 answers
• NPS = 10 (Attractor is 10 more than
detractors)
• Average NPS = 7.2
• Medium NPS = 7

… AND NOT ONLY
• NPS = 10 (Attractor is 10 more than
detractors)
• Medium NPS = 7
Well, looks like you found your audience

… AND NOT ONLY
• NPS = -5 (Attractor is 5 less than
detractors)
• Medium NPS = 7.5

… AND NOT ONLY
• NPS = -5 (Attractor is 5 less than
detractors)
• Medium NPS = 7.5
It’s time to get dipper in demography

IT’S REALLY IMPORTANT
TIP 9: EXPLAIN RESULTS TO YOUR TEAM
• Show the records
• Reference to the target audience behaviour
• Reference to the player’s quotes
• Avoid to use numbers as an argument
• Avoid to prejudices

WRAPPING UP
1. Determine your objectives
2. Test your test before your test!
3. Find your target player
4. Stay anonymous
5. Ask Questions
6. Record
7. Rock the Survey!
8. Analyse in aggregate
9.Explain results to your team

THANK YOU
SLAVA LUKYANENKA
Project Manager
Contacts:
E-mail: v_lukyanenka@wargaming.net
Twitter: @Ed_Wing
Steam: eddiewing
PSN: ed_die_wing42
battle.net: EdWing#2653

Playtest from AAA to III

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