Courtesy of Kate Raynes-Goldie.
Playup Perth After Dark was awesome fun and it was the first time I playtested my game Into the Pie! in public and I'd like to share five lessons I learned from my first public playtest.
Playup Perth After Dark
Courtesy of Kate Raynes-Goldie. #1 - Choose a great location
SK Games graciously allowed us to playtest our games at their office (one of the coolest places I've been) in West Perth. The furnishings were eclectic and unique, a true reflection of the indie company. To give you an idea of what I mean, you can see in the bottom left hand corner of the picture above that we were propping open the front door with a spare computer tower.
The games were also well placed in and around the office. You can see three games in the picture above, one at the table, one to the right and one further at the back. There were at least another two games sitting around outside. This meant that people had heaps of space to move around and watch others play as well as just catch up and have a chat. So, as you can see, having the right location helps to setup the right atmosphere for playtesting games.
SK Games graciously allowed us to playtest our games at their office (one of the coolest places I've been) in West Perth. The furnishings were eclectic and unique, a true reflection of the indie company. To give you an idea of what I mean, you can see in the bottom left hand corner of the picture above that we were propping open the front door with a spare computer tower.
The games were also well placed in and around the office. You can see three games in the picture above, one at the table, one to the right and one further at the back. There were at least another two games sitting around outside. This meant that people had heaps of space to move around and watch others play as well as just catch up and have a chat. So, as you can see, having the right location helps to setup the right atmosphere for playtesting games.
Courtesy of Kate Raynes-Goldie. #2 Be prepared
Always have everything you need for your playtest prepared well beforehand, otherwise you are likely to forget something and while it may not affect the game itself, it probably will affect you psychologically. Some of these things include the playtest materials, your pitch (see #3), the rules explanation and your playtest questions.
Also, make sure you arrive early to find out what kind of space you'll be working in and if and how you can alter that space to your liking. For example, I brought two copies of Into the Pie, hoping to run one table with 4 players and another with 6. But, when I got to SK Games, there was only enough space for one table of my game, so I just put one box away. See #4 for more on this.
Finally, be prepared to talk about yourself. I spent probably half of my time talking about the game and its rules and the other half just talking about how I got into making games and the types of games I enjoyed playing or making. People are just curious as what makes game developers click and if we can share some of what makes us click, maybe they will think, I can do this too.
Always have everything you need for your playtest prepared well beforehand, otherwise you are likely to forget something and while it may not affect the game itself, it probably will affect you psychologically. Some of these things include the playtest materials, your pitch (see #3), the rules explanation and your playtest questions.
Also, make sure you arrive early to find out what kind of space you'll be working in and if and how you can alter that space to your liking. For example, I brought two copies of Into the Pie, hoping to run one table with 4 players and another with 6. But, when I got to SK Games, there was only enough space for one table of my game, so I just put one box away. See #4 for more on this.
Finally, be prepared to talk about yourself. I spent probably half of my time talking about the game and its rules and the other half just talking about how I got into making games and the types of games I enjoyed playing or making. People are just curious as what makes game developers click and if we can share some of what makes us click, maybe they will think, I can do this too.
#3 - Be friendly and approachable
How can you expect to get others to buy your game when you can't even approach them to playtest it? So, be prepared with a quick and friendly thirty-second pitch to explain what your game is about. Mine goes: "Into the Pie! is a quick family friendly card drafting game about making pies. A game plays 4-6 players and takes roughly 15 minutes. This is an early version of the game that I am playtesting. Wanna join the next game?"
I managed to get five separate groups of people, each between 4 and 6 players, to playtest my game that night, which was more than I expected, but it was certainly appreciated. All you need to do to get people engaged is to be genuinely enthusiastic about your game. If you're enthusiastic, then they'll be engaged.
How can you expect to get others to buy your game when you can't even approach them to playtest it? So, be prepared with a quick and friendly thirty-second pitch to explain what your game is about. Mine goes: "Into the Pie! is a quick family friendly card drafting game about making pies. A game plays 4-6 players and takes roughly 15 minutes. This is an early version of the game that I am playtesting. Wanna join the next game?"
I managed to get five separate groups of people, each between 4 and 6 players, to playtest my game that night, which was more than I expected, but it was certainly appreciated. All you need to do to get people engaged is to be genuinely enthusiastic about your game. If you're enthusiastic, then they'll be engaged.
Courtesy of Kate Raynes-Goldie. #4 - Be adaptable
Within minutes of starting my first game, I knew things needed to be changed. I also knew that not everything could be changed on the fly. I'd need to adjust the cards and print new copies, look at the rules and make sure they would work with the new cards, etc. But there were still things I could do to change the game as we played it, at least to test out ideas. It pays to remember that these people are willing to put up with a game that doesn't necessarily work all the time, because they know it's a prototype.
So, I made changes to the rules, trying out different things, keeping those that people liked and leaving behind the ones that people didn't like. I didn't realise how much I could alter the game during a playtest until one of the later groups, when someone suggested that I just halve the deck. Now, to me that sounded horrible; lose half of the work I had put into the game? But, still I gave it a shot and lo and behold, it did make the game better, and that's what I wanted right? So, sometimes, it is worth taking that risk.
Within minutes of starting my first game, I knew things needed to be changed. I also knew that not everything could be changed on the fly. I'd need to adjust the cards and print new copies, look at the rules and make sure they would work with the new cards, etc. But there were still things I could do to change the game as we played it, at least to test out ideas. It pays to remember that these people are willing to put up with a game that doesn't necessarily work all the time, because they know it's a prototype.
So, I made changes to the rules, trying out different things, keeping those that people liked and leaving behind the ones that people didn't like. I didn't realise how much I could alter the game during a playtest until one of the later groups, when someone suggested that I just halve the deck. Now, to me that sounded horrible; lose half of the work I had put into the game? But, still I gave it a shot and lo and behold, it did make the game better, and that's what I wanted right? So, sometimes, it is worth taking that risk.
#5 - Be grateful
Sometimes it's the small things that matter. A smile, laughing at someone's joke, but most importantly a thank you to the people who have played your game and given you feedback. They have patiently given up their time to help you playtest your buggy, broken to hell game and told you what they like and what they think needs to be fixed. Your both on the same side, trying to make the game better, so a thank you at the end of the playtest goes a long way to getting them to come back the next time you pull out a less buggy and less broken version of your game.
Sometimes it's the small things that matter. A smile, laughing at someone's joke, but most importantly a thank you to the people who have played your game and given you feedback. They have patiently given up their time to help you playtest your buggy, broken to hell game and told you what they like and what they think needs to be fixed. Your both on the same side, trying to make the game better, so a thank you at the end of the playtest goes a long way to getting them to come back the next time you pull out a less buggy and less broken version of your game.
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