Comments on: Ron’s Rules for Playtesting http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/ Fri, 10 Oct 2008 22:28:18 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.2.1 By: MochiLand » Blog Archive » Why the Masses are “Right” http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-4348 MochiLand » Blog Archive » Why the Masses are “Right” Mon, 28 Apr 2008 21:44:53 +0000 http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-4348 [...] If you are going to make the most of out your friends and family, I highly recommend checking out this article by Ron Carmel of 2DBoy.com. It’s a quick read and has great tips for making the most out of the [...] […] If you are going to make the most of out your friends and family, I highly recommend checking out this article by Ron Carmel of 2DBoy.com. It’s a quick read and has great tips for making the most out of the […]

]]> By: MochiLand » Blog Archive » Promoting Your Game - Lessons Learned http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-3834 MochiLand » Blog Archive » Promoting Your Game - Lessons Learned Thu, 17 Apr 2008 20:55:54 +0000 http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-3834 [...] Playtesting is what turns mediocre games into awesome games. Extensive playtesting is what made the award-winning game Portal great. If you want to learn how to do it right, read Ron’s Rules for Playtesting. [...] […] Playtesting is what turns mediocre games into awesome games. Extensive playtesting is what made the award-winning game Portal great. If you want to learn how to do it right, read Ron’s Rules for Playtesting. […]

]]> By: George Warner http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-3303 George Warner Thu, 20 Mar 2008 18:56:41 +0000 http://2dboy.com/2007/11/12/rons-rules-for-playtesting/#comment-3303 Camera's are 100% the way to go here; A MacBookPro with a screen saver running will be ignored; iSight camera and all. Put it on a desk across from the testing location where it can capture as much of the game screen and the player as possible. A mirrors on the wall behind the game screen monitor can be used to get a better recording of the players face. A step up from that would be the one-way mirror with you and a camera behind it. Just make sure the camera captures the audio from both the play tester and you (this is much better than taking (written) notes). On the "dirty tricks" side, an "over-caffeinated" tester typically plays much more aggressively. Free coffee, soda (Jolt, etc.) and/or "energy drinks" can vastly improve the quality of your play testing data. Camera’s are 100% the way to go here; A MacBookPro with a screen saver running will be ignored; iSight camera and all. Put it on a desk across from the testing location where it can capture as much of the game screen and the player as possible. A mirrors on the wall behind the game screen monitor can be used to get a better recording of the players face.

A step up from that would be the one-way mirror with you and a camera behind it. Just make sure the camera captures the audio from both the play tester and you (this is much better than taking (written) notes).

On the “dirty tricks” side, an “over-caffeinated” tester typically plays much more aggressively. Free coffee, soda (Jolt, etc.) and/or “energy drinks” can vastly improve the quality of your play testing data.

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