5-1 Evaluate Game With Playtesters

Your team needs to evaluate the digital prototype of your game by having users playtest the game to get feedback on what is effective and what could be improved.

The evaluation will focus on testing the functionality, usability, and user experience of your game. This evaluation can help provide evidence of how effective your game is at appealing to your target player.

YOUR TASK

1. Save a copy of this online evaluation survey in your team's project folder.

   • IMPORTANT: Be sure to edit survey item #4 to replace the phrase "GAMING MOTIVATIONS" with your game's targeted gaming motivations (such as "Excitement and Strategy").

2. Recruit a total of 3-5 participants to conduct separate in-person playtesting evaluations.

   • Let the participant know it will take about 5-10 minutes.

   • Ideally, the participants should be similar to your target player persona.

   • Avoid using participants that evaluated your marketing website, since their familiarity with the website will affect how they view and evaluate the game.

   • However, if you do want to have the same set of participants evaluate both the game and the marketing website (in order to see how the game and website are consistent with each other), then recruit 6-10 participants (i.e., twice as many): Have half the participants evaluate the game first and then the website. Have the other half evaluate the website first and then the game. This will allow you to compare the responses from the two groups and see how the order of the evaluations affected the responses.

3. At the start of each evaluation, briefly explain to the participant that your team wants to get feedback on a prototype of a new video game. Be sure to mention that:

   • the game is being tested, not the participant

   • the game is a work-in-progress, so you want constructive feedback on what’s working well and what could be improved

   • the participant can ask questions during the evaluation, but you might not be able to answer certain questions until after the evaluation is completed

4. Tell the participant to “Think Aloud” as they play the game for several minutes.

   • If necessary, you may need to first provide brief instructions on the controls that the player will use to play the game (i.e., which keys to press for specific actions, etc.).

   • If time allows, the player can play the game more than once.

5. Observe as the participant plays the game, and be sure to record notes on any useful feedback.

   • If the participant has questions about the game, don't explain the game to them. Instead, try redirecting the participant back to the game by responding with your own question (such as: What do you think? What do you expect should happen? etc.). If necessary, let the participant know that you can answer their question after the evaluation is completed.

6. After several minutes of playtesting, have the participant complete the online evaluation survey.

7. Be sure to thank the participant for their time and feedback. If needed, you can respond to any follow-up questions the participant has.

Repeat Steps 3-7 with each participant.