Playtesting
Each student will get a game to start with.
- Learn the rules of the game and be able to host a session for others.
- Design a remix, rule-change, or variation of the game.
- Write down a few predictions of how you think things will go (see report section below)
- Run at least 3 playtest sessions, where each player tries both the original and remixed version of the game. 4. If it’s a multiplayer game, you need an entire fresh set of players for each session. 5. Take at least 1 photo or video of each session (this is just for academic integrity, not documentation)
- Take comprehensive live playtest notes (these will be submitted).
- Write up a report of what you learned.
Games
Outdoor
Card Games
Other Game
- Suggestion with approval from instructor.
Submission
- Upload your raw playtest notes.
- Upload your proof-of-activity images.
- Upload Your report.
The Report
The report is a written document, but it does not need to be in complete paragraphs. It can be numbered/bulleted, but still grammatically coherent and correct sentences.
Analyze and synthesize your observations into a document with short paragraphs that explain the following sections:
1. Predictions before the playtest
What you got right/wrong about these predictions What were your main, major, or particularly noteworthy surprises? If there were none, something went wrong somewhere.
2. Key takeaways.
Major, repeated, most significant lessons or observations made. (At least 3)
- For each one, include a user quote, observed moment, or anecdote from the session to help tell the story of it.
3. What went wrong?
Not with the users, your predictions, etc (learning is things going right), but what went wrong with the playtest?
What didn’t you learn? What got in the way of getting feedback.
What should you fix for a hypothetical next time? What lessons did you learn from these mistakes?
4. Next Steps
Finally, so you learned a bunch… what are you gonna do about it? Hypothetically, what’s at least 1 or 2 changes you would make to the game?