Brand Game Development

JANUARY 25, 2021

I’ve written before about the usefulness of documenting your playtesting. It contains both pragmatic advice and a primer to the mindset I want you to take into playtesting. Eventually, you’ll have to edit the rules until they help them learn. Now your game is ready for blind playtesting. Need help on your board game?

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Playtesting Games Mechanics Editing 130

Brand Game Development

MARCH 31, 2017

I’ve created a playtesting log and I’ve done 11 tests so far. If you want to learn more about record-keeping and playtesting, I’ve got a great article for you to check out. I take my own advice, and this is what my playtesting log looks like. These tests can all be classified as “movement tests.”

Dev 130

Dev Playtesting Simulation Editing 130

PreMortem.Games

JANUARY 8, 2024

There have been times in my work at Blizzard where I’ve made an animation or edited a PSD file or a 3D model to iterate more quickly on a design and the designers on those teams have let me know how much they appreciate it.” Sometimes I have to make a bet that a feature will be fun only to end up cutting later after playtest feedback.”

Dev 158

Dev Playtesting AAA Indy 158

Brand Game Development

JULY 15, 2019

Particularly when hard choices come from simple mechanics. Below, I have lightly edited the original work from his blog and – in some cases – replaced images with ones from the production copy of Tasty Humans. I knew I needed a mechanic that gave players a choice of one adventurer from several options.

Tile 130

Tile Mechanics Games Puzzle 130

Brand Game Development

JULY 22, 2019

Below, I have lightly edited the original work from his blog. In each of the design diaries that I have written so far, I have focused on a specific game mechanic or isolated portion of the game. However, in hindsight, the decision trivialized the “crown” mechanic that I had included to determine the drafting order.

Tile 130

Tile Games Playtesting Balance 130

Brand Game Development

OCTOBER 23, 2017

What follows is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation over DMs in Discord. Sarah: It was also in 2013 that we met Ben and were playtesters for his game Tower , which he launched on Kickstarter early in 2014. Along with handling all the business, Ben has playtested and helped develop our designs.

Prototyping 130

Prototyping Playtesting Games Game Design 130

Brand Game Development

JANUARY 2, 2018

With various other developers, I’ve talked about all the different parts that go into making a board game: the core engine , the mechanics , rules , and storytelling / internal narrative. Below is a lightly edited transcript of our conversation via Facebook Messenger. Except that’s not really all, is it?

Playtesting 130

Playtesting Games Advertising Prototyping 130