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Motivation for Play Testing Solo

I doubt I am in the minority when I describe myself as someone who enjoys thinking about designing different game elements much more than play testing them by myself.

I am in the midst of designing a game called Heir Saboteur. I can think up ideas for it all day long. However, when it comes to actually setting up the pieces (which are actually just scraps of paper with scribbles on them) and testing out the rules by myself, I find myself disinterested.

I find myself wanting to just put my game in front of a bunch of my friends to test, but I know the game will crash and burn since it has zero actual test time into it.

I am curious if anybody else has this motivation issue, or if I am just a lazy bum. If you do have a similar issue, how do you motivate yourself to go ahead and run through your multiplayer game by yourself?

Comments

You could make stuff on your

You could make stuff on your computer for printing?
All you have to do is cutting the pieces in the right size.

Too Ugly?

If you can't handle the thought of playtesting because it's just so darn ugly, then spend the time decorating the pieces instead of forcing yourself to look at the ugly ones.

Printing them out is okay, but I don't have a printer. I grab some scissors, some old manila folders, and a set of markers, and spend an hour or two sketching out what I want. Once I'm happy with a design, then I replicate it for each card, board segment, etc. required.

I mean, if you're the designer and you can't stand looking at it, then what makes you think a tester would be interested? This isn't to say that you've not yet put pride into your creation, but if your own personal motivation is lacking, then take action in another way that brings you closer to your goal. Doodling and drawing may do it.

Even if testing isn't done, you at least have something to show for the time you've spent. Plus, when you finally put it in front of someone else, they won't have to hear you constantly saying things like, "I know it's ugly, but..."

I'm not sure I know how to play with myself

I don't think it is the fact that it is ugly, just that I don't want to "play" it by myself. I think it is hard to get a feel for the game when you're trying to represent a bunch of different players' strategies.

I've heard a lot around here to not spend too much time designing the pieces and cards until quite a ways into testing. I can agree with this since my rules have changed a lot since the initial idea, and I've had to scrap a lot of pieces that didn't take a long time to create. At the same time, it is always nice to have good quality components in your hand with neat artwork. It helps you to be immersed in the experience more. Maybe having a few key cards/components that I spend more time on will make the play testing more easily approachable...

mulletsquirrel wrote:I doubt

mulletsquirrel wrote:
I doubt I am in the minority when I describe myself as someone who enjoys thinking about designing different game elements much more than play testing them by myself.

I am in the midst of designing a game called Heir Saboteur. I can think up ideas for it all day long. However, when it comes to actually setting up the pieces (which are actually just scraps of paper with scribbles on them) and testing out the rules by myself, I find myself disinterested.

I find myself wanting to just put my game in front of a bunch of my friends to test, but I know the game will crash and burn since it has zero actual test time into it.
I am curious if anybody else has this motivation issue, or if I am just a lazy bum. If you do have a similar issue, how do you motivate yourself to go ahead and run through your multiplayer game by yourself?

G'day Mullet S

The advice you are getting is fine but may I suggest some simple artwork, not so much to progress the game but to more progress your interest in making the game reach a dead end or progressing.

Drawing is easy, anyone can do it this way.
a) Start with stick figures and try to get the action right (no leaning and balanced so they do not look like they are falling over)
b) Make sure you put a line in for shoulders and hips
c) Fatten them up and dress them
d) Consider making them way out of proportion ie tall and skinny or oversize feet and heads or big knees and elbows, or huge noses - that way your art will always be perfect because the only standards you have to meet will be your own.

If you prefer 3D figures the art shops sell small packs of plastic "clay" and if you make a wire stick man you can do the same as above. These plastic clays will harden in an oven at low temps.

Once you have your characters you should be inspired to find new roles for them or put them aside until a role bobs up.

I hope that helps.

Fatten them up and dress them?

Ned Kelly wrote:
G'day Mullet S

The advice you are getting is fine but may I suggest some simple artwork, not so much to progress the game but to more progress your interest in making the game reach a dead end or progressing.

Drawing is easy, anyone can do it this way. a) Start with stick figures and try to get the action right (no leaning and balanced so they do not look like they are falling over) b) Make sure you put a line in for shoulders and hips c) Fatten them up and dress them d) Consider making them way out of proportion ie tall and skinny or oversize feet and heads or big knees and elbows, or huge noses - that way your art will always be perfect because the only standards you have to meet will be your own.

If you prefer 3D figures the art shops sell small packs of plastic "clay" and if you make a wire stick man you can do the same as above. These plastic clays will harden in an oven at low temps.

Once you have your characters you should be inspired to find new roles for them or put them aside until a role bobs up.

I hope that helps.

Thank you for the tips. However, I just didn't want to get so consumed with the artwork before I knew I had something I was going to end up keeping long term. I think I will sketch a few simple drawings onto the cards I have for now just to give it a touch of flavor, but nothing that I'd be afraid to throw away once it is not used.

Side Note: What do you mean "Fatten them up and dress them?" I don't have the time or money to feed more hungry mouths at the moment.

Stick Figures

From simple to complex:

I think the "fatten them up and dress them" part is the more three-dimensional look on the right.

For me putting the game into

For me putting the game into motion is something you just have to do. What might help you is to realize that this process will give you loads of more ideas to work with.

I suggest instead of trying to do a "full" playtest, start by just testing one aspect, or maybe just 1 round of play. Your first problem might not be balancing strategies but simply, "does the game work?". Just try a few turns putting yourself in each players shoe and see what happens.

With most of my prototypes I have found right off the bat within like 10 minutes something does not work at all and thus I have to rethink things(back to the creative process). The neat thing that can happen is this process in itself can become almost a game. The game being: get this game to play at least somewhat how I imagined it in my head.

Seeing how many ideas don't actually work within just a short semi-playtest, and then finally finding a solution that actually works will give you the juices you need to do more full playtests.

Once things start getting near playable, start working on basic art like mentioned above, so as soon as it is remotely playable you can hopefully get some good friends to help you actually playtest the thing properly.

Hope this helps!

yep...I feel that way, but motivation isn't the issue....

I am going through that right now as well. Motivation isn't the issue, however. I am trying to play out my rules, but my game is not a solitaire game like that so I don't get far without thinking, "okay, so what's next?" That slows down the momentum. You are super motivated too, I am sure. I think the issue is more that you probably are making the game because you want to see how it plays out AND how others will play it! Maybe you ARE ready for folks to play it, but you simply might fear the failure too much?

As far as crashing and burning...so what? Playtesting, whether alone or with others, is by it's nature trial and error. Your friends probably know that there is a possibility the game won't play out well. You can also simply say--"Hey, this is the first go, so it will probably crash and burn. So I am seeing how that happens to make changes so that we can get through a first round. I know you guys will help me figure that out. It might be a little frustrating, but that's why I bought us all pizza! :-)"

I think the solution is wrapping your head around what you are doing by playtesting by yourself. I just said to myself one night..."Okay, just try it...once. See what happens." I found myself having difficulty with basic things...what do I do next? Did I even know my own rules well enough to play it? Is it easy to move pieces around, or figure out where everything goes? Let's just say I didn't get very far. But that is the point. I stopped and tried to think of what need to change.

I think a lot of basic stuff can be worked out by playtesting by yourself, but trying to figure out strategy and tactics--you know what you are going to do next, and that's simply not fun if it's intended to be a multi-player game. If you can't get through setting up the game without saying to yourself, "Ugh, this is a pain in the keester to set up!" then maybe your time is better spent refining the game until you don't say that. Move on to where you think the players get beyond the set up through to a first round or so. If you can do that, then you might find that is just enough to hand it over to friends and let them work it out so you can take the next step. Maybe you can set up a basic plan to give yourself some simple intermediate goals for each time you playtest it solo. For example...

Goal 1: Make set up a breeze.
Goal 2: Determine turn order options.
Goal 3: Work through a first turn.

Maybe that is all you need to put it in front of friends and get their reactions and feedback. That feedback is critical...you need the view points to understand where change is needed.

So, bottom line--don't fear the failure! Go do it...get in front of your friends. If it flops you will hear all about it and then you can go and fix it. Just buy the pizza first! :-)

Carl G wrote:For me putting

Carl G wrote:
For me putting the game into motion is something you just have to do. What might help you is to realize that this process will give you loads of more ideas to work with.

I suggest instead of trying to do a "full" playtest, start by just testing one aspect, or maybe just 1 round of play. Your first problem might not be balancing strategies but simply, "does the game work?". Just try a few turns putting yourself in each players shoe and see what happens.

With most of my prototypes I have found right off the bat within like 10 minutes something does not work at all and thus I have to rethink things(back to the creative process). The neat thing that can happen is this process in itself can become almost a game. The game being: get this game to play at least somewhat how I imagined it in my head.

Seeing how many ideas don't actually work within just a short semi-playtest, and then finally finding a solution that actually works will give you the juices you need to do more full playtests.

Once things start getting near playable, start working on basic art like mentioned above, so as soon as it is remotely playable you can hopefully get some good friends to help you actually playtest the thing properly.

Hope this helps!

I wrote my reply before reading yours...well said! ditto!

A simple answer to a need for

A simple answer to a need for motivation might be, if the game isn't interesting enough for *you* to play solo, why do you think anyone else would want to play it?

A harsher comment would be, dilettantes only think about game design, game designers do it. And solo testing is an important part of doing it - an interesting part, I think.

I'm going to quote the rest from my book "Game Design" (McFarland 2012), because why write it again?

"Solo Testing
It’s hardly surprising that video games start with playtesting by the individual(s) making the game. But few tabletop games are meant to be played alone. Yet in solo playtesting of tabletop games, the designer plays the game solitaire, playing all the sides independently as best he can.

At this stage the designer is trying to get the game to a state where other playtesters have a good likelihood of enjoying it, and ultimately of playing it through to the end. At solo stage the designer might try a portion of the game and then stop because something isn't working, or because he has a better idea. When asking other people to play a game I almost never stop a game in the middle, or try something that might be so bad I'd want to stop, though I know of designers who think nothing of doing this. I have been known to change an obviously screwy rule in mid-game, but that’s usually when I’m playing alone, not when others are playing.

Most video games are designed to be played alone, and the designer should play first. If there's a more-than-one-player component, it's usually impossible for the designer to play several sides by himself. If a video game production team has created a paper prototype to test, they’ll play it themselves rather than ask others to play.

As I gain more experience with tabletop versions of games, I find myself often using a small computer to write extensive notes as I play a game solo the second or third time. These notes help me later remember how the game works if I haven’t written a full set of rules. As with other aspects of game design, you benefit from writing things down."

Crashing on First Play-Test is Just Fine

Solo testing is great fun for me, but then as I only child I used to play board games against myself all the time.

But if you don't want to solo-test, go ahead and test with friends. You don't even have to make a big event out of it. Just bring your prototype to the next party or get together, and offer people a beer if they help you test for an hour first.

Yes, the game will crash and explode. This can be hilarious. The first version on the bar ownership card game I am working on took 3 hours to play, when the original goal was 30 minutes. Some of the rules turned out to be so obscure that they were meaningless. My friends didn't resent me for a broken game, and instead loved being part of the creative process.

I'm on the same boat (but I think I like rowing)

I have one project too, that's in need of a playtesting after a complete overhaul of systems. Unfortunately I have "lost" my weekly playtester quinea pigs whom I forcefully fed my creations before.
Now I need to go solo.

And it has been quite revealing for me thus far, (My game's this hex-based miniature dungeon-crawler thingy) as you're not amongst friends who'll keep you company along the gaming.
I too lose interest in a handful of turns, as the game now is just the same hack&slash until you'll run all the objectives. I need something big that'll surprise the players in there, makes something different happen, something that keeps the players on their toes more.

This is a big motivator for me to make it so, that I look forward finishing a game round by myself. When I get there I'm positive it'll be a blast with friends.

dilettante

lewpuls wrote:
A simple answer to a need for motivation might be, if the game isn't interesting enough for you to play solo, why do you think anyone else would want to play it?

A harsher comment would be, dilettantes only think about game design, game designers do it. And solo testing is an important part of doing it - an interesting part, I think.

Thanks for this. It does put things into perspective. I need to push through the worry about if my creation will fail mechanically or isn't fun.

If I am serious about designing the game, I need to be serious about testing it instead of just daydreaming about it. Otherwise I am not a game designer, just a dreamer.

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