In my second play test I had a great experience, a group of guys played my game while I watched and took their criticism and discussed different options. The list grew larger. And larger. And larger. It was great that there were lots of things that will (hopefully) make my game better, but how do I implement this in the next playtest? Do I make all the changes at once and see which ones work and which ones don't? That seems like it would be a huge time eater, as each test has taken 3 hours and the end is not in sight, though that's also because of learning curve. Do I just make the biggest changes first, then the smaller changes?
This is going to take so much more time than I expected. Good thing I love it.
Comments
Playtime is important
Three (3) hours for a game is a LOT. Even worst if it's NOT a 4X game... I would focus on ideas that would help speed up the game. Also I would encourage you to playtest on your own - that should help in lowering the time take by a game.
Take my current WIP, it is about 2 hours for a 4 player game. But after a few playthrus, the time it takes is about 1 hour (when all players are familiar with the game). This is very positive, because it means NEW players need to get familiar with the game, while experienced gamers in "general" (not necessarily experienced in playing my game) seem to get into the game much quicker.
My advice is focus on trying to TRIM the game time by an hour... Can your game be played in 2 hours. Even 2 hours is a LOT! Like I said the positive point in my WIP is that playtime is reduced to an hour with experienced gamers...
Best of luck with your game!
playing and play-testing
Bunnyhunter,
It's great that you've received such wonderful feedback, but I wouldn't recommend changing everything. As the designer, remove those elements which aren't essential, while adding only that which enhances your game.
Remember thatplaying the final game may take an hour or two, but a 3-hr play-test is completely reasonable as new players are interacting with an unfinished game for the first time. I've run over 50 play-tests, and many of ours go 4+ hours.
Cheers,
Joe
Revisions
Bunnyhunter:
I am very happy to see you're getting feedback and play-tests in (I so need to pick-up the play-tests again as I've been slacking with work). :)
My advice is don't rip and replace, rather review and modify.
With play-testing getting advice is critical, but you shouldn't feel obligated to incorporate every piece of advice you're given. Be selective about it and if it totally changes your vision of the game (unless there is a fundamentally broken component) don't do it. I believe you should still thank them for the time and suggestions as they took the time to work with you on it. :)
I've started using social media to get input on one of my games with a vote the suggestions received and ideas for art. It seems to be doing well on FB and I continually thank every person by name, and tell them what I like about their suggestions. Can you do something like that or selectively add some suggestions in without changing the fundamentals?
Lastly remember to save your changes as versions (v1.X or v2) as you may not like the change and want to go back. :)
Again, congrats you're on your way to a Awesomely Successful Game!!!
Cheers
Jon