I know, this might have been a bit hard. But this Mission is going to be even harder. But first, let’s take a step back: go through your notes once again, and try and write a script of how the discussion went. Think back to your first playtesting experience, and reflect on the questions that yielded the most interesting responses, and write them down. In the same way, take into account some unforeseen direction the discussion took, and try and integrate it as a question in this script: effectively, you are now trying to create a questionnaire for your playtest. Given the huge diversity if your creations and your target audiences, we can provide you with a general one and, although, of course, there are “industry standards”, once again they are mostly fixed upon digital games, and you and your testers are the best judges of the specific context and issues that need to be discussed when navigating your playful creation. Once you are done, please do share it on #GChangers!

This questionnaire will be useful because the next step will be playtesting with people you do not know, and without you in the room (using both the rule book/tutorial you wrote in Mission 1 and this questionnaire) or, as it is called in the field, Blind Playtesting. Again, try and gather a diverse group for your test, though obviously, it might be harder than the first time.

Game related internet forums (such as those you came across last week) and game fairs might prove great “hunting grounds” for prospective playtesters, possibly with a high level of game literacy and able to provide you with in-depth feedback on the mechanical aspect of your creation. Often they even provide specialised spaces for this purpose and can support you with data collection to the booth. However, since we are trying to create something that might have real-world impact, your best choice, in this case, will probably be a local association that focusses on the same issue around which you built your creation, and, as a community, we would be happy to support you in getting in touch with them and support the case for playful engagement. Let us know if you need our help via #GChangers!

…And of course, when you have your first blind playtest results, also share those via #GChangers!

So, how were the results of your testing? Was it harsh? Was it useful? You might have noticed that I did not tell you what to actually do with all the feedback you have. This because, again, playful design is inherently iterative, which means you now have more information to go back on your steps and reconsider the design process as a whole.

Keep this in mind: as noted designer Greg Costikyan wrote, “listening does not mean obeying”. Not everything your tester said should be incorporated in your design, but it’s all useful to inform your choices.

So having gone through the last four stages of the open course, you should now quickly go through them again, and have a look at all the questions that I posed you, and how would you answer differently now that you have plenty more information. Does it look like it might take a few more weeks? Yes, it might, particularly as, in the spirit of iteration, you will have to go through this again! This might start looking like a Sisyphean task, however, do not despair, and keep in mind that design is never finished, it only stops.

When does it stop? Well, for commercial projects that happens when you run out of time and/or money. But for a DIY project, you set your own criteria.

We’ll discuss those (and indeed ourselves stop after that) in the final stage: Publishing and Play!

(and yes, there’s going to be more to it than that 🙂 )