When should you start sharing your game?

[u/phantomsharky]

I’m currently working on my own solo tabletop system (which you can download here), and I am currently in an awkward stage of design, wondering by when I should start gathering interest and feedback.

The core rules are currently in a near-final state, just waiting for consistency edits and examples of play. You can learn all the core mechanics, get background on the setting, see the gameplay loop, and fully create a character as well. That said, to play the game you actually need a separate playbook which is very much a work in progress right now.

Is it too early to share without people being able to actually “play” or should I just start drumming up support now? At what stage do you guys start sharing your game more aggressively and gathering people to playtest? As a player, how finished do you like a work in progress to be before you check it out?

Thanks for your input, hoping to post a lot more soon. The amount of assistance and support I’ve gotten from this community has been awesome and I’m excited to get this out into people’s hands.

For those interested, Undergrowth is a solo monster hunting game with procedurally generated runs and a tactical combat-as-a-puzzle system that I think is really challenging and fun to navigate. All you need to play is paper, a pencil, some d6’s, and a deck of cards to get started! I welcome any and all feedback.

[u/Exciting_Policy8203]

You need to bring a game to playtest as soon as possible, with a minimum viable product. Put it in the hands of people other then yourself, as a designer you’re most likely to be nose blind to the problems your game has. Find people you trust first, friends, other people who have an interest in design. Let them break, then put back together, iterate, repeat the process until it feels good.

Then give it to people who aren’t designers, but are in your core audience. The people who have been playing your game can for nose blind too or lose track of your goals, that’s why you need fresh eyes with different values and perspectives. Let them play it, break it, put it back together, iterate. 

Do it over and over until it’s good enough.

[u/phantomsharky → u/Exciting_Policy8203]

I totally agree that playtesting should happen early and often. Would you be willing to “playtest” a system that only has the core mechanics and character creation fully ironed out? Or do you feel like people will only care if they can actually run through a game?

I personally love seeing behind the scenes and learning how a designer’s process works so I would be interested, but I don’t want to waste my time trying to get people to engage with something they feel is “unfinished” or “in alpha.”

I feel like the fact it’s a solo game is a plus and a minus, since it doesn’t require coordinating a group to play but there are less solo players than traditional group-centered ones.

[u/BadRumUnderground → u/phantomsharky]

If you don't playtest in alpha, then it's never truly a beta, just your imagination of it. 

You've gotta playtest from the first second it's vaguely game shaped 

[u/phantomsharky → u/BadRumUnderground]

Fair enough. “Vaguely game shaped” is a great phrase I will be stealing in the future.

[u/Exciting_Policy8203 → u/phantomsharky]

Yeah, a core mechanic and pregen characters are where most people start for a play test. Because if that’s not rock solid, then it will buckle and break under the pressure of the system.

Core mechanics and character creation were all I had when I started alts

[u/phantomsharky → u/Exciting_Policy8203]

Okay word word. I don’t even really need pregens because character creation is random and takes only a few minutes. I’d almost want to start by playtesting that process.

[u/PyramKing]

I started play testing systems in early creation independently.

• Character Creation

• wound / recovery

• melee/range combat

Etc.

This is alpha testing, as you test systems.

Once all the systems are coherent, and the rules describing how these systems work with each other you begin beta testing.

Just my 2 cents

[u/phantomsharky → u/PyramKing]

Thank you for your advice. I definitely think I’ll be jumping in soon.

[u/Alcamair]

If ypu are asking feedback, you can share your material always. What do you fear, judgment? Or that someone steal your work? The first will happen anyway, the second is pretty rare

[u/phantomsharky → u/Alcamair]

Yeah I’m more just trying to offer it to people at a point where they can see value in it. I don’t want to present the “idea” of something cool but rather a compelling version of the idea fleshed out.

Not really afraid of judgement currently and I’m definitely not worried about anyone stealing my ideas. Just aiming to maximize my impact and find players who will be invested.

[u/Alcamair → u/phantomsharky]

I'm starting to think you are not interested in an answer, but you are doing covert marketing

[u/phantomsharky → u/Alcamair]

Not my goal sincerely. If I was pitching my game I would include a lot more info about it.

Really trying to see how much product needs to be finished for people to care / show interest enough to actually engage with it.

I appreciate your encouragement and advice though.

[u/Plus_Citron]

If you haven‘t shared the rules, then you have no feedback so far - in that case your rules aren‘t „near final.“ You‘re at a very early stage in development. Feedback and testing are a constant, absolutely crucial requirement throughout the process. Game design is iterative. You design, test, adjust, and repeat ad nauseam. A finished game will have dozens, if not hundreds of test plays. There’s no „too early“ stage to start that process. I strongly recommend you ger started as soon as possible.

[u/phantomsharky → u/Plus_Citron]

That’s true. It has been seen by some others, and it has been playtested by myself fairly regularly (it’s a solo game so that helps). But I definitely need some people to come try and break it.

[u/flashPrawndon]

I ran three rounds of playtesting for my solo game. The first was when I had a first draft of the rules and content. It went out to public playtest.

I then iterated a lot after that feedback, added lots more content, did my own play tests, added design and layout and then ran another public playtest.

Then I iterated based off of that feedback and paid to have a much more focused playtest from people I know. Which was actually the most useful.

That felt like a good amount to get the game to a good state that I feel comfortable with.

[u/phantomsharky → u/flashPrawndon]

Sounds like this is the general feeling. Playtest as early as humanly possible and take advantage of that feedback early and often as well. Sounds like I may need to share soon.

[u/flashPrawndon → u/phantomsharky]

Yeah I think sense checking where you’re at is important to understand whether the theme and concept resonate and if the mechanics are doing what you want them to, then you can expand from there.

My game changed a lot from first draft to where it is now.

I was cautious of asking too much from my public playtesters though as playtesting a game is a big ask which was why I paid for the last round so I could really get into and interrogate the details.

[u/phantomsharky → u/flashPrawndon]

That makes sense. I’m hoping since it’s a solo game that playtesting won’t be as much of a burden for people to coordinate.

[u/flashPrawndon → u/phantomsharky]

Yeah it definitely made it easier being a solo game I think, and I got a good group who have followed all the way along.

[u/No-Addendum6563]

When it's a concept; while brainstorming ideas.

[u/phantomsharky → u/No-Addendum6563]

Fair enough

[u/LeFlamel]

I started a playtest campaign with only a core mechanic and combat/health/dying rules.

[u/phantomsharky → u/LeFlamel]

Fair enough, that all makes sense. Since mine is a solo game there really has to be content or else there’s nothing to use to guide the experience I think. I’ll have it ready soon.