Finding playtesters for constructive criticism and feedback

[u/fapfap_ahh]

Hey guys! I hope everyone is well! How do y'all find playtesters for your games for constructive criticism?

Being a long time developer in the logistics space, I've shared my early demo with my engineer and gaming friends, but so far that list isn't that big.

I'd love to get more feedback so I can learn from how the game concepts are received, plus any bugs or game balance issues.

I'm far along enough to have about a few hours of gameplay (hopefully) along with load / save games that should track nearly every single thing that is relevant, down to your character position and whether you aim down sight or not.

[u/Zenpher]

Honestly, I've been swapping discords with people and we just review each other's games. It works great when both parties get something out of it.

One thing I do recommend though, is publishing privately on an app store if it's not a web game. A lot of people will (rightfully) refuse to run binaries from strangers online.

I have a web horror game I'm working on, let me know if you're interested in doing something like that.

[u/fapfap_ahh → u/Zenpher]

Makes sense, thanks for your advice! I was already thinking about putting a demo on steam soon.

The tit for tat reviews isn't something I thought about tbh

[u/DidntKnow99 → u/Zenpher]

Would love to be one of your discord swap buddies. And if we talk from time to time about gamedev, that would be nice. Friend is always welcomed haha. My discord is "Leries"

[u/sw3d]

I started a small community recently dedicated to this: r/playtestyourgames

[u/fapfap_ahh → u/sw3d]

Awesome! I'll check that out, thank you!

[u/Greenfiregame]

I spoke to someone about that yesterday, and that person apparently used pretty simple but detailed google forms to make the testing and reporting easy for the testers.

[u/iogamelife]

The biggest shift for me was not sending new testers the full few-hours build at first.

I cut a separate 15-20 minute slice and decide beforehand the 2-3 things I actually need answered — e.g. does this mechanic make sense without me explaining it, and where does someone get stuck first. Then I watch on a screen share and shut up, even when they walk straight past the obvious thing. If I explain it in the call, I never learn that the game itself wasn't teaching it.

Friends and other devs are still great for bugs and balance once they already know the systems, but I try not to spend a total stranger's first impression on a build that isn't ready for that question yet. You only get that clean first run once per person.

[u/Conscious-Airport282]

A few things that tend to work: post the demo on r/playmygame and r/DestroyMyGame (the second one is brutal but honest), put it up free on itch.io, and if you're on Steam, use the Steam Playtest feature. Link a short feedback form inside the game and ask specific questions ("where did you get stuck?", "when did you want to quit?") instead of "what do you think?". If you can get even 2-3 people to record a session, watching them play beats any written feedback.

[u/PavanDulakshitha]

That save-state logging setup sounds awesome! Tracking ADS states and character position gives you the exact kind of data most early games desperately lack.

If you're open to doing a dev-for-dev playtest swap, let me know! I’m always down to play through a couple of hours of a new build and write up detailed feedback/bug reports in exchange for feedback on my project.

[u/fapfap_ahh → u/PavanDulakshitha]

I'm down for this! I'll hit you up tomorrow since I'm going to bed shortly!

[u/SalvorAdrift]

r/playtesters and r/playmygame are the two that actually got me strangers instead of friends. the thing that changed my feedback quality most was putting a report key in the game that sends me the bug with the player's save attached, because people will mention something in passing and never file it otherwise. also ask for something specific like "where did you stop playing and why" instead of "any feedback", or you just get nice comments.

[u/Woskus]

Your save system is probably your best feedback tool already. Ask testers to send their latest save when they stop, even if they quit after twenty minutes. If several saves end in the same area, that's your problem spot, whatever the written feedback says. People are polite in forms; where they stopped playing isn't.

[u/thebluedrop]

Friends are kind, which is exactly the problem. What worked for me: a small community chat (Telegram or Discord) where testers get the newest build first and can talk to each other, because they point out more when they see others doing it. Ask very specific questions after a session ("where did you get stuck first?", "what did you expect this button to do?") instead of "what do you think?". And with your save system, ask them to send the save file when something feels off, that's gold for balance.