Prototyping, Playtesting and Iteration

Prototype:

  • Simple implementation of a game system created to answer a design question

  • Physical or digital implementation of the game focus on testability over correctness of implementation

Not a prototype:

  • Physical implementation of the game.

How do prototypes helps with scope?

Prototyping mechanics and systems let you:

  • Understand how difficult it will be to implement them in your final game
  • Understand how much benefit will you gain from those systems
  • Avoid implementing systems that only add scope without benefits
  • Find real answers rather than have endless debate

Iteration

Drives prototyping, and prototyping drives iteration.

  • Revise design after each round of prototyping and playtesting
  • Limit your implementation to aspects of the game you have validated through prototyping
  • Each iteration raises new questions to create prototypes to answer
  • The danger of iteration is that it can go on forever and lead to eternal scope creep

Play testing

  • How different from prototyping?
    • Do playtest some of prototypes
    • Playtest at many stages of development
  • Playtest can be formal and informal
  • Playtest can be internal or external
  • To answer the questions you created for it
    • Does the increase in movement speed increase the feeling of player autonomy
    • Measure the amount of movement used in each version, measure player feelings of autonomy

Iteration

  • You can iterate at every stage of design
    • Don’t wait until you can create a playable prototype
    • Design is created through the iteration. Make copy of each version of design rather than keep updating the design documents
      • design logs
  • Iterate with your prototypes
    • Did your prototype answer your question
    • Can your prototype be used to answer any other questions, if so iterate any other questions.

Good prototype

  • Pick a question to prototype
  • Start with a single mechanic or simple system
  • Same people, different people
  • Only one change each time
  • Decide what and how we are measuring. (Instrumentation)
  • Create as quick as possible
  • Throw away, destroy, Never build game off of your prototype
  • Listen to playtesters

Don’t do for prototype

  • Just start building our game
  • Implement a full vertical slice of your game or worse yet the whole game as a prototype
  • Always or Never do the same test with the same people.
  • Make as many cool changes as possible based on previous test
  • Spend a lot of time making sure your prototype looks good so that the playtesters can appreciate
  • Keep good prototypes and graft them onto your ‘real’ implementation of your game
  • Listen to playtesters think you should fix problems they see

Rigorous Playtesting and Academic Research Methodologies

Moving from prototyping and iteration to formal research:

  • Sample size (small is useful but not usually statistically significant)
  • Surveys (no leading questions, likert scale)
  • Drawing conclusions vs. statistical analysis
  • Gather context on your playtesters, they are not all the same.