You have your New Game ready.
You have your Friends/Playtesters around you.
You’re Enthusiast.
You’re a little Dubious.
You’re not sure to be properly Prepared.
How will you need to get into the Game?
Here’s how.
You don’t have to do Everything
- You Only need the Core Rules
- If it is 1 of your 1st Playtest, you probably haven’t designed all the necessary rules.
- The Rule set will increment as the Game goes.
- Do you know all the Rules of your Game?
- Did you readapted them?
- From which other Game?
- Why this Game?
- Are the Rules easy to remember?
- Are they explained through the Game itself?
- Can they be learned as you Play?
- Can they be learned later?
- How often are they repeated?
- Through which Sub-Games are they implemented?
- This is a Collective Game
- Who are you testing your Game with?
- Are they willing to play this Game?
- What do they expect?
- When did they start playing?
- Is it their 1st Game?
- Do they seem to understand the Core mechanism?
- Do they accept them?
- How do they react to the Trails you propose them?
- Which Trails do you propose them?
- Would you enjoy them?
- Their Suggestions
- How can your Players help you enhance the Game?
- What do they enjoy?
- What do they dislike?
- What confuses them?
- What enthusiasm them?
- Even if they can’t tell why.
- What would they like more of?
- What would they Modify?
- How would they modify it?
- Ask them for procedure.
- How would they implement these Procedures?
- How detailed can they be?
Diversity of Encounters
- Diversity & Discovery
- How many types of Environment does your Game contain?
- What are the specificities of each Environment?
- What makes them Unique?
- Why would your Players want to visit them?
- What can they find in them?
- What do they expect from this World?
- How do you respond to these Expectations?
- Through which decisions?
- With which Creatures?
- Diversity & Balance
- Which kind of Trials will the Players face?
- How progressiveness is implemented in the Game?
- What are the Milestones of the Game?
- How is Progression displayed?
- Can they track it?
- How do you manage the rhythm of your Game?
- Do they face weak enemies at latter stages of the Game?
- Can they face strong enemies at an early stage?
- Diversity & Choices
- How can they interact with their environment?
- When can the Player choose?
- What are their Choices?
- Do you have a list?
- What are the Consequences to these choices?
- Are they displayed immediately?
- What type of Consequences occur?
- Do you have a clear typology?
- Are these Consequences memorable?
- Do they affect Character Relationships?
- Do they affect the Environment?
- Do they lead the Players to more trouble?
- Do they lead the Players to Rewards?
- How do they affect the Outcome?
- Are there different Outcomes?
- Are there different Endings?
- Are there branched Outcomes?
- How do they lead to the different Endings?
- What are the Hints on which way to follow?
- Do your Players want to replay the game as soon as you finished it?
- How long is a Game?
- Can you make it Shorter?
Everyone has a Goal
- Every Character has a Goal
- Who are the Characters?
- Who are the Characters created by the Players?
- Who are the Characters you created?
- How do they relate to each other?
- How do they differ?
- When will they interact?
- How will they interact?
- Can they pursue the same Goal?
- Do they pursue opposite Goals?
- Will they oppose each other?
- Do they have to?
- Are there incompatibilities?
- What are they?
- Can they ally?
- Every Player has a Goal
- How do Players interact with each other?
- Do they Collaborate?
- Willingly?
- Do they Hinder each other?
- Do they have to Hinder each other?
- How do they Compete?
- Does every Player have a clear Goal?
- Can they name it?
- Can they describe it?
- Do they want to share?
- Are they dubious about the nature of their goal?
- Are they confused?
- How can you help them define their goal?
- How can you help them find their goal?
- The Game itself has a Goal
- What do the players Expect from this Game?
- What do they think the Story will be?
- Why do they think that?
- Which symbols did you use?
- How do they convey a specific atmosphere?
- When will the Player realize they are not in the type of game they expected?
- How will they respond?
- How will the Game react to their actions?
The Main Goal, Enticement
- Do you want to have Fun?
- Is it your Goal?
- What’s Fun to you?
- What’s Fun to your Players?
- Does it matter for them?
- How do they Entertain themselves?
- What are their favorite Games?
- What are their favorite Movies?
- What are their favorite Series?
- How do they qualify them?
- Do they want to find the same sensations through your Game?
- How can you give it to them?
- Enticement vs Fun
- What is Fun supposed to be?
- Is a Game supposed to be Fun?
- Do your Players want to have Fun?
- Are you playing a Drama?
- Are you playing a Horror game?
- Are you playing an Action game?
- Is it the type of Game your Players want to play?
- Which emotions are they looking to feel?
- Would you rather have a Fun game or a Memorable one?
- It’s possible to have both, but you’ll have to be great at Comedy.
- And it may just be the most difficult genre to write.
- Do you prefer Likeable Characters or Memorable ones?
- Again, it is possible to have both.
- Even if, Likeable Characters tend to be more bland & Forgetable.
- What’s Stimulating?
- What are the Players looking for into your Game?
- Do they play to Compete?
- With who?
- Other Players?
- Players that they know?
- Players that they never met?
- Do they want to Optimize their Playstyle?
- Do they want to beat the Game as fast as possible?
- Do they want to beat the Game as efficiently as possible?
- Do they want to beat the Game at the maximum difficulty?
- Do they want to try new Playstyles?
- Do they want to get out of their usual way of Playing?
- Why?