Playtesting is an important part of the board game design process, as it allows me the game designer to evaluate the game mechanics, rules, and overall gameplay experience.
A/B Testing
Involves creating two different versions of the game and testing them with different groups of players. This can help identify which version of the game is more engaging or successful. This will take the form of the base whole game versus the Monaco-retro spin-off.
Heuristic Playtesting
Heuristic playtesting is an important process for evaluating tabletop strategic board games. It involves using a predetermined criterion to evaluate the game’s design, and to identify areas for improvement. Heuristic methods allow for the ability to identify potential issues and areas for improvement early in the ‘Lights Out’ design process. By identifying these issues early, adjustments can be made to the game’s mechanics, rules, components, and other aspects to create a better player experience.
Usability Testing
This method involves observing players as they interact with the game components, rules, and instructions. This method identifies any confusing or ambiguous rules, components that are difficult to use or understand, and other issues that may impact the player’s experience. This focuses on the game’s components, such as the game board, pieces, cards, and tokens. It involves evaluating factors such as usability, durability, and aesthetics.
Flow Analysis
This method involves analysing the game’s pace and rhythm and identifying any areas where the game may become too slow or too fast. This method can be used to identify areas where the game may need to be balanced, or where additional components or rules may be needed to improve the overall gameplay experience. This focuses on the interaction between players during the game. It involves evaluating factors such as communication, negotiation, cooperation, and competition.
Goal Analysis
This method involves analysing the player’s goals and objectives within ‘Lights Out’, identifying any areas where the game may be too easy or too difficult to achieve these goals. This method can be used to identify areas where the game may need to be adjusted to provide a more balanced and engaging experience for players. This focuses on the game’s rules and mechanics. It involves evaluating factors such as clarity, complexity, consistency, and how intuitive the rules are for new players.
Heuristic Evaluation
This method involves using a set of predetermined criteria to evaluate the game’s design and identify areas for improvement. Designers can use this method to identify issues such as confusing rules, difficult-to-use components, or other issues that may impact the player’s experience.
Emotional Response Testing
This method involves measuring the emotional responses of players as they play the game. This method is used to identify areas where the game may be too frustrating, boring or otherwise unsatisfying for players, and to make adjustments to the game design to improve the player’s emotional experience.
Player Experience
This type of heuristic playtesting focuses on the player’s experience and satisfaction with the game. It involves evaluating factors such as game balance, fairness, pacing, engagement, and enjoyment. Heuristic methods can be used to test games with a diverse range of players, including those with different skill levels, backgrounds, and playstyles. This inclusive approach can help create a game that is engaging and accessible to a wide range of players.
Theme and Narration
This focuses on the game’s theme and narrative. Evaluating factors such as how well the theme is integrated into the mechanics of the game, how engaging the narrative is, and how well the game immerses players into its world.
Heuristics for Evaluating Playability (Desurvire, Caplan, Toth 2004)
Gameplay Heuristics
- The player’s fatigue is minimised by varying activities and pacing during gameplay.
- Provide consistency between the game elements and the overarching setting and story to suspend disbelief.
- Provides clear goals, and presents an overriding goal early as well as short-term goals throughout gameplay.
- There is an interesting and absorbing tutorial that mimics gameplay.
- The game is enjoyable to replay.
- The player is taught skills early that is expected the players to use later, or right before the new skill is needed.
- Gameplay should be balanced with multiple ways to win.
- Players discover the story as part of gameplay.
- Even if the game cannot be modeless, it should be perceived as modeless.
- The game is fun for the player first, and the designer second. That is, if the non-expert player’s experience isn’t put first, excellent game mechanics are meaningless.
- The player should not experience being penalised repetitively for the same failure.
- Players should perceive a sense of control and impact on the game world. The game world reacts to the player and remembers their passage through it. Changes the player makes in the game world are persistent and noticeable if they backtrack to where they’ve been before.
- The first player choice is painfully obvious and should result in immediate positive feedback.
- The game should give rewards that immerse the player more deeply in the game by increasing their capabilities and expanding their ability to customise.
- Pace the game to apply pressure but not frustrate the player. Vary the difficulty level so that the player has a greater challenge as they develop mastery. Easy to learn, hard to master.
- Challenges are positive game experiences, rather than negative experiences (results in their wanting to play more, rather than quitting).
Game Story
- The player understands the storyline as a single consistent vision.
- The player is interested in the storyline.
- The player spends time thinking about possible story outcomes.
- The player feels as though the world is going on whether their input is there or not.
- The player has a sense of control over their character and is able to use tactics and strategies.
- The player experiences fairness of outcomes.
- The game transports the player into a level of personal involvement emotionally or viscerally.
- The player is interested in the characters because:
- They are like them.
- They are interesting.
- The characters develop as the action occurs.
Game Mechanics
- The game should react in a consistent, challenging, and exciting way to the player’s actions.
- A player should be able to identify their score/status and goal in the game.
- Shorten the learning curve by following the trends set by the board game industry to meet player expectations.
Usability
- Provide immediate feedback for user actions.
- Upon initially starting a gameplay session the player has enough information to get started to play.
- Players should be given context-sensitive help while playing so that they do not get stuck or have to rely on the manual.
- Get the player involved quickly and easily with tutorials.
- Art should be recognisable to the player and speaks to its function.
References
Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games | CHI '04 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems (2023). Available at: https://dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1145/985921.986102?casa_token=bwqIEE2a1N0AAAAA:LsXDDUz6k87O_VDu-wcPGMfYQM78W3qCCQbe0hklyFvdWtTMjn6HL0ywD7K1MOfe-XBiQ-dVhhNpag (Accessed: 15 February 2023).