This document discusses evaluating user experience through playtesting. It outlines the benefits of playtesting, including budget and time savings, structured feedback, and data-driven decisions. Playtesting involves recruiting target users to test and provide feedback on marketing materials, gameplay, retention, and monetization over multiple sessions. Key metrics include social scores, gameplay flow, and specific element ratings. The document provides details on sample sizes, testing processes, inviting audiences, analyzing feedback, and staffing a playtesting project.

1. EVALUATING USER EXPERIENCE THROUGH PLAYTESTING
Michael Deinega | CEO | md@playtestix.com | playtestix.com

2. HAPPY VALENTINE’S DAY!

3. ● Founded in 2013
● Over 500 playtests
● Over 100 partners
● Real users - your
target audience
● First and best in CIS

4. OUR EXPERIENCE

5. IF YOU WANNA HIGH
RETENTIONS,
MEET THE USERS

6. HISTORY
● NO CONSUMER
SOLUTIONS
● NO GAMERS
● NO MARKET
● NO COMPETITION
Designer Josef Kates
Release date 1950
Genre Tic-Tac-Toe
Mode Single-player

7. MAKING GAMES IS SOMETIMES FUN,
BUT MAKING MONEY IS ALWAYS A
BUSINE$$

8. WHAT IS THE PLAYTEST
FEEDBACK FROM RANDOM USER
VIDEO RECORD OF GAMEPLAY OF RANDOM USER
MASS SURVEY
FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
NOT REALLY

9. WHAT IS THE PLAYTEST
A TEST IN WHICH A PRODUCT IS PLAYED, OR PLAYED
WITH, TO ASSESS ITS QUALITY, SAFETY, OR
MARKETABILITY.

10. ● BUDGET SAVING
● TIME SAVING
● IDEAS
● STRUCTURED FEEDBACK
● MOTIVATION TO MOVE
FORWARD
● DATA DRIVEN DECISIONS
● REALITY HURTS
WHAT TO EXPECT

11. FOR WHOM
NEWBIE INDIES
SMALL INDEPENDENT TEAMS
LARGE PRODUCERS
PUBLISHERS
SEQUELS

12. PLAYTEST
LIKE A
BOSS

13. FUNNEL (F2P)
ACQUISITION
RETENTION
MONETISATION
MARKET
INSTALLS
ACTIVE PLAYERS
ACTIVE PAYERS
DEVICE x THEME x GAME MECHANICS
REACH, BANNERS, LANDING PAGES
EXPECTATIONS, PLAYABILITY,
AMUSEMENT, UPDATES, SOCIALISATION
PAYWALLS, LOYALTY, GAME ECONOMICS

14. EXTENDING the FUNNEL
ACQUISITION
RETENTION
MONETISATION
● WRONG TA
● WEAK ADS
● LIMITED BUDGET
● UI, PLAYABILITY
● DISAPPOINTMENT
● BOTTLENECKS (BLOCKERS)
● PRICING
● WRONG TA
● STORE UI

15. WHAT IS BEFORE THE FUNNEL
ACQUISITION
RETENTION
MONETISATION
SOME PROCESS

16. PRODUCT CREATION
IDEA
DESIGN
DEVELOPMENT
TESTING
PRODUCT
NEW
PRODUCT
UPDATED
PRODUCT
NO
IDEA
USER TESTINGUSER RESEARCH

17. CONCEPT ALFA BETA
GOLD
MASTER
GAME
EVOLUTION
CONTENT
UPDATES
NEW MECHANICS
NEW CONTENT
NEW IDEAS
MARKETING MATERIALS
PROTOTYPE
PLAYTESTING OBJECTS
PLAYTESTING OBJECTS AT ANY STAGE OF DEVELOPMENT
TARGET AUDIENCE
IDEAS (GAME DESIGN
SOLUTIONS)
ART CONCEPTS
COMPETING/REFERE
NCE GAMES
NAME
GAMEPLAY: ART, MUSIC, UI,
CONTROLS, TUTORIAL, BALLANCE,
PLAYABILITY
MARKETING MATERIALS: BANNERS,
STORE PAGES, LANDING PAGES,
SCREENSHOTS, TRAILERS
NAME
LONGITUDINAL GAMEPLAY: RETENTION/MONETISATION ASPECTS

18. PLAYTEST OPTIONS TESTING OBJECTS SAMPLE DURATION
Marketing materials testing
Banners, Landing pages, Trailers,
Screenshots
25
1 DAY
Playtest 1 session /1day Art, UI, Navigation, Setting, Music,
FX, Tutorial, Gameplay, Balance,
Controls
Playtest 3 sessions/3 days
Paywall detection playtest
3 DAYS
Playtest 7 sessions/7 days
Retention playtest
Monetization playtest
All above
+ monetisation potential
+ retention potential
50 7 DAYS
Comparative playtest
Competitors comparison playtest
Discover Target Audience
Competitor analysis
All above
+ several options
+ competing games or reference
games
50 1 DAY
Focus group interviews Anything 8 1 DAY
PLAYTEST PARAMETERS

19. SAMPLE
SIZE
25 50 75 100 150 200 300 400 800 1000
ERROR 19,5% 13,8% 11,3% 9,8% 8,0% 6,9% 5,7% 4,9% 3,5% 3,1%
SAMPLE SIZE

20. PLAYTESTING PROCESS
DAY 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
SET THE GOALS
AUDIENCE RECRUITING
SCENARIO AND INSTRUCTIONS
TESTING OBJECT PREPARATION
DATA COLLECTION
ANALYTICS

21. KEY METRICS
SOCIAL
● NET PROMOTER SCORE
● VIRABILITY
● GENERAL SCORE
GAME FLOW
● INTEREST TO THE GAME
● FUN
● WISH TO CONTINUE
OTHER
● ART/MUSIC/FX/CONTROLS/ETC. SCORE
● GAME BALANCE SCORE

22. AUDIENCE
GAME DEVELOPERS, EXHIBITIONS VISITORS
FRIENDS & FAMILY
HARDCORE PLAYERS
REAL USERS - TARGET AUDIENCE

23. INVITING TARGET AUDIENCE to PLAYTEST
LIE MINIMIZATION
PUBLIC PROFILES
TRUSTED SOURCES
ACTIVE SEARCH
1 PLAYTEST PER 6 MONTHS

24. USERS FEEDBACK
● ACTIVE
○ PERSONAL SURVEY
○ MASS SURVEY
○ PERSONAL INTERVIEW
○ SPEAK ALOUD
○ FOCUS GROUP INTERVIEW
● PASSIVE
○ OBSERVATION
○ VIDEO TRANSCRIPTS

25. SURVEYS
YOU
EXPERTS
USERS
CHECK THE HYPOTHESIS
OPEN FORM FEEDBACK
FORMULATE HYPOTHESIS

26. PLAYTESTING SPACE
HOME
LAB
GAMING CONFERENCES
COZY
FOODS & DRINKS
TEAM OF EXTRAVERTS :)

27. PROJECT TEAM
RECRUITERS 60 invites for 1 USER
SUPERVISER 1 per 4 USERS
INTERVIEWER 1 per 1 USER
FG MODERATOR 1 per 8 USERS
ANALYST 4 days for 25 USERS

28. Michael Deinega | CEO | md@playtestix.com | playtestix.com
QUESTIONS?