Playtesting

The potential procedure I would use to recruit playtesters will be similar to those presented in Chapter 9 by Fullerton. 
  1. I think I would start with self-testing so I can experiment with fundamental concepts. 
  2. Next, I would playtest with confidants. I would gather friends and family to play my game once it gets to a version that they can play without much intervention from me. I will give them the prototype I have created and with that they should have enough information to begin playing. 
  3. After I have a clearly defined set of rules, I'll want to move on to playtesting with people I do not know. This will give me a fresh perspective and insight as I work to improve my game. Maybe I can post up an ad online, at colleges, or places of business to gather my playtesters. My target audience is any person who wants to learn more about gardening, so maybe I would want to use some people from different beginner gardening groups as well. 
Preparation: When I'm testing with these strangers, I don't want to give them too much information about my game or how it works. I want them to have a fresh perspective of the game by allowing them to make mistakes and figuring out the game on their own. 
Playtesting: I would give players about 15-20 minutes to try out the game and tell them the purpose is to get their feedback on their experience. I would reiterate that the goal is to test the game, not their skill, so there are no wrong answers. I also would like to ask playtesters to think out loud while they are playing. Once the players begin testing the game, I would sit quietly in the room and observe their actions.
Feedback: Afterwards, I would spend time discussing the game with the testers one-on-one using the questions I have already developed so I know exactly what I want to ask them. I would use their feedback to analyze and refine my game for future versions. I would make sure the game has the GameFlow criteria mentioned in the Sweester_Wyeth article: concentration, challenge, player skills, control, clear goals, feedback, immersion, and social interaction. 

Sweester and Wyeth say, "Through the evaluation, it was also identified that some of the GameFlow criteria are difficult to measure through an expert review and that they would require player-testing to evaluate." This is why playtesting is so important. In order to determine whether my game suits players with different skill levels, I would make sure to find playtesters with different skill levels and take their feedback to use toward better developing the GameFlow criteria.

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