✦ primoh.coGame design course

Prototyping and playtesting

Turn a design promise into a question you can investigate.

Lesson 11 of 1411 min + exercise

You have been prototyping since lesson one. Now make the question explicit: what do you expect a player to do or feel, and what observation might change your mind? Use a small test to find out which assumptions need another look.

Concepts

A prototype has a question
Use paper, a spreadsheet, simple shapes, or representative audiovisual content depending on the question. A paper prototype can test route tradeoffs but may not answer whether movement feels responsive.
Observation and self-report
Watch choices and points of confusion, then ask open questions about intention and experience. Behavior can reveal a problem but cannot tell you everything about feelings. Combine both forms of evidence.
Test design
Fresh players reveal onboarding problems; practiced players reveal longer-term strategies. Avoid coaching when testing independent understanding, but provide help when help itself is the feature under test.
Iteration and uncertainty
Changing one variable can make interpretation easier. Sometimes a coherent redesign needs several changes. Keep a change log and distinguish a qualitative comparison from a controlled experiment.

In games

Portal ↗

A player reaching the exit does not prove they understood the intended idea. Ask what they believed was happening and what they would do in a variation.

Slay the Spire ↗

A popular option may be powerful, easy to understand, or attractive to a subgroup. Usage data suggests a question; it does not answer it alone.

Common mistakes

  • Asking “Was that fun?” and accepting polite approval as the only evidence.
  • Assuming three testers represent the entire audience.
  • Testing an interaction in a medium that removes the quality you need to evaluate.

Run a small qualitative test

  1. Write a hypothesis and an observation that would count against it.
  2. Watch three people attempt a short session, noting choices and confusion.
  3. Ask what they were trying to do and what felt satisfying or frustrating.
  4. Revise one priority issue and test again.

Done when: You have observations, participant explanations, a change, and an explicit uncertainty that remains.

Notes save in this browser.

Check your understanding

Three people choose the shortcut. Have you established that the shortcut is objectively more fun?

Show answer

No. You have observed three choices in a particular context. Ask why, examine alternatives, and test with the intended audience before generalizing.

Sources

About the research →