A Playtesting Primer

In addition to improving your game, usability testing can also be advantageous to your team. Here are a few of the reasons why:

• Horizontal Communication. Having the whole team observe the playtest sessions is a very effective way of ensuring everyone is aware of the state of the game. This is known as horizontal communication, where it’s not just some people on the team who know which issues should be addressed, but everyone knows and is aligned on which issues should be addressed.
• Smoother Production Process. One of the advantages of horizontal communication is that it can lead to a smoother and faster production process as the team are more aligned.
• Designer feedback. Usability playtesting provides a way for the designers to get feedback on their design decisions. By seeing how players interact with the game is one of the best forms of learning which designs work, and why.

Key Takeaway

Usability testing helps improve team performance by creating alignment, smoothing the development process, and providing learning opportunities on design decisions.

Next: 18. How Usability Playtesting Helps Improve Studio Performance