18. How Usability Playtesting Helps Improve Studio Performance

A Playtesting Primer

In addition to improving your game and your team, usability testing can also be advantageous to your studio. It achieves this by:

Creating a culture of learning. A team which is receiving regular feedback is establishing a culture of learning in the studio.
Building a positive identity. Being known as a studio which focuses on good production processes, team learning, and player experience will help retain and attract good talent.
Managing risk. By playtesting regularly throughout development it can help to de-risk the project. Risk can come in many forms in game development, but identifying and removing any major friction points in your game before release is entirely possible. Even in the worst-case scenario where the team find out about a usability issue too late and can’t do anything about it before release, they will be prepared and working on a resolution so the game can be patched as soon as possible. In addition, community management will be expecting potential player complaints about the issue and can be prepared with a statement saying a fix is already in the works.

Usability testing helps improve studio performance by creating a culture of learning, reducing risk, and increasing resilience.