Peter C. Hayward, founder of Jellybean Games, discusses how to be a great playtester.
Peter often gets paid by publishers to playtest games and probably playtests more games than anyone you know. He’s got great advice on what it looks like to be the most helpful playtester at the table.
Be sure to check out Peter’s new game on Kickstarter HERE.
3 comments on “How to Be a Great Playtester with Peter C. Hayward”
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Great interview, Gabe! This was very helpful Peter! I know you said you don’t like coops, Peter. But, are there any coops that you are tolerant to?
Top interview.
One thing I’ve done a couple of times is delivered feedback via email the day after a play test session. This lets my subconscious tick away at identifying how I feel about a prototype and why I feel that way (is it an unthematic mechanic, is it a lack of player agency, is it a superceded mechanic or is it that the game simply personally didn’t appeal). Often this leads to better feedback. Sometimes it results in a waste of my energy.
Either way it’s something to consider.
Fantastic article! As a fellow-playtester for many companies around the world, it’s great to hear similar feedback that I would provide to others, as well. Doing it right means that you have assisted in taking the game to the next level.