A Wise Use of Time -- BETA TESTERS NEEDED

A new version is up, for those that want to see their changes incorporated.

Sweet! I’ll have a look later!

P.S. - Have a look in your inbox, please!

It’s nothing especially important, but I’ve included information on how I will approach handling feedback in the future.

I’m trying to cut down on the “bloat” of my reports, combine the separate forms of feedback into a single, easy-to-read format, redirect efforts to more meaningful feedback, and generally speed up my workflow.

I’ll be back at it tomorrow, Admiral!
Going below deck now for a hot meal. :smile:

Whew, more feedback sent!
I’ve changed the layout, again! Let me know how it works for you! :smile:

I’ve sent the promised feedback rework for Chapter 1.
Warning, the report is big.

… Okay, I know I said I would spend less time giving out grammatical suggestions but…
I noticed that several of my suggestions were included in the update!
That means a lot to me, very much so.

If any of you two (Admiral and Captain) don’t mind, I may continue to scrutinize the text for grammatical advice.

But, you’ll have to form a pact with me!

Thing is, by my calculations, completing the game and sending the various “Opinion and Choice” reports will take at least 12 days.
Going back over the text to analyze it will add several more days to this estimate.

If you would be okay with me completing only a single, but detailed playthrough over the span of a few weeks, I would be more than happy to continue supplying grammatical feedback.

It’ll just take some time and effort, but that’s no problem. :blush:

Now, if you excuse me, I’m going below deck to take a dirt nap. :weary:

G’night, Admiral, Captain! :smile:

Had a good sleep! :smile:

Okay, I’ve been thinking… 12 days is too long.
Time to kick it into overdrive!

I’m heading back to the drawing board!
I believe I’ll start incorporating screenshots to highlight text and display my choices, to save time used for typing.
This should also make the report easier to read and follow.

I am currently investigating options.

And, as always, if you’d like to see more/less of anything from me, give me a ring!
I’ll make preparations, accordingly. :blush:

I like this level of feedback and have a very thick skin to even the harshest criticism. I really enjoy reading your thoughts on each choice.

I’m wondering how to convince you to do this analysis for my other game in development, Zombie Exodus: Safe Haven :smile:

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While the level of detail is great, the beta is going to start winding down this weekend. Which is not to say that it will be closing, but I’m going to start continuity testing with the next draft, and stop accepting new testers.

Remember, we do pay a copyeditor to go over this after beta and continuity. The goal of beta testing COG games, therefore, is to identify typos and obvious grammar errors so that the copyeditor can deal with the “Big Stuff” ™. Which is to say, you don’t need to wrestle with every grammar error or infelicity.

Secondly, continuity errors are very important w/r/t beta: if someone’s gender flips, or is engaged with w/o being introduced, or comes back from the dead. These are hugely important and need to be pointed out (in detail).

Further, if there’s a passage that you feel is flat or needs to be rewritten, do point that out, because that’s a “line edit,” and usually beyond the scope of a paid copyeditor. Similarly, your thoughts on story issues are useful.

But, do you understand the distinctions I’m trying to make? Sort of, the top stuff and the bottom stuff is for beta testing, but the middle stuff is for the copyeditor.

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[quote=“JimD, post:48, topic:8562, full:true”]
I like this level of feedback and have a very thick skin to even the harshest criticism. I really enjoy reading your thoughts on each choice.[/quote]

Ah, great to hear, Captain! :smile:

Know this, I will always try my best to be gentle and cordial in my assessments.
I wish to support, not confront.

This, I will look into. :smile:

Aggg, just as I thought! I am moving too slowly!

Yes, understood! Thank you.
(You could/should have chewed me out.) :disappointed:

Sorry, I’m a bit of a workaholic and I forget an important aspect of testing: Timeliness!
I’ll clean the deck 500 times for my error, Admiral!

I presume this is what you’d like me to focus my efforts on?

Done!
Sorry, I’ll do better, Admiral! :smile:

Finally, I managed to sit down and play this game a few times to send some feedback!

I really hope I wasn’t too harsh :disappointed_relieved:

JimD is amazing, I would never be able to write anything close to what his games are.

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More feedback sent! :smile:

I should be able to finish a playthrough by tomorrow. :disappointed_relieved:

Ok, there is a new version up.

Also, we’re considering a new name for the game. We’d love to hear your suggestions!

I love the name A Wise Use of Time. It’s clever. Then again, I also loved Eerie Estate Agent far more than For Rent: Haunted House. And I suppose A Wise Use of Time isn’t that descriptive of what the game’s about.

Before I offer any suggestions, why are you considering changing the name? What’s wrong with the old one?

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How about Time Doesn’t Exist? The chapter titles are awesome, and that one sort of relates to the overall plot.

How about
‘Tick Tock’
‘When the clock strikes yesterday’
(They’re all terrible, plus I like the current name)

I like the current name too, but if you guys are brainstorming…

Time Stops When You’re Having Fun (Instead of “flies”)

Time Waits for No One… But Me

All the Time in the World

I guess we want the name to be searchable and for it to clearly indicate time manipulation as a theme while being somewhat clever.

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‘It’s about time’
Even that is terrible compared to the original

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I know the beta testing rules aren’t accessible anymore. The ones from the old forum contained

So we can offer names, just no specific details on plot.

Thanks for reminding me. I deleted the post; I’ll send it along with the rest of my feedback and save the chatter for post-release date.

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@FairyGodfeather thanks FG!

@Sashira you made some valid points and I’ll discuss them with you when you send feedback :smile:

In terms of the title, some reviewers suggest the title doesn’t really pop and as one person pointed out, he would have overlooked the game on the app store due to the vague name. Something like Choice of Robots or Mecha Ace gives a clear picture of the game.

To me, it’s about marketing since the game’s name has more weight than “by Jim Dattilo.”

George R.R. Martin could call his next book, “This Book Sucks” and it would sell bajillions of copies.

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I see your reasoning, and in my opinion the best thing you can do is pretend that you’re a famous author😜 But on a serious note, I think the name is great, Its more appealing to me than something like NOLA is burning (no offence the person who made NOLA is burning)