Can anyone explain the purpose of it? Maybe I’m wrong but if you release a full betatest of the whole game, then what’s the point of buying it after it’s been released?
2 Likes
To support the company? Are you talking about open or private betas. It’s kinda of a rude thing to do is sing up to beta test a game just to see it for free then not buy it.
7 Likes
For testing purpose. Four eyes see better than two and the full game needs to be tested in search of bugs, errors, bad semantic/syntax sentences, incoherence, orthography, etc, before the release.
8 Likes
If you’re worried about sales, I can assure you that a game that went through beta testing will get more sales than one that didn’t.
13 Likes
It doesn’t have to be an open beta, but it does have to be somewhat transparent. One set of eyes simply isn’t enough to catch all of the bugs, and that’s assuming you’re 0% open to reader feedback about the story and characters.
My WIP has an open demo, and a closed beta for about a dozen beta testers. You can run your beta through the private messages on the forums.
8 Likes
I would like to echo what @Samuel_H_Young and @Hazel both said. Having it beta tested will improve the quality, and you can always offer a public demo and then through it recruit beta testers. But, don’t forget that only a minority of potential readers are on this forum, so even if you openly offer it I doubt it would affect sales…
8 Likes
You do have a point. Why would anyone buy a game if one is “released for free, in a limited time frame” anyway?
Interesting question, as to be honest, I’ve done it once. Twice, if you include HG.
The reason is plain simple: benefit outweighs the price.
Beta-test means people can comment on your work, so you can fix and improve it. As such, when your work reaches bigger audience, it’ll be as good as possible.
And you might be surprised, but when a beta-testing session is announced open, only a handful of tens apply (at least in this forum environment).
7 Likes
Don’t worry about the number of people who won’t buy it because they played the demo for free. The number of people who won’t buy it because they download a pirated version from one of those odious APK sites will be much greater.
17 Likes
Heh, if I applied to all the private testing I’m interested in I’d need a vastly increased number of hours in a day 
2 Likes
You can create a private beta post if you want. Problem solved. 
1 Like
Exactly. Even the whole forum is not as big as the overall audience. Many people that buy the games don’t even know this place exists.
3 Likes
And many people here buy the games although they played the demo, or just to help authors they like
7 Likes
Lots of people buy games in the app store without ever so much as bothering to learn/remember the name of the company that produces them, let alone visiting the official website or trawling the forums to try and find the game’s beta to play for free. Casual gamers are still the biggest market.
3 Likes