Hello, everyone!
I was hoping to submit a game soon but I just have one question that keeps getting in my way. How do I go about starting and completing a proper beta test? I’ve been scouring the forum for a clear answer but I haven’t really found anything. I appreciate any words of wisdom. Thanks all.
This thread might be helpful:
What stage of the process are you in? Are you only just beginning to work on a game, or do you have something close to finished?
I’m nearly finished.
Hi, i have found this thread
You have two options (also mentioned in that thread)
One is to get your game running through a link through for example Dashingdon. Once you got that you start a new thread, explain what kind of feedback you’re looking for, and add the link to your game so people can play it and give feedback. This is known as an “open” Beta.
The other is much the same, only instead of a public thread you open a PM (private message) thread, post the explanation and link there, and invite people from the forum to test it for you. This is known as a “closed” Beta.
Gather feedback, improve your game, and that’s basically all there is to it.
I think that when it comes to being published as a Hosted Game, only open betas are acceptable, though. From the Write a Hosted Game page:
You complete a public beta test of your game on our forum. This must be a beta of the full, entire, complete game, not a demo of some portion.
@Myrtle – The beta has to be a public beta, meaning it has to be connected to the community somehow but @Cecilia_Rosewood is correct, it can be open or closed… or (my preferred) you can do both, or even multiples of open and closed betas.
Everyone has a different way of getting to the development of a game… the goal here is to get some community feedback, so that you, as a developer get an actual idea of what the audience you will be selling your game to wants.
Thanks everyone. I guess my next question would be how to receive the feedback. Would I use my personal email or through a forum? Thank you again.
Here’s a relevant thread from a few months ago in regards to private vs. open testing:
And here’s a quote from Jason about it:
Edit: because we posted at the same time @Billy_Towers24: I’d think it’s generally better to receive the feedback in one place on the forums so the staff can see the results of your beta test, confirm that you did host one, and be able to understand from the feedback how to market your game, how well it was received, and etc.
If you have not yet looked at a WiP thread, I’d suggest doing so … these will give you an idea of how to do it:
Here is Creme de la Creme … @HannahPS is among the more active authors here so, she decided to introduce an “official” game through a WiP thread
The second I recommend looking at is: Thw Wayhaven Chronicles
Both of these should give you an idea of what to do.