Is it worth it to post a tester before the game is completed?

#1

I’m almost done writing up an intro to a game (as in, the point in which the paywall would come up in the finished product) and I’m thinking of sharing it to see if the setup, writing style, characters, ect. are appealing to the audience. I want to do it early on to make sure that any big bits can be sorted out before I get too far into the story, but I’m worried that there will be an expectation for me to finish within a fairly short time period. Spoiler alert, it’s going to take a long while to finish, so long as the game is as long as I’m picturing it.

Do you think I should go ahead and post the intro once I’ve finished it? I find that feedback helps me a lot but I want to make sure that there won’t be too many drawbacks.

#2

I mean, it’s up to you, but personally, I prefer testing it now. It’s easier to give feedback for the beginning, and I don’t think that people will be posting spam on your thread (if that’s what you mean by drawbacks).

And no one is going to be pressuring you to finish, because a lot of us know that writing takes time. I know I have yet to even begin the second chapter of my WiP, and it’s been a couple of months.

#3

I second @Just_Because.

#4

Go ahead and post it. No one who’s been on the forum for any length of time will assume that it’ll be finished at all, let alone soon. :slight_smile: (Says the guy who posted his in 2013 and intends finally to wrap it up in the next couple months)

#5

Just like he intended to wrap it up in September 2014? :laughing:

#6

Go ahead and put it up IMO. Others might catch bugs that you haven’t noticed before which can be eliminated early on. Don’t worry about the whole expectation to finish within a short period of time bit as well. There are no real expectations for you to finish your game within a certain period of time except for your own.

#7

Thanks for the reassurance, everyone. I did have a single person a while ago actually ask me where my game was (a couple of months after I posted the concept) and I think it’s kind of colored my interactions a little. It’s good to know that that was more of a one-off thing.

#8

The rebels one right? Just waiting to throw money at it here :smiley: