Once you get used to usability playtesting, you may be wondering what other methods user research has to offer?

There are two other types of playtesting we have already mentioned which you could explore next:

1. Appeal/Gameplay playtesting - this is where you focus on the more subjective elements of your game - story, characters, fairness, challenge, etc., factors relating to enjoyment. Appeal playtesting differs from usability playtesting as its main approach to assessment is surveys, rather than player observation and interviews, and the number of participants needed is around 30 per cohort, rather than 5-6 for usability playtesting. The questions asked in surveys typically explore the player’s experience of what happened in the playtest, essentially trying to figure out if the player enjoyed the game. As mentioned elsewhere in the book, there is no agreed-upon name for this type of playtesting, but Appeal, Gameplay, Experience, or UX are all terms that are often used to describe this type of playtesting.
   
   

2. Team playtesting - it is common for teams to playtest their own game, usually for generating design ideas, checking things work as they should, or knowledge sharing. The team could use this as an opportunity to evaluate their own game too, replacing informal feedback with a structured template which asks a set of questions around the core elements of the player experience. I would recommend to split your questions into two clear sections - usability and gameplay. Using this more structured approach you can collect regular feedback from the wider team, spotting where people are in agreement, or if there are outliers.
   

By adding these methods to your user research toolkit, you can increase your studio’s UX Maturity, a measure of the extent to which your studio factors in user research practices and mindset into its development process.

Key Takeaway

Two other forms of playtesting that you could explore next are Appeal/Gameplay Playtesting and Team Playtesting. Adding these to your user research toolkit can increase your studio’s UX Maturity.

Next: The Writing of The Book