When observing players, it can be tempting for various team members to each see what they themselves are interested in. There can be a place for this, but in a hypothesis-driven playtest the focus is meant to be on the areas of the game that were aligned on at the beginning.

The observation sheet not only helps focus the team on what is important, it can also reduce fatigue. Trying to pay attention to everything that is happening can be mentally draining, so knowing in advance that there are specific moments of interest can reduce mental load.

As previously mentioned, creating a more granular observation sheet can further enhance the observation powers of a team. By codifying the atomic behaviours required for each hypothesis to be successful, will help pinpoint the exact points of failure or friction.

For example, if one of your hypotheses is to test if players can equip and use a special ability successfully, you might decide success looks like:

[ ] Player can select the special ability (this tests usability).

[ ] Player can prepare the special ability for use (this tests usability).

[ ] Player uses the special ability at an appropriate moment (this tests their understanding of the potential benefit).

If any of these criteria resulted in a fail, then the hypothesis would be a fail, and you would then aim to interview the player around their understanding and use of this special ability in order to improve its design.

Using the observation sheet then, can ‘simply’ be a matter of placing a tick or a cross in the appropriate behavioural box. Most of the hard work has taken place in the preparation stage, i.e. being precise about what success looks like, now you just have to look for it.

Key Takeaway

A well-designed observation sheet can maximise time spent looking at the player by reducing note-taking to a single tick or cross in a box. This also reduces observer fatigue in the session and makes analysis easier.

Next: 41. Contextual Notes