SGT M'S PROFILE

Waiting for some sort of creative inspiration to come before I dive back into my new project, because I'd rather not force myself into it and rush things. But thankfully I haven't set any sort of deadline yet so I can procrastinate wait for that spark to hit me.

I think I'll spend this time playing other peoples' games and seeing what's hot in the community because that's something I need to do more of.

Like many others, I've had poor luck getting friends and loved ones to playtest games in the past. Not just because of the bias issue but because friends and family may not always necessarily understand what kind of feedback you're looking for if (and that's a strong "if") they do end up playing it.

I'm not an expert on playtest intricacies in the least but here are a few things that helped me out when asking friends:

Don't ask just one person
Be prepared to ask more than two or three people to try your game, especially when it comes to friends and family. If you ask 10 people to try it, maybe 2 or 3 will actually do so.

You might have better luck if you ask people who have genuinely shown interest in your project. Remember: most people who don't develop games are unlikely have a grasp on the kind of work that goes into developing a video game, even on small-scale RPG Maker projects. Many of your friends are likely looking for high-quality games that are guaranteed to be worth their time.

Look for the signs of a flaky playtester. If they say something like "Cool, I'll look into it sometime" or "I'll give it a try if I get the time" they are probably not going to play it.

Ask people in advance
Don't message your friend one day and say "I made this, please try it." If you contact people ahead of time, say a week or two before your build is ready, they won't feel so much on the spotlight and will feel less like they're obligated to help you out.

If they do play it, provide a way to get people to quantify their experience
As much as I'm sure you like hearing "I tried your game, I liked it a lot!" that's probably not the feedback you're looking for. If someone does come to you and say they completed your build, have something like a short, informal survey ready.

Goodness, I'm really pleased to hear that Brave Hero Yuusha is getting some buzz. I'm happy it has left an impression on people even two months later!

I also just started playing Luxaren. Unity and the crew definitely deserve a spotlight/feature from what I've played of it so far :)

Glad you enjoyed it, Linkis!

A coffin sprite that follows your party The Prince of Cannock from Dragon Quest II.