Any Advice for Beta Testing?

Bad wolf Guy

Hello,

After 3 -4 years working on a game concept, and changing the design so many times, I am hoping to start Beta testing within a week or two. #Exciting!
I have developed many games with various members of the community and never tested them outside of the team. This is all new to me. I also never beta tested anyone else game.

Any advice to get the most out of the beta testing rounds?

Currently I have a list of 20 people who have said they can beta test. I have planned 4 Rounds of testing. The initial, The immediate bug fixes, The feature changes, and the last bug changes. Depending on feedback if a 5th round should be included.

Do you normally include questions for them to answer, or is that going to cause beta testers too much trouble?

Are there any questions or feedback I should be looking for that normally gets overseen?

Do testers actually give feedback - is it what you wanted? Any advice?

How long do you normally run beta testing for your games?

Thanks for any contribution to the discussion.

tatiang

I was part of @Braydon_SFX's recent beta testing using TestFlight and I liked the way he set things up. In the TestFlight notes for each version, he gave a few thoughts about what was new or interesting about that version and then asked several leading questions (e.g. "can you let me know if ____ works"; "Is level 3 too difficult?"; "I think I've fixed the ____ bug; "does the score display correctly when you ____?" etc.). It's helpful as a tester to know what to look for although the first testing version may just require more hands-on time and not specific questions at that point.

Bad wolf Guy

@tatiang Thanks for the reply. Clearly communication is key in getting a the most out of it. I don't want to waste anyone's time or mine.