Podcasts about playtesting

What are your hobbies? I personally enjoy dance, specifically latin dance and often I wonder, “What if I could translate salsa dancing into a toy or game?”. Well today, we're going to explore that possibility. Today my guest shares how she turned her hobby into a best selling board game!In this episode of Making It in the Toy Industry, I'm joined by Elizabeth Hargrave, award-winning board game designer and co-founder of the Tabletop Game Designers Association. You might know her from her hit game Wingspan, which turned the world of nature and birdwatching into one of the most beloved engine-building games of all time.Elizabeth shares how she took her passion for the natural world and used it to build a meaningful and immersive game that fully translated the experience of birding. Our conversation today circles around how to accurately translate the “experience” of doing various hobbies to a tabletop play pattern. In my opinion that's the secret sauce of how Elizabeth created such an incredible game on her first try.During this episode, we also talk about her upcoming game Sanibel, inspired by collecting seashells on the beach. A hobby so simple and a game so elegant, that I'm sure you'll find yourself inspired to build a tabletop experience based on your hobbies.Listen For These Important Moments:[00:01:12] - What started as a love for birdwatching became Wingspan, a wildly successful board game that blends strategy with nature through clever engine-building mechanics.[00:04:07] - Elizabeth introduces the Tabletop Game Designers Association, which offers support with contracts, advocacy, and education, perfect for both new and seasoned game designers.[00:10:51] - From butterflies to beachcombing, see how personal passions can evolve into meaningful, immersive game themes that resonate with players.[00:23:07] - Elizabeth's Wingspan pitch journey proves you don't. Learn how smart feedback, persistence, and a strong prototype can open doors for your game invention.[00:34:49] - Even with success, staying grounded in playtesting and peer feedback is key to creating games that last. No shortcuts, just a solid creative process.Send The Toy Coach Fan Mail!Support the showPopular Masterclass! How To Make & Sell Your Toy IdeasYour Low-Stress, Start-To-Finish Playful Product Launch In 5 Steps >> https://learn.thetoycoach.com/masterclass

In this episode, I sit down with Christina Wodtke, a professor at Stanford University, for the second time on the show, to explore the intersection of game design and product management. Christina shares her insights on how principles from game design can transform product development processes, making them more engaging and effective. We also dive into the role of AI in shaping the future of product management education and the unique challenges and opportunities it presents.Christina discusses her approach to integrating AI into her curriculum and how it's helping future product leaders understand the real-world implications of evolving technologies. Together, we uncover the importance of balancing user experience with business objectives and how the two can coexist to create products that are not only functional but also meaningful.Don't miss this insightful conversation that bridges the gap between creativity and strategy in product management!You'll hear us talk about:05:33 - The Power of Engagement in Game DesignChristina explains how game design principles such as engagement and emotional experience can be applied to product design to fulfill user needs and expectations.12:25 - Continuous Feedback IntegrationThe importance of regular and early user feedback in the design process and how it prevents teams from becoming too attached to their initial ideas.41:08 - The Reality of AI in Product ManagementDiscussing the gap between AI's potential and its current capabilities, and how product managers can effectively leverage AI while focusing on core product values.Episode resources:Christina on LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/christinawodtke/Christina's blog: https://eleganthack.com/Check our new course: https://productinstitute.com/p/mastering-product-strategy-overviewTimestamps:00:00 Introduction03:16 Dear Melissa06:35 Game design and emotional engagement13:36 Balancing goals and ethics in product design18:14 Building habits of testing and scaffolding feedback22:30 How AI is changing prototyping and team dynamics28:53 The role of expertise in an AI-powered world40:15 Getting into product management in the age of AI

In this episode of The Corner of Story and Game, we welcome back the endlessly creative Ryan Omega, who is a producer, performer, LARP designer, and now the mastermind behind Taskmaster LA. But this isn't just a behind-the-scenes on a fan-made panel show. It's a deep dive into what it means to design games for performance, and the unique role that playtesting for watchability plays in that process.From crafting visually engaging challenges to navigating cast dynamics and live audience feedback, Ryan reveals how every layer of the Taskmaster LA experience was engineered not just to be fun, but to delight both players and viewers.What can digital game designers, TTRPG GMs, and interactive storytellers learn from a live-audience-first approach? Quite a lot, it turns out.We talk about:Casting as a game design toolDesigning challenges with visual hooksManaging emotional safety and creative riskWhy live audiences sharpen storytellingWhat makes a moment rewatchable, and why that mattersWhether you're building a game, producing a show, or crafting a session for your home table, this episode will give you a whole new lens for thinking about entertainment value as a design principle.Ryan's Links:⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠

Welcome to the final episode of series 82, everyone! In this series, we are covering Salvage Union, a hope-core, giant mech TTRPG, with designers Aled Lawlor and Panny Lines! In today's episode, we finish up our discussion series with some great talk about playtesting, flaws and strengths in game design in general, and of course our fanfic! https://patreon.com/charactercreationcast Join our Discord! https://discord.charactercreationcast.com Check out other great shows on the network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Character Creation Cast on Apple Podcasts (The best place to leave reviews for us) https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/character-creation-cast/id1363822066?mt=2&ls=1 Character Creation Cast on Podchaser https://podchaser.com/CharacterCreationCast Aled Lawlor: Website: https://leyline.press/ Panny Lines: Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/unpanny-valley.bsky.social Leyline Press: Website: https://leyline.press/ Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/leylinepress.bsky.social Salvage Union by Leyline Press: Webpage: https://leyline.press/collections/salvage-union Bluesky: https://bsky.app/profile/salvageunion.bsky.social (00:00:00) - Announcements (00:01:51) - Playtesting process (00:08:10) - How does the character creation set us up for play? (00:15:16) - Flaws and Strengths (00:29:11) - Fanfic! (00:40:22) - Take it up a level! (00:51:46) - Episode Closer (00:54:25) - Credits Opening: Meditation Impromptu 03 (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Kevin_MacLeod/Calming/Meditation_Impromptu_03) by Kevin MacLeod Clip 1: Get in the Game by Cody MartinOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/17525 Clip 2: Robot Dance by ElisionOn Soundstripe: https://app.soundstripe.com/songs/13228 Main Theme: Hero (Remix) (https://freemusicarchive.org/music/Steve_Combs/Principal_Photography_1493/11_Hero_Remix) by Steve Combs Character Creation Cast: Website: https://www.charactercreationcast.com Contact Us: https://contact.charactercreationcast.com BlueSky: @CreationCast.net (https://bsky.app/profile/creationcast.net) Discord: https://discord.charactercreationcast.com/ TikTok: https://tiktok.com/@charactercreationcast Amelia Antrim: BlueSky: @gingerreckoning.bsky.social (https://bsky.app/profile/gingerreckoning.bsky.social) Ryan Boelter: BlueSky: @lordneptune.com (https://bsky.app/profile/lordneptune.com) Our Network: https://oneshotpodcast.com Character Creation Cast PatreonAnnouncements:Leave us reviews in any, or all, of these places:GuestsGames/Tools discussed this episode:Timestamps:Music:Our Podcast: Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

View all cards mentioned in this episodeIn the final installment of ”The Barash Files” (at least for now!), Zach — game designer at Wizards of the Coast — talks with Andy and Anthony about playtesting. The three talk about how they approach getting feedback on their specific different environments and how they use that information.Discussed in this episode:Episode 15: Playtesting & TheorycraftingEpisode 231: The Barash Files 001 — The Principles of Game DesignThe Cascade CubeNeoclassical CubeOld Border Foil Cube100 OrnithoptersRegular CubeThe Mono Black CubeThe Null HypothesisKill Your DarlingsThe Turbo CubeUMA+ CubeCheck us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay.You can find the hosts' Cubes on Cube Cobra:Andy's “Bun Magic” CubeAnthony's “Regular” CubeYou can find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co or our p.o. box:Lucky PaperPO Box 4855Baltimore, MD 21211If you'd like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen.Musical production by DJ James Nasty.Timestamps0:00 - Intro3:44 - What is ‘playtesting'? How do you ‘playtest' a cube?9:55 - What kinds of feedback can players be trusted to give?16:22 - How does Andy ask for feedback on the Neoclassical Cube and 100 Ornithopters?28:24 - How does Anthony ask for feedback on Regular Cube, the Mono Black Cube, and the Turbo Cube?40:14 - How does Zach ask for feedback on The Cascade Cube, and what is the story with Crashing Footfalls?52:17 - The ballad of Aura Shards in 100 Ornithopters1:06:54 - A note on ego when you receive feedback

Wenn man ein Spiel entwickelt, kann das tatsächliche Erlebnis von Spieler:innen aus der Zielgruppe von dem abweichen, was das Designteam beabsichtigt hat. Durch systematisches Playtesting können gezielt unerkannte Verbesserungspotenziale aufgedeckt werden. Somit können sowohl ungewollt entstandene Hindernisse verringert als auch das gewünschte Spielgefühl verstärkt werden, um die Erfolgschancen eines Spieleprojektes zu verbessern. Kleineren Entwicklungs-Teams, sogenannten Indies, fehlen leider oft die Expertise oder nötige Ressourcen für die Durchführung von Player Research, das einen wirklichen Mehrwert für die Entwicklung liefert. Deswegen braucht es Hilfsmittel, die Indies in die Lage versetzen, auch mit stark limitierten Know-How und Kapazitäten selbst Games User Research durchzuführenBen hat in seiner Masterarbeit untersucht, wie kritisch verschiedene GUR-Herausforderungen für Indies sind, wie KI-Chatbots beim Playtesting unterstützen können und wie solche Hilfsmittel gestaltet sein sollten, um in der Praxis sinnvoll eingesetzt werden zu können.[weitere Infos folgen]

Ellie Dix is joined by Adam Porter, designer of Kompromat, Pikoko, and Doodle Rush. Together, they discuss the playtesting process, why it's so important, and the biggest mistakes people make while playtesting. Topics include tracking confusion during sessions, structuring how and what feedback is given, and being a good playtester.  

Have you ever wondered what it's like to run a business with your spouse? Is it all fun and games, or does every dinner conversation turn into a boardroom meeting? Do you get to celebrate the wins together, or do you find yourself debating packaging details at 10 PM on a Friday night?I was so curious about this dynamic that I sat down with Alex and Whitney Kimerling, the husband-and-wife team behind Hootenanny Games. But instead of just interviewing them together, I decided to interview them separately, asking them the exact same questions!Alex and Whitney have built a thriving inventor-driven game company, and in this episode, they share what it's really like to run a business together, how they develop games, and why they love working with inventors.You'll get an inside look at both the best and hardest parts of running a toy business with your spouse. You'll learn why Hootenanny Games exclusively licenses inventor-created products and what they look for in a game pitch—plus how you can pitch to them.If you've ever thought about inventing board games or working in the toy industry, you don't want to miss this one! And if you're curious whether Alex and Whitney's answers matched up… you'll have to listen and find out.

Mike and Lanny work to steer the Spike Colony ship back to port with the help of Lobstercon quarterfinalist Andy Levine. Andy joins us to talk playtesting and discuss thoughts on the recently released matchup matrix from the Duress crew at data.duresscrew.com LOVE, SPIKE COLONY Check out the Premodern Tier List: https://spikecolony.com/tierlist/ Check out the latest on Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@lannynyny  Support Spike Colony on Ko-Fi: https://ko-fi.com/spikecolony

Star Squabble gets another wee run out on the table and some rules tweaks.

Mit welchen Herausforderungen kämpfen kleine Studios beim Playtesting ihrer Spiele – und welche Lösungen braucht es dafür? Folk Models of Loot Boxes in Video Games: https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677072 Towards Democratisation of Games User Research: Exploring Playtesting Challenges of Indie Video Game Developers https://doi.org/10.1145/3677108 Aiming, Pointing, Steering: A Core Task Analysis Framework for Gameplay https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677057 "I'm a Solo Developer but AI is My New Ill-Informed Co-Worker": Envisioning and Designing Generative AI to Support Indie Game Development https://dl.acm.org/doi/10.1145/3677082

Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games. Join our active and welcoming Discord community, Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or Leave us a review wherever you find this podcast! Episode 184 - What We Think About When We Think About Playtesting with Paul Salomon  In this episode Jake and Paul reflect on Stonemaier Design Day 2024, recording just one day after the event. Using that frame, we give 5ish tips to think about when playtesting your game or someone else's.    Pre-Planners We'll be covering Five Tribes soon! Also, low-key, Jake wants to cover the Pokemon TCG Game Boy game.   Music and Sound Credits Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.  Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA Rules Overview Music:  Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way...​ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI Contact We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com. This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com. Byeee!

Discover budget-friendly playtesting strategies and tools to optimize your game's UX! You'll learn how game studios with limited resources can still benefit from playtesting. Using recent, real-world examples, Pejman will discuss the approaches, methods, and equipment used to build an effective playtesting setup and help game developers enhance the player experience for their titles. Pejman has a track record of playtesting 35+ shipped titles, including award-winning games such as PewDiePie: Legend of the Brofist, Weirdwood Manor, A Fold Apart, and Broken Spectre. --- Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/indiegamebusiness/support

Robert's back, and we're rolling some dice to playtest a game. The aim is to have a go-to ruleset that supports any future scenarios we play.

In this week's Flashlight, we talk about playtesting at scale, becoming a cult leader, and the development of D&D 3e and D&D 3.5e as well as Pathfinder. Reilly shares his philosophy on ability checks and roleplay. Jake really doesn't know anything about cinema. We mention the games Swords of the Serpentine and Time Watch, both of which look extremely fun. Also, here are some links that we used in research for the episode: Here's a Department of Commerce study called “A Nation Online” that talks about who would be able to access the Internet in the era of the 3rd Edition playtest, complete with some very old-school Excel charts.Here's a forum thread from Jonathan Tweet (the lead designer on D&D 3rd Edition) that talks about the changes in 3rd Edition.Here's a contemporary Death Cookie review of 3rd Edition that discusses some of the changes from previous editions.Here's a review of 3rd Edition play from 2000 that's mostly positive.Here's another forum thread with a retrospective on how players felt about D&D 3rd Edition.Here's Monte Cook, one of the designers for 3rd Edition (but not 3.5) talking about the development of 3.5.Here's a brief history of Paizo, the publisher of Pathfinder.Here's the character generator we used in this episode.We didn't really get into this, but Roll20's Orr Report shows the relative popularity of different TTRPG systems. Head over to our website to see to the character sheet that Reilly builds in this episode.  If you like the music on the show, go check out more of Reilly's music.Follow us wherever you get your podcasts, including Spotify, Apple Podcasts, and YouTube. You can also get episodes right from the source at our RSS feed. If you enjoy Campaign Spotlight, consider subscribing to our Patreon. For more on the show, including links to all our social media, visit our website.  

In which we interview Kim Godwin about her work and Scion: Mythic Shards! * Who is Kim? * Playtesting at sea * Mythic Shards overview * Art notes and heroes * Proposed shards? * Mythic sharks * What else should people know? * Takes on the World * They Came from the RPG Anthology * Sci-fi inspirations * Adventures Links: Onyx Path YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/user/TheOnyxPath Onyx Path Twitch: https://www.twitch.tv/theonyxpath Onyx Path Discord: https://discord.gg/5uckcBk

GameDriver enables video game developers, testers, and producers to automate playtesting; improving time to market, test coverage, and overall quality and revenue.The company brings over 30 years of test automation expertise to the massive gaming industry, as well as Enterprise - where next-gen user experiences are built using gaming technologies including AR and VR, to deliver consistent, repeatable testing to the app development process.XRDriver is an Auggie nominated developer tool that addresses sector-specific needs with Advanced XR testing. Joining me on the podcast to tell us more about GameDriver's powerful results and how developers can increase productivity on their XR games and enterprise apps is Shane Evans, Co-founder at GameDriver, Product Strategy and Go-to-Market.Shane is a pioneering Product Management leader who has led mature, market-leading products and introduced new products, and solutions to fit changing market and business needs for HP, HSBC and more. His ability to fuse a passion for games with cutting-edge innovation and enterprise solutions gives him a unique and invaluable perspective on the industry. You can find him at GDC, AWE and and other global conferences. Visit GameDriver.io to get your free trial of GameDriver and download their exclusive resource to discover the strengths and gaps in your testing process.Thanks for listening! You can support the podcast by subscribing on your favorite podcast platform, give us a rating and connect with us on our LinkedIn page. Special thanks to Noah LangerFEATURED LINKS:Getting Started with Video Game Test Automation using GameDriverXR DriverGameDriver on GitHubGAME ENGINES / MORE RESOURCES:UnityUnity: DOTSUnreal EngineUnreal Engine: MASSGodot Game EngineHow to get a job as a video games tester  - GamesIndustry.bizThe crucial role of software quality assurance in gameplay development - Software testing magazine CONNECT WITH SHANE:LinkedInCONNECT WITH SICILIANA: LinkedIn sicilianatrevino.com 

Jason chats with Joe Kell and Robbie Bergstrom

In this episode we delve into the subject of playtesting: how to choose the right playtesters for your game as well as learning how to go after the criticism you need, not necessarily what you want to hear. We talk about the qualitative differences between testing for smaller indie and mass market games, as well as how you develop a community of people around your design who, hopefully, become as invested in it as you are. Download the Sympathetic Memories demo for free on our Itch.io site: https://furidashipod.itch.io/sympathetic-memories Substack: https://gamedesigndiscourse.substack.com/ Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/furidashi Twitter: https://twitter.com/furidashipod Lauryn: https://twitter.com/thelaurynash Nicholas: https://twitter.com/academicality

Welcome to Meeple2Meeple Episode 88 where PJ and Gareth talk about boardgame play testing, they share their experiences, recent play-tests and PJ's new feature..narrating boardgame rulebook intros… —— Meeple2Meeple - your regular boardgame fix via a podcast in only 30 minutes!  ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠IG: @Meeple2Meeple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ ⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠Linktree: Meeple2Meeple⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠ #boardgames #boardgamepodcast #meeple2meeple #boardgamecommunity #boardgamefriends #boardgamechat #boardgameteacher #learningboardgames #boardgameplaytesting #playesting

Episode 63: People, Products, Playtests (Republish of E1 of BBG) Welcome to Building Better Games! Due to Ben's recent knee surgery, we're revisiting one of our most popular episodes from season two. In this episode, originally titled "People, Products, Playtests," we dive deep into the importance of maintaining a strong relationship with the games we create. By the way, our discord community is live! Join here to engage with leaders and producers in game dev looking to make our industry a better place that makes better games: https://discord.gg/ySCPS5aMcQ  Key Topics: 1. Playtesting and Engagement: We discuss how regular playtesting can prevent teams from getting lost in the technical aspects and keep the focus on creating an engaging player experience. 2. Internal Playtests: We explore different company cultures around playtesting and how frequent testing can lead to better team behaviors and more successful products. 3. Gamer First, Developer Second: We talk through the impact to our own careers of being a gamer before a developer and how this perspective can lead to better game design and development. 4. Approach to Playtests: Aaron shares insights on the mindset and cultural aspects of playtesting, emphasizing the importance of playing the game from a player's perspective rather than just a developer's. Join us for this episode on how to build better games through effective playtesting while maintaining a meaningful connection with both the product and the audience. Don't forget to check out our new Discord server for game development leaders and producers to continue the conversation and solve the right problems together. Enjoy the episode! And if you're interested in more of our content, links below. "Succeeding in Game Production: What You Aren't Taught" online course for game producers: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/succeeding-in-game-production  Newsletter: https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/newsletter  Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/ Aaron's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doublearon00/ 

Timestamps 0:00 - Tarkov News Round up 12:55 - New barters are prepping up for an event? 25:18 - First impressions of Gray Zone Warfare Playtest 36:16 - Gray Zone isn't a Tarkov clone, but... 46:33 - The actualy gameplay, or movement, felt rough 53:54 - Is Gray Zone worth buying in the future? 1:10:52 - What Gray Zone is missing to give it that edge 1:44:05 - Zany card deck building multiplayer FPS Get featured in our next episode! Leave us a message here: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scavtalk/message Join the Discord! - https://discord.gg/T9QA2DuFcP Church1x1 - Twitter https://twitter.com/Church1x1 - Twitch https://twitch.com/Church1x1 GigaBeef - YT https://www.youtube.com/Gigabeef - Twitter https://twitter.com/Gigabeef --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scavtalk/message Support this podcast: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/scavtalk/support

Paul and Dan check in on their annual D&D mini-convention with friends in a house on the Massachusetts shore, now in its 15th year. What went well, what could go better, what lessons will feed into our future gaming? Find WDM 01 - Asymmetric Monastery of the Deranged Berserkers on DriveThru RPG here!

Pluto Jackson inspires his comrades with tales of the awe-inspiring triumphs that propelled him into the history books as the wisest, burliest, and most competent champion Caspia has ever known. ... Oh, a bard and a mage were there too. Playtesting the Magma Troll, and Winter Troll from MONSTERS OF DRAKKENHEIM. This is 300+ pages of eldritch horror inspired monsters for 5e by the Dungeon Dudes! Coming to Kickstarter March 26th, 2024: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/dungeondudes/monsters-of-drakkenheim-5e   Download the Monster Stat Blocks for the monsters in this episode! Magma Troll: https://drive.google.com/file/d/12z6p9ctyCuO21BGnbY7EkR8CozoHy7Ex/view?usp=sharing Winter Troll: https://drive.google.com/file/d/1qRSSb62tQh9GhCxrVQbDZEDiKYaTaWC2/view?usp=sharing ____________________________ Purchase our adventures and player options for D&D 5e here: https://ghostfiregaming.com/dungeons-of-drakkenheim/ Join our Patreon community: https://www.patreon.com/dungeon_dudes Get our custom t-shirts: http://bit.ly/dungeondudesmerch

Ten years ago, I released a podcast on playtesting, but a lot has changed. In this podcast, I look at how we playtest today.

Is Nightshade the end of AI art in the TTRPG industry? How do you effectively playtest new rules you've written? What's the worst DM behavior you've put up with in your D&D game? All that, and more! Email your questions to podcast@ghostfiregaming.com Shawn: @shawnmerwin Dael: @DailyDael Logan: @the_runesmith Adam: @RetroArchetype Editor: ZsDante Topics: 00:00 - Intro 01:36 - TTRPG creator advice 09:53 - Nightshade poisons AI art 16:55 - Random House cocktails 25:33 - Bad DM behavior 40:08 - Playtesting subclasses 51:07 - Too many NPCs

Andy and Anthony talk about updates to Anthony's Turbo Cube and how changing a few cards can impact the way a cube feels. In this environment, all spells and activated abilities cost  generic mana less. They cut some of the most potent win conditions including Teferi's Tutelage, and added a handful of cards to bolster black discard focused strategies. ⁠View all cards mentioned in the episode →⁠ 0:00 - Introduction 4:09 - Small (but actually big) changes to the win conditions in the Turbo Cube 16:50 - Do the colors have identities in the Turbo Cube? 20:18 - The problem with black in the Turbo Cube 28:03 - Tournament report from the first draft of the new discard package 39:40 - Ideas for improving the archetype after the first playtest 54:12 - How will Anthony evaluate success or failure of this archetype moving forward? 58:34 - Tidebinder Corner Discussed in this episode: MAGfest Lucky Paper Radio on YouTube Cubes Mentioned: Turbo Cube Check us out on Twitch and YouTube for paper Cube gameplay. You can find the hosts' Cubes on Cube Cobra: Andy's “Bun Magic” Cube Anthony's “Regular” Cube If want us to do a pack 1, pick 1 from your cube submit it on our website. Send in questions to the show at mail@luckypaper.co. You can also find both your hosts in the MTG Cube Talk Discord. If you'd like to show your support for the show, please leave us a review on iTunes or wherever you listen. Musical production by DJ James Nasty.

Steve Bromley, a games user research consultant, joins Ben and Aaron to discuss the importance of user research in game development. He emphasizes the need for teams to understand their target players and their needs, and to integrate player insights throughout the development process. He also highlights the value of early playtesting and the benefits of engaging with real players rather than relying solely on internal feedback. He encourages teams to make user research a collaborative process and to prioritize specific objectives when conducting studies. Overall, Steve emphasizes the role of user research in creating a better gaming experience for players. Key Takeaways: User research should be integrated into the game development process from the early stages to ensure alignment with player needs and preferences. Playtesting should not be left until the end of development; regular and targeted studies throughout the process can lead to better decision-making and prevent critical issues from being overlooked. It is important to involve real players in playtesting rather than relying solely on friends and family or internal team members to gather feedback.   Connect with Steve Bromley on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/stevebromley If you want to run reliable playtests, or start a career in games user research check out his website: https://gamesuserresearch.com/    Courses built by game devs for game devs - check out “Succeeding in Game Production” https://www.buildingbettergames.gg/succeeding-in-game-production    Sign up for the Building Better Games Newsletter for bi-weekly tips to help you lead game teams! https://buildingbettergames.gg/newsletter/   Check out our website: https://buildingbettergames.gg/   If you think we could help your studio or company build better games, email us at info@valarinconsulting.com to set up a free 90-minute call!   For more episodes, head to the Building Better Games Podlink https://www.pod.link/1559448378   Connect with us: Ben's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/benjamin-carcich/ Aaron's LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/doublearon00/ BBG LinkedIn:https://www.linkedin.com/company/building-better-games/ BBG Tiktok: https://www.tiktok.com/@building_better_games BBG Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/building_better_games/   Content Editor: Jonathan Singh

In today's episode, John and Stephanie discuss their experiences playtesting and how to run a successful playtest that yields helpful information. Distal is a TTRPG in Alpha playtesting by Michael from the Playtest Panel Discussions. You can check out the system at https://linktr.ee/distalrpg In this segment of the Dragon Mind TTRPG Podcast, John and Stephanie borrow brilliance from our world's most insightful minds to become better game masters, players, and people. This podcast is a proud member of the Darkmore Podcast Network. To discover more content from its members, visit darkmorepodcasts.com Want to poke us about a question or have feedback about the podcast? Send us an email at dragonmindpodcast@gmail.com Credit to https://www.FesliyanStudios.com for the background music

Sam Mustafa, author of Blucher, LaSalle2, Nimitz and many other games joins us in sunny south Texas to test play his latest WWII project in the works.Show NotesHonour GamesSupport the show

Welcome back to Crowdfunding Nerds, episode 151! Today we're thrilled to have Joe Slack with us. Ever wondered what makes a board game irresistible? It's all about the 'table presence'! In this episode, we delve into the key elements that contribute to a game's allure, such as color, unique components, and physical presence on the table. We also emphasize the importance of player feedback in shaping the game and creating an immersive experience.  Throughout the episode, we highlight games that nailed 'table presence,' like Dark Tower and Fireball Island, and discuss how they balance attractive setups with solid mechanics. We wrap up by discussing the impact of playtesting and how the physical table can influence the game's experience. So, ready to dive deep into the world of board games?  Podcast chapters: 00:01 – Exploring the Concept of Table Presence 20:13 – Games that Excel in Table Presence 35:00 – The Impact of Playtesting and Physical Table on Gaming Experience.   Links to games and episodes mentioned: Mayan Curse  How To Launch Your Second Kickstarter Project With Joe Slack   Listen To Joe Slack Before Launching Your Second Kickstarter   SOURCE & Timestrike

Mike Mulvhill is one of the true giants of Wizkids Pirates CSG history, having designed the majority of the game pieces!  He was heavily involved in numerous aspects of the game from Spanish Main through Rise of the Fiends, and helped with certain aspects on Fire and Steel.  The game was basically his in terms of game design, concept creation, game mechanics and gameplay concepts, as well as rules, factions, and the specific individual game pieces. Questions thread: https://pirateswithben.com/forums/topic/submit-your-questions-for-pirates-game-piece-creator-designer-mike-mulvihill/ Master Spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/PiratesCSGMasterSpreadsheet Tilor's database: https://tilorfire27.github.io/PiratesCSGDB/index.html SimCost: https://psmlist.com/public/blog/documentation_simcost UDC: https://psmlist.com/public/blog/documentation_udc Game Mode options for ban lists/etc: https://pirateswithben.com/game-modes-for-playing-pirates-csg/ Pirates CSG on eBay: https://ebay.us/5C1kyR (affiliate link - purchasing through it will help support my content and efforts with the game!) Take the podcast survey! https://goo.gl/forms/CsnwVmi3qhtqik323 Feel free to rate and review the podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pirates-csg-podcast/id1258016060 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/piratescsg/message

Mike Mulvhill is one of the true giants of Wizkids Pirates CSG history, having designed the majority of the game pieces!  He was heavily involved in numerous aspects of the game from Spanish Main through Rise of the Fiends, and helped with certain aspects on Fire and Steel.  The game was basically his in terms of game design, concept creation, game mechanics and gameplay concepts, as well as rules, factions, and the specific individual game pieces. Questions thread: https://pirateswithben.com/forums/topic/submit-your-questions-for-pirates-game-piece-creator-designer-mike-mulvihill/ Master Spreadsheet: http://bit.ly/PiratesCSGMasterSpreadsheet Tilor's database: https://tilorfire27.github.io/PiratesCSGDB/index.html 150 point game referenced: https://pirateswithben.com/4x150-in-redmond-washington-september-9th-2023/ Pirates CSG on eBay: https://ebay.us/5C1kyR (affiliate link - purchasing through it will help support my content and efforts with the game!) Take the podcast survey! https://goo.gl/forms/CsnwVmi3qhtqik323 Feel free to rate and review the podcast on iTunes: https://itunes.apple.com/us/podcast/pirates-csg-podcast/id1258016060 --- Send in a voice message: https://podcasters.spotify.com/pod/show/piratescsg/message

Ray and Ariel have a more casual conversation this episode discussing the playtest Ray ran for the Emery's kickstarter stretch goal, featuring Za'ul the Lich King. They discuss what to prioritize for a major boss battle, and how to inject some new mechanics into minion fights with Za'ul's magical golems as examples. Ray and Ariel also tease the next episode where they will be reviewing Ariel's push-your-luck style homebrew class, which (he promises) will finally be ready for publishing. Website: https://runningofftherails.com Emery's Log of Legendary Eminences: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/runningofftherails/emerys-log-of-legendary-eminences⁠ Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/runningofftherails Twitter: https://twitter.com/RunningOffRails

Decision Space is the podcast about decisions in board games. Join our active and welcoming Discord community, Join the crew today! (Decision Space Patreon), or Leave us a review wherever you found this podcast!  Episode 135 - Playtesting and Prototyping Welcome to Decision Space, the only podcast that takes place right here before the turns of your favorite games (someday, we hope). Anyways, this podcast is very different. Today, Brendan and Jake put on their game designer hats and share some of their experiences and lessons learned with playtesting and prototyping board game designs. We hope you enjoy this educational flight aboard our sister ship, the InterDesignonal Spaceship.    Pre-Planners Santa Monica, Torres, Food Chain Magnate, and social deduction games et. al are coming up in the relatively near future!   Timestamps    Intro - 0:00 Prototyping Discussion - 2:10 Playtesting Discussion - 26:20   Music and Sound Credits Thank you to Hembree for our intro and outro music from their song Reach Out. You can listen to the full song on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gQuuRPfOyMw&list=TLGGFNH7VEDPgwgyNTA4MjAyMQ&t=3s You can find more information about Hembree at https://www.hembreemusic.com/.  Thank you to Flash Floods for use of their song Palm of Your Hand as a sting from their album Halfway to Anywhere: https://open.spotify.com/album/2fE6LrqzNDKPYWyS5evh3K?si=CCjdAGmeSnOOEui6aV3_nA Rules Overview Music:  Way Home by Tokyo Music Walker https://soundcloud.com/user-356546060​ Creative Commons — Attribution 3.0 Unported — CC BY 3.0 Free Download / Stream: https://bit.ly/tokyo-music-walker-way...​ Music promoted by Audio Library https://youtu.be/pJThZlOuDtI Contact We can be reached individually on Twitter at @jakefryd and @burnsidebh. You can also follow Decision Space on Instagram @DecisionSpacePod and talk to us there! If you prefer email, then hit us up at decisionspa@gmail.com. This information is all available along with episodes at our new website decisionspacepodcast.com. Byeee!

This is a bonus on the series of the gamification process! It would be the seventh part of the series, so if you haven't listened to or seen Gamification Intro (Episode 295), Setting Up With Objectives for Gamification (Episode 296), Who Are Your Players (Episode 297), Choosing and Using Game Mechanics (Episode 298), Storyboarding and Prototyping (Episode 299) or Playtesting and Iteration (Episode 300) you certainly want to start there!

Episode 300 is here!!! Wow, it's been a while, many interviews and some solo episodes like this one. Thanks for your support, whether starting just now or continued for many episodes, I appreciate you as an Engager and I'm sure you will continue to find value here. For this episode we close the cycle with playtesting your prototype and iteration, this is the Final Boss! This is the sixth and final part of the series discussing this process, so if you haven't listened to or seen Gamification Intro (Episode 295), Setting Up With Objectives for Gamification (Episode 296), Who Are Your Players (Episode 297), Choosing and Using Game Mechanics (Episode 298) or Storyboarding and Prototyping (Episode 299) you certainly want to start there!

Original Post

We all have a tendency to get close to our projects and sometimes miss the forest for the trees, especially when it comes to player feedback.  But even if we don't, the playtesting process can be cumbersome and even overwhelming, making it a challenge to navigate and understand what actions need to be prioritized to improve the quality of your game.  In this episode, we'll be discussing how you can crush your playtesting with a ton of valuable insights that not only provide you with clarity but can save you a lot of time, money and frustration.  Ep 310 Shownotes:

Show us how you playtest! Phil and Senda talk playtesting (a discussion topic we received from multiple requests). We approach it based on an idealized version of how we’ve playtested […]

Lords: * Tim * Ben * https://linktr.ee/zerofiftyone Topics: * My Thursday Night * The daunting thought of: there is so much music that exists now - it's more than likely that your favorite song in the world is out there and you'll never find it in your lifetime. * I've been working on a small game in my spare time and I never want to ship it. I just want to have friends playtest forever. * Fine Feather * https://files.fireside.fm/file/fireside-uploads/images/3/3597ddeb-e52e-4cda-a59c-c64600489fea/vyy9So4K.jpg * The terrifying field of Hostile Nuclear Architecture * https://vm.tiktok.com/ZGJmB4MFj/ * Do you have 10^3 tabs open in Chrome? * In Super Mario World, some secrets reward you by skipping levels and some reward you by adding new levels. Make up your mind! If the level add guy and the level subtract guy had just talked to each other they could've just left the levels as they were and saved everybody a lot of work. Topics: * Having something to unplug. * Continuing to take care of your children. * Going to see the Mountain Goats for your birthday. * Sleep meds that don't interact well with grapefruit. * Caring for a newborn for a month and then suddenly having a nice meal. * A cocktail of factors. * Finding an amazing new artist you become obsessed with for the next few months. * Listening to music while you work. * A poster containing the source code for Pitfall. * How to keep finding new music in your thirties. * Phonograph. * Auto-brewery syndrome but for methamphetamines. * A good song that everybody likes. * Fear of stories. * Refusing to see a movie because you're afraid of what it'll make you feel. * Going camping in the woods in order to watch a movie. * Reliving your past experience in memory. * The soap operas that your ex's mom would watch. * Buying sheet music and playing it yourself in anticipation of when the orchestra comes to your town to play you the real thing. * Sheet music as a pre-release hype document. * Reading the manual of your new video game on the car ride home. * Crestfallenness. * Listening to a record with somebody. * Rogue topics that keep threatening to come up. * Playtesting as a way to get to know your friends better. * Approaching the things that are valuable to you through the lens of an illusion that you know is an illusion. * Lockdown hobbies. * How to enjoy hobbies. * Starting a Youtube series called "Ben sucks at baking" so you get a bunch of followers who will be disappointed if you get good at baking. * Dehydrating beer to get yeast out of it. * Making beer out of the yeast that's just hanging out in the air around you. * Gordy and the Monster Moon. * Nine year olds who are incredible at climbing because they refuse to eat fish. * A sparrow showing you its whole ass. * Whether sparrows are detested. * How to dispose of nuclear waste. * Attempts to make you hind brain think "I need to leave here immediately." * The meme of the skeleton playing the trumpet. * A field of Aztec death whistles activated by the wind blowing. * Trying to save the lives of people who live far in the future. * Speaking across time. * Whether this place is a place of honor. * An ADHD Shame Graveyard of Browser Tabs. * Going over all your browser tabs to see which ones remain relevant to you. * Details of how one bathes oneself that we never discuss in public. * A web browser that'll tell you "no, I think you've had enough tabs" * A brick that gives you a key. * How Elden Ring is structured. * A game that is a foray into a new design space that demonstrates how not to solve these design problems. * A scavenger hunt to find the next Topic Lords guest.

Ryan and Ben dissect the massive amount of information in the new Player's Handbook Unearthed Arcana. Community Pages: Unearthed Arcana Player's Handbook; D&D Community Update Page; Misplaced Monsters Volume 1.

Welcome to LorcanaCast, your Premiere Disney Lorcana Podcast! This week Sugi and Jason sit down to discuss their Lorcana playtesting over the last week. With the quickstart rules in hand, we have logged 100+ games and wanted to share our thoughts on the game with the current 60-card pool. We also discuss our thoughts on the "Shift" mechanic and how it interacts with Lorcana characters. Quickstart rules from Lorcana.com: https://www.disneylorcana.com/en-US/how-to-play/ If you enjoy LorcanaCast, could you do us a favor? Please like and subscribe to the podcast! Please leave us a review and tell other listeners what you enjoy about the show. It helps grow the community and only takes a few seconds. Thank you for all your support! We greatly appreciate everyone who listens to the podcast.

What lessons can we learn when playtesting a new deck? What lessons should we AVOID when playtesting a new deck? Which techniques are most helpful, or most misleading? Let's discuss one of the trickiest aspects of the deckbuilding process!Want access to exclusive content, the Challenge the Stats spreadsheet, EDHRECast Discord, and more? Support the cast on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/edhrecastWant to see the decks we play? Check them out here: https://edhrec.com/articles/edhrecast-our-decks/Watch the video podcast here: EDHRECast YouTubeDon't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/EDHRECastIf you like the show, telling a friend about it would be helpful! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/EDHRECastFollow the cast on Twitter:@EDHRECast@JosephMSchultz@danaroach@mathimus55 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices

What lessons can we learn when playtesting a new deck? What lessons should we AVOID when playtesting a new deck? Which techniques are most helpful, or most misleading? Let's discuss one of the trickiest aspects of the deckbuilding process! Want access to exclusive content, the Challenge the Stats spreadsheet, EDHRECast Discord, and more? Support the cast on Patreon! https://www.patreon.com/edhrecast Want to see the decks we play? Check them out here: https://edhrec.com/articles/edhrecast-our-decks/ Watch the video podcast here: EDHRECast YouTube Don't forget to subscribe to the podcast for free wherever you're listening or by using this link: https://bit.ly/EDHRECast If you like the show, telling a friend about it would be helpful! You can text, email, Tweet, or send this link to a friend: https://bit.ly/EDHRECast Follow the cast on Twitter: @EDHRECast @JosephMSchultz @danaroach @mathimus55 Learn more about your ad choices. Visit podcastchoices.com/adchoices