Hi Jason,
My first two projects STFC and Montezuma's Revenge were open testing and
I saw both the good and the bad in doing so. Like you said there is a
lot more testers, but there is a lot of expectations and other baggage
that comes with it as well.
I hope I don't insult anyone by saying this, but not everyone is tester
material. Some people aren't really use to working with programs that
often crash, don't run properly, or even know if there system is missing
some dependancy they need. I can recall a good number of cases where I
had to tell people what the .NET Framework was, how to install it, and
then explain to them the difference between Managed DirectX for .NET
applications and the stock DirectX libraries that ships with their
system. Most people were not even aware that Managed DirectX was a
different component for DirectX, and doesn't ship with Windows by
default. I'm not saying those people were stupid, but it did result in
several basic problems with user error rather than actual bugs in the
software that I had to sort out. Nothing is more frustrating trying to
figure out if the error is a result of user error or as a result of
screwed up code. With a smaller handpicked team it is easier to figure
out who is on the same page and who is not quite up to speed yet.
Jason Allen wrote:
Well in Entombed's case, I'm new to the community so I thought a broader
test phase would be better. It's true, there is a real danger in turning
people off your game when they test it expecting a much more polished
experience. I think it helps to only open the game to testers when it will
exceed their expectations. That first impression is important. Just things
I've learned to better apply to future projects.
Jason
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