Hello Dark,
I have never been involved in private beta of accessible games. For the
business and productivity software which I have tested, receiving a copy
of the software is standard practice. Then again, there is a lot
involved in such forms of beta testing. I just assumed that private game
testing followed the same model. I sincerely apologize for my incorrect
understanding.
David Chittenden, MSc, CRC, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
dark wrote:
I Disagree with david that just because you have a private testing
team they should automatically get a copy of the software, ----
especially in a field like accessible games where every sale helps.
Testing is a way for non-programmers to contribute to accessible games
developement, ---- not a way to grab free coppies of the software,
----- especially as it's hoped the testing process will in itself be
fun for the players (all the games testing programs I've been involved
in certainly have been), ---- in fact if the testing process isn't
fun, then the developer certainly! has work to do, ;D.
Beware the Grue!
Dark.
----- Original Message ----- From: "David Chittenden"
<[email protected]>
To: "Gamers Discussion list" <[email protected]>
Sent: Sunday, January 03, 2010 12:33 AM
Subject: Re: [Audyssey] Public betas vs private testing
Hello,
It sounds to me like you have spelled out all of the benefits and
detriments to both sides. The only things I would ad are that you can
always increase and decrease the size of a private team as needed,
but you typically should give the members a free copy of the software
when the game is finished. With public beta, you do not have the same
control, but you also do not need to provide software in recompense
for the testing of it.
I have been involved in both private and public beta programs. I tend
to prefer the public beta because you get many more and different
perspectives. Then again, I am not a programmer.
David Chittenden, MSc, CRC, MRCAA
Email: [email protected]
Philip Bennefall wrote:
Hi all,
I just wanted to put a question out. What are your opinions of
private testing with a dedicated team versus publicly released betas
that everyone can try out? I have a new game in development now, and
I am considering whether to make a public beta available similar to
what Thomas Ward and Jason Alan have done. I see some pros and cons
with private testing, though:
Pros:
1. Easier to manage. Since you have only a few people who are
testing the game you do not need to answer the same questions or
receive the same bug reports numerous times.
2. The element of surprise. With a private team, very few people
know about the development and so it comes as more of a nice
surprise when something new is released, where as in the case when
everyone knows pretty much everything that is going on it's hardly
unexpected when a game finally is released. In the worst case, some
people may even have gotten tired of the game after playing the betas!
Cons:
1. Limited testing=more possible bugs. If you have a smaller team
you are not as likely to catch every single bug before the product
goes to release. This can result in some pretty rapid patch releases
(1.0.1, 1.0.2, 1.1, etc) right after 1.0 has been put out and this
obviously doesn't look too good.
2. Nagging. If everyone knows about the game while it is being
developed, I fear that some people would be sending emails asking
when the next version is out or wanting to know why this or that
feature that they suggested hasn't been implemented. This is of
course a very broad generalization and I do not in any way wish to
insinuate that a lot of people do this, but there are a few cases
and it might make it annoying for the developer to see the project
all the way to the end. If no one except the private testing team
knows about the game, then you will not get any public comments
before you go 1.0 and then you are obviosly prepared to take them.
On the other hand, of course, more public suggestions means more
good possible ideas for the developer to work with. Thoughts, anyone?
Kind regards,
Philip Bennefall
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