作者：Ian Schreiber

在2006年的游戏开发者大会中，游戏设计师兼学者Jesse Schell（游戏邦注：Schell Games首席执行官和创意总监）表示，设计师必须做到以下几点：（请点击此处阅读本系列第1、第2、第3、第4、第5、第6、第7、第8、第9、第10、第11、第12、第13、第15、第16、第17、第18课程内容）

聆听游戏测试者的反馈。也许你的游戏测试者并不是专业的设计者，有时候他们的建议可能毫无意义。但既然他们对你的游戏做出了反应，你就应该认真思考并做出具体分析。

聆听你的游戏。当游戏达到了一定的复杂度时，我们便能够完整地看到游戏的深度内容。并且，比起简单地制作出你最初设想的游戏模型，制作出完善精致的游戏更重要。

聆听你自己的心声。每一次都要根据你的设计师直觉而做出的决策，不论好坏，都能帮助你获得更好的结果。（这也是为何拥有20年设计经验的老手比起大学生更有可能成为优秀设计师的原因，这无关所谓的“天赋”或者其它捷径。）

game playtest(from brettspiel.co.uk)

在此，我们先讨论第一点：聆听游戏测试者的反馈。当你到达一定的开发阶段时，你便需要开始测试游戏。你需要邀请一些局外人，特别是来自于游戏目标市场的群体，让他们帮助测试游戏。

让玩家测试游戏和让其他设计师测试游戏大为不同。如果做的好的话，你便能够从目标用户中获得有帮助的反馈信息，而不是游戏设计师单纯的建议，因为你能够第一时间了解那些愿意尝试游戏最后版本的玩家们此时对于游戏的看法。这是一种完全不同的技巧。因为游戏测试者并非专业设计师，所以能够给出不一样的反馈意见，而你也必须更努力地从中找出问题的根本原因。所以在这个过程中你要保持高度的洞察力。

街头艺人

你是否看过街头艺人？他们是为路人做表演的音乐家，魔术师，变戏法的艺人或者小丑等。他们接受着观看者的“捐赠”，除了这些愿意驻足的陌生路人，他们得不到其它收入。他们深谙如何取悦大众，因为只有这样才能养活自己，避免留宿街头。

显然，在街头表演过程中，观众的目光始终在艺人身上，那么这些表演者的目光又在哪里呢？下一次当你看表演的时候，认真地去观察这些表演者，你会发现，比起关注于自己或者表演，他们更加专注于观众的反应。他们的目光一直在人群中追寻着兴奋点，不论看到观众的反应是肯定还是否定，他们都会适当地做出调整。也许观众更喜欢硬币魔术而非纸牌魔术，或者更喜欢蓝调而不是爵士乐，又或者是更喜欢玩杂耍。所以对于表演者来说，最重要的技巧便是读懂观众的心思。

这些艺人不会停下表演去询问观众的反应，因为他们可以从观察中得到答案。

在游戏设计中要如何使用这一技巧？

当你邀请非设计师进行游戏测试时，你所扮演的角色无疑就是街头艺人了。所以不要单纯地询问测试者游戏是否有趣，因为他们并不会给予你准确的答案。相反地，你应该观察他们的游戏过程，并在旁边做记录：

他们的游戏姿势是怎样的？游戏是否调动了他们的乐趣？还是他们感到游戏很无聊？或者因为游戏而感到兴奋？

他们的视线关注着哪里？频繁流连于哪里？测试者之间是否会相互观察？还是他们会不时看着作为旁观者的你？他们是否会环视测试房间细数着天花板上的砖瓦？

他们是如何移动？注重于攻击还是防御？玩家之间会合作，协商还是相互暗算？

他们是否遵从着游戏规则而游戏，或者一直“犯规”？测试者是否会陷在某些关卡并需要寻找解决方法，或者他们能够一直顺利地完成游戏？

观察结果是否符合游戏的设计目标？或者说你的游戏是否符合你的预期目标？

你还必须注意，在一次游戏测试过程中，他们的上述反应都会有所变化。你需要找出游戏哪些环节最吸引人，而你在游戏测试阶段的目标便是观察这些内容。

针对于非设计师群体准备测试

如果不是设计师，我们便很难忍受粗糙的游戏原型。特别是游戏玩家，如果他们收到一叠手写的索引卡片，并且卡片要求他们在一张笔记本纸做成的游戏棋盘上移动便士，如此，他们可能会更多地关注于游戏组件的质量而非游戏机制吧。而这时你可能会得到很多关于美术设计或棋盘布局的评论，但是此时这些内容对你来说真的没什么价值，因为你更迫切地希望了解玩家们的游戏体验，毕竟这个阶段我们还不用去讨论游戏的最终外观！

如果你足够幸运，能够遇到愿意应对粗糙游戏原型的测试者，你就可以省去很多不必要的工作了。也有些人认为有必要花时间去创造一些游戏组件，但是却不一定要求非常高的质量，只要能够尽可能地仿效游戏即可。

通常情况下，我们总是不愿意在粗糙的游戏原型中投入太多时间。因为投入的时间越多，就说明我们越难对其做出修改。

如何做才能在短时间内制作出精致的游戏原型？以下是一些窍门：

谷歌图片搜索是你的好帮手。如果你想要寻找一些关于纸牌或者棋盘图像，你可以输入一些关键词。然后找到图片进行复制粘贴即可。全部过程只要几分钟。让你能够如此简单大方地“借取”别人的图像。

而对于一些基本组件，如兵卒或者令牌等，你便可以从现有的游戏中取出类似的道具暂时填充。这样总比你使用瓶盖，便士或者其它莫名其妙的道具做原型专业多了。

对于纸牌，你可以轻松地在PPT或者Visio（游戏邦注：Visio公司在1991年推出的制作图表软件）中创造好看的图像。标准的纸牌大小是2.5英尺宽，3.5英尺高。而在8.5×11格式的纸张上，你可以按照4×2网格横向罗列出8张纸牌，或者按照3×3网格纵向罗列出9张纸牌。用标准的纸张打印并用剪刀裁剪出来。

如果你想要创造一些容易洗牌与手持的纸牌，你可以使用一些塑料卡套（在游戏或者业余爱好者商店能够买到，这主要是用于保护《万智牌：旅法师对决》中的纸牌）。你可以将纸牌插进这些塑料套中，让它们拥有统一的背部图案，然后在正面展示不同的卡片类型。

在现阶段，你可以将游戏棋盘印刷在1张或多张纸上。你也可以在PPT或者其它简单的工具，如MS Paint（画图工具，可以用它创建简单或者精美的图画）中的基线绘制方形，使用文字工具编写棋盘中的文本或数字，或者你也可以复制并粘帖其它图像。

针对非设计师玩家执行测试

当你开始花费大量时间去记录并作观察时，你将会发现这比亲自玩游戏简单多了。不管你是与其他设计师一起进行测试还是单独作测试，你所扮演的都是玩家的角色，但是如果是针对于非设计师角色的测试，你的关注焦点将转移到测试者身上，观察他们如何玩游戏并且彼此间如何进行交流。

你可以先写下一套规则，并告知测试者这些规则以及游戏相关组件，然后默默地站到旁边，不干涉他们的游戏。同时，你还必须让他们知道，你是以观察者的身份站在那里，既不是玩家也不是参谋长。你可以让他们假装你的不存在，而自然地开始游戏。

但是测试者经常忘记这点，就像是他们在游戏中遇到一些不明白之处，就会转过头向你咨询。而这时候你不应该立刻做出回答。你应该先问他们一个问题：“如果我不在这里，而你需要自己做出判断，你会怎么做？”而不管他们的回答是否正确，都会让他们领悟过来。并且不管玩家做出何种选择，你都能够从中了解他们是如何理解你的游戏。而在玩家回答了你的问题后，你便可以告知他们想要的答案。但是绝不要放弃如此这种可获得有价值信息的机会。

有时候你的测试者根本不会咨询你，而是径直前进，并因此陷入了游戏“误区”。也许本来每个玩家每一回合应该抓取2张牌，但是他们却只抓了1张。或者他们在每个回合开始时都略过了第一步。或者他们忽略了游戏中某些道具的作用。这时候你一定要克制住那种想制止他们的冲动。虽然这种感受很不妙，没有什么比看玩家违背设计初衷而继续玩游戏还折磨人了，但因为游戏发行后可能还有玩家继续这么做，所以对你来说意识到这点非常重要，因为你可以在测试后对规则和组件做出修改。

让玩家“错误”地玩游戏也能够带来一些有益的帮助。有时候你会发现，测试者的游戏方法可能还优于你预先设定的规则。许多人，甚至是非设计师都拥有很强大的游戏直觉。而有时候，人们总是会根据自己的直觉避开游戏中一些规则，并按照自己认为有趣的方法进行游戏。

寻找非设计师测试者

幸运的是，比起寻找游戏设计师作为测试者，非设计师测试者更好找，毕竟后者的数量远远多于前者。

你的朋友，家人或者同事都可以为你提供帮助，并且他们也很乐意帮你的忙。而如果你待在一个没有熟人的地方，你可以考虑走出家门，去外面找找愿意帮你作测试的人。

除此之外，你还必须记住，那些与你熟知的人很难直接批评你的游戏。他们也许会说那是他们玩过最有趣的游戏，即使事实并非如此。因为对他们来说，你们之间的关系比起游戏测试结果还重要。所以对于这类型的测试者，你更应该保持密切的观察，判断哪一部分对于他们来说才是真正具有乐趣。（本文为游戏邦/gamerboom.com编译，拒绝任何不保留版权的转载，如需转载请联系：游戏邦）

Level 14: Playing with Non-Designers

In 2006 at GDC, game designer and academic Jesse Schell said that the most important skill of a designer is to listen:

Listen to your playtesters. They may not be professional designers and their suggestions may seem to make no sense. But if they react in a certain way to your game, it’s up to you to figure out why.

Listen to your game. Games often seem to take on a life of their own once they reach a certain complexity, and it’s more important to make a great game than to make the game that you originally intended.

Listen to yourself. Every time you follow your instincts as a designer, whether you’re right or wrong, your instincts get better. (This is, incidentally, why a 20-year industry veteran is going to be a better game designer than a beginning college freshman, no matter how much “natural talent” either one possesses. There are no shortcuts. This is also why I’m having you make so many games over this summer, to get you to a higher level as fast as possible.)

Today, we cover the first of these: listening to playtesters. Once you are at a certain point in your game, you will want to playtest with some new people – preferably, the people in your target market, the ones who are representative of those you ultimately want to be playing your game.

Playtesting with gamers is very different from playing with other game designers. Done right, the feedback you can get from players in your target audience is even more meaningful than getting feedback from game designers, because you are seeing firsthand how your game will be experienced by the very kinds of people who will eventually be playing the final version. However, it is a very different skill. Non-designer playtesters will give a different kind of feedback, and it takes a bit more effort to find the root cause of problems that are identified. You have to be much more observant.

Readings

No readings for today. As with last time, if you know of any relevant readings you have encountered before, post it as comments to this blog post, or on Twitter with the #GDCU tag.

Street Performers

Have you ever seen a street performer? This is a musician, magician, juggler, mime, or other person who is performing for an audience of passers-by. These people rely on donations from observers; they do not get any pay other than what these strangers on the street choose to give them. Because of this, they tend to be very good at pleasing a crowd – if they aren’t, they don’t get to eat.

During the act, the audience is obviously paying attention to the performer. But what is the performer paying attention to? Next time you see one of these people, don’t watch the act, but instead watch the performer. They aren’t concentrating on themselves or their act, the way the audience is (the performer knows their own act inside and out, after all). Instead, they are watching the audience. They are looking for interest and excitement in the crowd. If they see a positive reaction or a negative one, they will adjust their act accordingly, on the fly. Maybe this particular crowd likes magic tricks with coins but not cards, or they seem to like blues more than jazz, or they’re more excited by juggling pins than balls. The performer’s most important skill is being able to read the audience.

Note that they do not ever stop their act to ask whether people are having a good time. They know by observing. They don’t have to ask.

What Does This Have to do with Game Design?

When you are playtesting with non-designers, your role is similar to that of a street performer. Don’t simply ask your playtesters if your game is fun; they may not be able to tell you, and if they do, they may not give you an accurate or precise answer. Instead, watch your testers as they play, and take notes:

What is everyone’s body posture? Are they leaning forward with interest? Are they leaning back in boredom? Are they standing up from excitement?

Where are everyone’s eyes going? Are they scanning the board constantly? Are the players looking at each other? Are they looking at you? Or are they looking around at the rest of the room, or counting the dots on the ceiling tiles?

What kinds of moves are people making? Are they playing aggressively or defensively? Are players cooperating and negotiating, or are they backstabbing each other?

Are your testers playing the game by the correct rules, or are they playing the “wrong” way, breaking rules or forgetting restrictions accidentally? Do your testers ever get stuck and need to look something up (or ask a rules question), or are they following the game flow smoothly?

How do your observations compare to the design goals of your game? Is your game meeting its goals, or is it falling short?

Note that all of these things may vary during a single play session. You may find that certain parts of your game generate more engagement than others. Your goal during the playtest session is to observe these things.

Preparing for a Playtest Session with Non-Designers

People who are not fellow designers are sometimes (not always) less tolerant of extremely rough prototypes. A typical gamer, when handed a stack of hand-written index cards and instructed to move pennies around on a game board that’s hand-drawn on notebook paper, may be concentrating so much on the poor quality of components that they have trouble thinking about the game mechanics. You may get a lot of comments about missing art or board layout, which are a waste of your time – after all, at this stage you just want to get feedback on the play experience, not the final artwork. We haven’t even started talking about the appearance of the game yet!

If you are lucky enough to have some playtesters lined up who can handle a rough prototype, then you might not need to do anything. For everyone else, it may be worth a little bit of time at this point to create some components that, while not necessarily high-quality, are at least close enough to fake it.

As with your rough prototype, you do not want to put too much time into revising your components here. The more time you put in, the harder it will be for you (emotionally, at least) to make massive changes.

How do you make a prototype that looks better than hand-drawn, without taking too much time? Here are a few quick tips:

Google image search is your friend. If you want art for some cards or a game board, type in some relevant search terms. Copy and paste. You can do this in minutes. Steal other people’s artwork liberally.

For basic components like pawns or tokens, use game bits from other existing games you might already own (if you do not already have a selection of these). It gives the game a slightly more professional look than using bottle caps or pennies or pieces of lint.

For cards, you can create nice-looking ones in a program like Powerpoint or Visio without too much trouble. Standard-size cards are 2 ? inches wide and 3 ? inches tall. On a standard 8.5×11 sheet of paper, you can fit eight cards in a 4×2 grid with landscape orientation, or nine cards in a 3×3 grid if you use portrait orientation. Print out on standard paper and just cut with scissors.

If you want your cards to be easier to shuffle and hold, use plastic card sleeves (normally sold in game and hobby shops to protect collectible cards like Magic: the Gathering cards). Insert a standard card of some kind (either a Magic card or just cards from a standard Poker deck) so that there are uniform card backs, then add your slip of paper in front.

For a game board, printing it out on one or more pieces of paper is sufficient at this stage. You can create a board in Powerpoint or even in something as simple as MS Paint, using basic lines to make squares, the text tool to write text or numbers on the board, and copying/pasting art from other sources where needed or desired.

You may find other tools that you like to use. Feel free to post them here!

Running a Playtest Session with Non-Designers

Since you are going to spend so much time taking notes and observing, you will probably find it easiest if you do not actually play the game. You may be able to take the role of a player when testing with other designers, and you’re obviously taking on the role of all players when solo testing, but in the kind of testing we’re talking about today you should avoid playing so that you can focus all of your attention on how your testers are interacting with the game and with each other.

If you didn’t before, you should formally write out a set of rules now. Hand the rules and components to your testers, stand back, and get out of their way. Let them know that you are there merely as an observer, not as a player and not as a resource. Instruct them to pretend you are not there, and to proceed as if the designer of the game were not in the room.

Your playtesters will probably forget this often. They will run into a place in the rules that is unclear, and they’ll have to ask clarification from you. Do not answer immediately. Instead, first answer their question with a question of your own: “If I weren’t here, and you had to make a judgment call on your own, what would you think?” Their answer may be the correct one… or it may be incorrect but enlightening. Either way, it will tell you how players are likely to perceive your game by default. After your players answer you, then you may give them the answer they were seeking. But don’t lose the opportunity to get a valuable bit of information in the process.

Sometimes your playtesters may not ask you, and they’ll simply start playing “wrong.” Maybe each player is supposed to draw two cards on their turn, but they only draw one. Or they skip the first step of every turn. Or they forget to apply the effects of some tiles in play. Resist the temptation to stop them. You will find this excruciating. There are few things as painful as watching people play your game as it was not designed. And yet, this is likely how people would play if you released your game at this moment, and this is something that is important for you to see, so that you can clarify the rules and game components later.

There is one other useful aspect to letting people play the game “incorrectly.” Sometimes you will find, quite by accident, that the way your testers are playing is actually better than your original rules. Most people, even non-designers, have a strong instinct towards play. Sometimes, people will violate the rules of a game because at an instinctive level, they are playing in a way that they believe will be more fun.

Finding Non-Designer Playtesters

Here’s the good news: finding non-designer playtesters is much easier than finding other game designers. There are more of the former than the latter in the general population.

This is where friends, family, and colleagues can become useful. They are often easy to ask for a favor. For many of us, they are local and available. If you somehow know no one in your local area (maybe you just moved), consider this just one more incentive to get out there and meet people – as if you didn’t already want to.

Do keep in mind that the people that know you are far less likely to give strongly negative criticism. They may tell you it is the best game they ever played, even if it isn’t, because there is an interpersonal relationship at stake that is likely more important to them than the outcome of some game project. In other words, expect some of these people to be big stinking liars. This is where observing them closely comes in; it is up to you to figure out what parts of the game are actually fun for these people.

Homeplay

Your homeplay this past Monday was to arrange for a playtest session with other designers. You may have already performed this playtest, or you may have just scheduled it to take place over the weekend, but that playtest session should be concluded before next Monday, August 17, noon GMT.

In addition, over the weekend, you should arrange a playtest session with non-designers, to take place after the designer playtest. This session can take place at any time on or before next Thursday (August 20), but it should be arranged (that is, you should have made plans with specific people) on or before next Monday (August 17).

Time permitting, you may continue to run additional playtest sessions, either with designers or non-designers.

Feedback

Do you know of any great articles on running playtests? Do you have any favorite tools using a computer to generate quality game components quickly and easily? Post them in the comments on this blog, or on Twitter with the #GDCU tag.（source:gamedesignconcepts）