作者：Rob Lang

你必须在将游戏推向公众前对其进行测试。测试范围将从简单的机制过渡到完整的游戏测试。如果你并未拥有任何团队能够执行测试，你也可以采取其它测试方法。测试需要花费较长时间，而你需要在接下来的游戏设计过程中做好测试的准备。（请点击此处阅读本文第一、二、三部分）

如果你所遵循的 是“频繁发行小游戏”原则，你便需要在执行发行时清楚地陈述游戏还未进行测试。

冒烟测试

冒烟测试能够保证当你在使用系统时它不会“着火”。它只能发现一些明显的漏洞，但却难以察觉到机制上一些细节问题。为了对游戏进行冒烟测试，你需要遵循以下方法：

创造10个角色

一步步地写下4个战斗。写下每个人所说的，所做的，并绘制一张战斗地图去呈现事情的发展。确保每个战斗都不同于规则案例。

让非玩家去浏览整款游戏并检查语法和拼写。

更新目录和索引。

通过随机挑选6个条目并将其放置在书上的不同位置去检查目录和索引，以及页数是否准确。

确保图像与文本之间相吻合。打印一些测试页面，看看是否太暗或者太亮？如果你正在使用背景图像，请确保它不会遮盖了文本。

让不同国家的朋友帮忙以不同规格的形式打印出来，如果你在美国的话尝试A4。如果你在其它地方的话则使用US Letter。

如果呈现在屏幕上会是怎样的效果？如果朋友拥有一台平板电脑，请在上面检查看看。如果没有的话就上网寻求友好的RPG高手的帮忙。

再次阅读

当你再次阅读前，先回顾第三章节的类型环节，然后再阅读整款游戏，内容，索引等等。在阅读的时候坐下记录，但是不要中途停下来进行编辑。检查图像上的所有说明以及图表的标题。如果你为每个文件设置了链接（基于HTML或PDF格式），那就点击每个链接。也许现在的你已经厌倦了游戏，但这却是非常重要的一步，千万不要放弃。然后问自己以下问题：

这是否与我设定的理念相吻合？回想你在写下第一章节时的想法，并检查每个项目。

如果相矛盾，我是否仍在创造一些值得游戏的内容？

这与我想要呈现的类型是否相像？

我是否解决了一直存在的机制问题？

游戏中最突出的是什么？

而最糟糕的又是什么？

我是否能够添加更多图像去装饰游戏？

这是我在人物属性表中所需要的所有信息吗？

修剪

你已经使用了许多词语去描述游戏了。这么做很正常，因为在描述理念时你的大脑还未考虑到简洁性。将每个段落修剪到最简单的形式。如果这么做是可行的，那就实践吧。而你的第二次修剪将会比第一次更短10%。

机制边境情况

我们可以根据机制系统能否在压力之下继续执行而判断它的成功。你可以对系统进行压力测试，即限制参数去观察会出现什么情况。你并不能测试所有可能的边境情况（特别是当提到咒语的结合时），但是你可以挑选一些最糟糕或最优情境作为例子。

举个例子来说吧，如果机制是关于战斗，那么当角色拥有最低能量，最佳武器，最高技能，最厉害的盔甲等等情况时会发生什么。你是否设置了怪兽去挑战这样的角色？玩家需要经历多少回合才有可能杀死一个中等怪物？游戏中将出现多少中等怪物？

团队中的5个人同时使用升级了5次的枪支便能够在第5次战斗回合中杀死怪物。“升级5次”的枪支将具有5个破坏力，而在一个回合中则有25个破坏力。所以一个普通怪物应该拥有125个生命值。带有1个破坏点的武器的角色将经历25个战斗回合。

你需要基于所有机制问自己这些问题，并特别关注于编辑器和特别内容。剑必须具有适当的威力，但却会在咒语的影响下导致系统的失衡。如果你发现很难基于机制而找到边境情况的话，也许是因为系统太过复杂了，你就需要考虑去简化它。电子表格能够用莫过于测试骰子角色和概率的范围，但是我们也不能忘记特殊能力的影响或数字的作用。

虚构的游戏

测试游戏的一种好方法便是运行一款虚构的游戏。先从你所创造的10个角色中选出4个，然后带着他们穿越你的设置和冒险。确保角色的目标与你的设置相匹配，即是否能够轻松创造出可能的目标。尝试所有机制，分别基于想象力并抛开想象力让角色去防御怪物（游戏邦注：通过刷任务）。你需要在游戏过程中尝试着回答以下问题：

终止一次遭遇的最快速方法是什么？

怎样的最佳技能（包括技能，咒语，武器和装备）能够解决每次遭遇？

最初的角色设定中是否缺少了什么元素而导致游戏变得不真实？

是否有趣？

游戏测试

游戏测试是指通过玩游戏去判断它是否与你的理念相符合。我们必须清楚游戏测试并不是一款真正的游戏。大多数GM都会扭曲规则，即忽视部分内容只使用10个任务中的一半规则。真正优秀的游戏测试必须具有精确的规则，并尽可能多地使用规则集。你应该在书籍的开始写下对于游戏测试者的感谢词。确保你的游戏测试群组是由目标用户所组成。你必须在自己真正觉得游戏已经完成时才开始进行游戏测试，游戏测试不能作为一种测试工具，只能用于检查问题。

游戏测试包

游戏测试包是一种准备好的信息包，能够帮助测试群组更轻松地测试游戏并提供反馈。为了让测试群组在最初几次测试时更好地运行游戏，你必须提供额外的支持。在编译测试包时，你可以假设玩家知道角色扮演游戏。这应该包括：

让玩家能够写下名字和联系细节。允许他们选择不出现在书籍的贡献者名单中。

详细介绍主要机制的规则页面。

人物属性列表。尽管角色创造应该成为游戏测试的组成部分，但是玩家可能没有足够的时间去创造一个角色。

利用了各种机制的样本冒险。

反馈形式。

游戏测试所需要的种种元素总结。

非公开协议（NDA）–因为这是一款免费游戏，所以这一点是可选择的。

你的联系方式。

反馈

我们必须从那些尝试着玩游戏的玩家身上获得反馈。反馈是获得信息的最简单方式，但是如果你能够在一种轻松氛围下（例如酒吧）与这些群组人员进行交流，那便能够更有效地获得相关信息。玩家们更希望专注于一些好的内容，所以你可以基于这种方式向他们询问一些特别的机制。在与测试者交谈时请记录下他们所提出的各种优秀的理念。不要相信自己能够凭记忆记下所有细节。测试者不会介意你在旁边做笔记，因为这会让他们觉得自己的观点很重要。

反馈形式

反馈形式能够帮助你衡量自己是否创造了符合理念的设计。玩家/GM的乐趣也很重要，但是我们也必须清楚并不是所有玩家在第一次游戏时都喜欢新系统，因为学习新系统的过程总是很无聊。你可以通过两种形式去提供问题，即复选框和书面回复。如果游戏测试既冗长又无聊的话，我会建议你同时使用这两种方法。以下是一些问题例子：

我们可以在“强烈同意，同意，没有偏好，不同意，强烈不同意”的选择框之后设置问题。

游戏规则太肤浅了

游戏系统就好似游戏类型

设置与其它游戏不同

我理解规则了

游戏看起来很棒

我很惊讶游戏竟然是免费的

我会再次玩游戏

我们需要提供较大的空间让玩家回复问题。

我喜欢游戏的……

我不喜欢游戏的……

我觉得游戏遗漏了……

如何处理反馈

虽然所有反馈都是有价值的，但却并非都有用。对于你所创造的每一种形式，你都需要对此进行分配，并使用你的理念去检查反馈是否有用。我们应该专注于玩家所提出的问题而不是他们所提供的解决方法。作为游戏设计师，你便是专家。机制改变将意味着你需要重新开始测试机制（使用电子数据表的话便会更加轻松）。你需要做好心理准备，因为并不是所有人都会喜欢你的游戏。你只需要感谢他们所提供的反馈，并且不能让自己就止步于此。

何时停止游戏测试

当你觉得游戏已经符合最初所设定的理念时，请停止测试。游戏测试并不能用于找出所有规则漏洞。过多的游戏测试只会拖延时间，所以请确定最终时间并完成游戏。

游戏测试后的发行

确保在游戏测试后更新规则，并计划游戏的下次发行。不要让测试者觉得你在浪费他们的时间。

发行

现在你已经完成了游戏。千万不要再拖延了。尽早分享的话你便能够有效地汲取别人的经验和知识。通过频繁发行一些较小的内容，你便能够避免过大的工作负担。如果你不能完成一个较大的项目，那就先发行已完成的内容。尽早准备一些未加工的反馈，然后将其快速转向新版本。不要在此停歇，清理问题并再次发行。

授权

授权非常重要。你可能会认为免费提供一些内容很简单，但是如果你未能获得相应授权的话便有可能遭遇各种问题。举个例子来说吧，没有授权的话印刷商店便不会允许任何GM去印刷你的游戏。并且，如果你未实施任何保护措施的话，别人便会盗取你的游戏。

授权是一种个人且合法的选择，我没有资格协助你，但是我却能推荐一个知识共享授权。知识共享让你能够根据自己的需要定制授权，并提供给你一份手绘图像能够快速成为一种标准。大多数游戏设计师都选择BY-NC-SA，即代表“属性，非商业性，共享。”知识共享有效地解释了使用方法。

上传

出于两个目的去上传游戏：与别人分享并备份。当你在备份时不要忘记生成PDF格式和源文件，图像，注释。你可以将游戏放置在许多平台供玩家游戏。如果你是频繁发行一些小游戏，你便需要选择一些容易上传与访问的平台。如果你完成了游戏，你便会想要去曝光它。

备份且频繁发行小游戏

Google Docs让你能够上传PDF和ZIP格式的文件。那里还存在许多空间，你可以继续修改。隐私设置也允许你将其当成备份文件。

Skydrive是出自微软的一种解决方法，它拥有大量的空间和隐私选择。

Dropbox能够将你的文件自动同步到服务器上。并支持备份与共享。

最后发行

1KM1KT是最佳免费RPG社区。

RPGNow和DriveThru RPG是畅销游戏推销者，能够帮助你有效地销售游戏。

LuLu是一种服务，能够按照你的需求提供印刷服务。我建议至少为自己印刷一份，因为看到自己辛苦创造出的内容是件兴奋的事。

发行并接受评价

确保让以下的人知道你发行了游戏：

我，寻求评价并添加到我的免费RPG目录中

Eric Chris Garrison的自制RPG

John H.Kim在网页上的免费RPG

请求1KM1KT论坛进行评价。

告诉Reddit Community，他们喜欢免费的东西。

RPG.net的Ads和Open Promo 论坛都是非常棒的。

Enworld拥有一个活跃的社区，但你必须描述合适的区域。

更新你在论坛上的签名从而通过链接找到它。

在Twitter，Google+和Facebook上进行宣传。并对自己辛苦创造出来的作品充满信心。

现在要做什么呢？支持它。

完成游戏后，我们眼前出现了巨大的机遇。而再次支持一款新游戏会让你感到却步，所以就支持现在的游戏吧。支持是指与游戏社区建立友好的关系并推动游戏的发展。支持游戏不仅能够确保它长时间存活在世界中，同时也能长时间存活在你心里。

现在你可以开始写博客，添加角色，规则选择，新冒险理念以及人们的反馈（游戏邦注：可以使用Blogger或Wordpress）。

在博客上添加Google Analytics，从而让你能够了解人们来自哪里。这真的是一种很便捷的方法，你能够了解到谁评论了游戏，并快速做出回应！

为你的游戏创造Google+ Page。使用好看的图像作为图标。

如果你真的对定期更新感兴趣，那就创造一个Facebook页面和Twitter帐号。

如果这是一个通用系统，那就编写另外一个设置。

寻找其它与你的游戏类似的免费游戏，并与其作者进行交流。

原文发表于2012年1月24日，所涉事件和数据均以当时为准。

（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）

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 7: Testing

by Rob Lang

Your game needs to be tested before it’s devoured by the general public. Testing ranges from simple mechanics tests all the way through to a full blow campaign play test. If you do not have a group to test with and cannot find a kind group to test it for you, there is still testing that can be done. Testing takes a long time, be prepared for this step to take as long as the rest of the game design.

If you are following the “Release Small, Release Often” principle (described in the next Chapter) then ensure you state clearly that the game has not been tested when you perform releases.

Smoke Test

A smoke test ensures that the system won’t catch fire when you try to use it. It will only find glaring holes, not mechanic niggles (see Mechanic Edge Cases) To smoke test the game, do the following:

Make 10 characters.

Write out 4 full combats step by step. Write out what everyone says and does and draw a battle map of what happens. Ensure each combat is different from your rule examples.

Find a non-gamer to read through the whole game to check for grammar and spelling.

Update the table of contents and index.

Check your table of contents and index by randomly picking 6 items from each, located at different places in the book and check the pages are correct.

Make sure that images are near the text that talks about them.

Print out some test pages, is it too dark or too light? Is the font large enough? If you’re using a background image, does it obscure the text?

Ask a friend in a different country to print out on a different size, if you’re in the US, try A4. If you’re elsewhere, use US Letter.

How does it look on screen? If a friend has a tablet device, check it on there too. If not, ask the internet, a friendly RPG geek will check it out for you.

Read it again

But before you read it again, check back to the style section of Chapter 3 then read through the entire game, contents, index, everything. Make notes as read through go, do not stop to edit. Check all the captions on the images and headings on the tables. If you are linking sections of the document together (in HTML or PDF) then click every link. You might be sick of your game by now but this is a very important step, so do it. Then ask yourself these questions:

Does it fit the concept I was aiming for? Go back to when you wrote it down in Chapter 1 and check each item off.

If it does not, have I still made something worth playing?

Does it feel like the genre I am trying to represent?

Did I solve the mechanic problems I was trying to solve?

What’s best about the game?

What’s worst about the game?

Can I add any more images to spruce it up?

Is all the information I need on the Character sheet?

Trim

You’ve used too many words to describe your game. It is normal to do that, your brain is not wired for brevity when it is describing concepts. Cut down every paragraph to its bare form. Is it still intelligible? If so, keep it that way. Your second draft should be 10% shorter than the first.

Mechanic Edge Cases

The success of a mechanics system can be judged on its ability to still operate when under stress. You can stress test your system by seeing what happens when the parameters are at their limits. You cannot test all possible edge cases (especially when it comes to combinations of spells) but you can certainly pick some example worst/best case situations.

For example, if the mechanic is combat what happens when a character has maximum strength, the best weapon, highest skill, excellent armour and so on. Do you have a monster that will challenge a character like that? How many rounds will it take to kill a character like that with medium monsters? How many medium monsters will it take?

A team of 5 people all firing guns that have been upgraded 5 times should be able to kill a monster in 5 combat turns. “Upgraded 5 times” guns do 5 damage, that’s 25 damage a turn. So a normal monster should have 125 hit points. Basic characters have weapons that do 1 damage will take a staggering 25 combat turns.

Ask yourself these sorts of questions for all the mechanics, paying particular attention to modifiers and special items. A sword might have a reasonable power but may unbalance the system when enchanted by more than one spell. If you find that it is difficult to find edge cases with your mechanics then perhaps the system is too complex and consider simplifying it. Spreadsheets can be useful for testing out the range of dice roles and probabilities but do not forget the affects of special powers or feats on the numbers.

Imaginary game

A good way to test your game is to run an imaginary game. Take 4 of the 10 characters you created earlier and then run through your example setting and adventures. Ensure the characters have goals that fit your setting, is it easy or difficult to create goals that are possible. Try all of the mechanics, use the characters to defeat the monsters without using your imagination (by grinding) and using imagination. During your game, try and answer the following questions:

What is the quickest way to end an encounter?

What is the best combination of skills, spells, weapons and equipment to solve each encounter?

Is there anything missing from the starting character setups that make the game impossible?

Is it fun?

Play Testing

Play testing is the act of playing the game to see if it meets your concept. It’s important to remember that a play test isn’t really a normal game. Most GMs will bend rules, ignore sections and only use 50% of a ruleset in ten sessions worth of a play. A good play test should be precisely by the rules and use as much of the ruleset as possible. You should reward the playtesters with a credit in the front of the book, or a signed copy if you are feeling flush. Make sure that your playtest group is made up of your target audience (see Chapter 1). You should playtest only when you feel the game is complete, playtesting should not be used as a tool for design, only for verification.

Playtest Pack

A playtest pack is a ready-to-go pack of information that makes it easy for the playtest group to test your game and provide feedback. To get the best from the group running your game for the first few times, you must provide additional support. When compiling your playtest pack, you can do so assuming that the player knows roleplaying games well. It should include:

A form for the player to put their name and contact details on. Give them the opportunity to opt-out of being included in the book credits.

A one page rule summary detailing the main mechanics.

Character sheets. Both blank and pre-generated. Although character creation should be part of the playtest, the players may not have the luxury of making a character.

A sample adventure that makes use of as many of the mechanics as possible.

A feedback form (see below).

A summary of what is required by the playtesters.

A Non Disclosure agreement (NDA) – optional as this is a free game after all.

Your contact details for the player to leave with.

Feedback

It is important to get feedback from everyone who plays the game. Feedback forms are the simplest way to garner information but if possible socialising with the group in a relaxed atmosphere (in a pub/bar) is a good way to dig into details. Players more likely to focus on the good things if confronted but at least you can question about particular mechanics this way. Have your notebook with you when talking to play testers, write down their good ideas then and there. Do not trust your memory to remember the details. The playtesters won’t mind, they will appreciate their point of view is important.

Feedback Forms

Your feedback form is there for you to gauge whether or not you have managed to satisfy your concept. Player/GM fun is important too but it is important to note that not all players like new systems at first and the act of learning them can be tiring and less fun. You can provide two sorts of questions, check box ones and written replies. I would recommend having both as play testing can be tiring and lengthy prose without inspiration from pointed questions can be difficult. Here are some example questions:

Questions to be used with tick boxes under the headings “Strongly agree, Agree, No preference, Disagree, Strongly Disagree”

The game’s rules are too light

The game’s system feels like [game's genre]

The setting feels different to other games

I understood the rules

The game looks good

I was surprised that the game was free

I would play this game again

Questions to be used with plenty of space to reply.

What I liked about the game was…

What I disliked about the game was…

What I thought was missing was…

What to do with feedback

All feedback is valuable, not all of it is useful. For each of the forms and notes you have made, assign them a priority and then use your concept to check to see if you feel the feedback is useful. Concentrate on the problems that are raised rather than the solutions that the players offer. As the game designer, you are the expert. Mechanics changes will mean restarting your mechanics testing (easier if you have used a spreadsheet). Be prepared that not everyone will like your game. Thank them for the feedback but do not dwell on it.

When to stop play testing

Play testing must end when you feel that the game meets the concept you originally set out. Play testing cannot be used to find every rules hole and it is possible to play test too much. Too much play testing is procrastination, pick an end date and finish your game.

Post play test release

Ensure that you schedule time after your play test is over to update the rules and put out another release of your game. Do not make the playtesters feel that you have wasted their time by sitting on the changes for a year.

How to write a free RPG – Chapter 8: Publish

Finish your game. Finish your game. Finish your game. Stop procrastinating and finish it. The act of creation can be exciting and a struggle but if you don’t finish it, you’ll never know if it was any fun to play. Publishing is what you do once you have finished. So finish it.

Release small, release often

As a philanthropist, you do not need to wait until the game is finished before you share it with the community. By sharing early, you can draw upon the experience and knowledge of other philanthropists keen to share their knowledge. By releasing small and often, you reduce the cliff of work you need to scale before the joy of releasing. If you are having trouble finishing a large project, then release what you have. Be prepared for raw feedback early and then turn round a new version quickly. Do not dwell, sort out the problems and release again.

Licensing

Licensing is very important. You might think that giving something away for free is simple but you could leave yourself open to problems if you do not slap on a license. For example, without a licence printed somewhere, print shops might not allow a prospective GM to print it! Furthermore, if you don’t add a little protection, then you might find someone selling your game.

Licensing is a personal and legal choice I am not qualified to assist you with, however I can recommend giving it a Creative Commons license. Creative Commons allows you to tailor your license to your needs and gives you a handy graphic that is rapidly becoming a standard. Most game designers choose BY-NC-SA, which means “Attribution, Non-Commercial, Share-alike”. Creative Commons do a great job of explaining how they are used.

Upload it

Uploading your game serves two purposes: sharing with others and backing up. When you back up, do not forget to back up the resulting PDF and the source files, images and notes. There are lots of places you can put your game for people to enjoy. If you are releasing small and often, you will want somewhere easy to update and accessible to all. If you have finished, you will want somewhere with exposure.

Backups and releasing small and often

Google Docs allows you to upload PDFs and ZIP files. There is plenty of space and you can keep revisions too. Privacy settings allow you to use it as a backup too.

Skydrive is the Microsoft solution, plenty of space and privacy options.

Dropbox cleverly automatically synchronises your files to the server. Ideal for backups and can share too.

Final Release

1KM1KT 1000 Monkeys, 1000 Typewriters, the best free RPG community.

RPGNow and DriveThru RPG are commercial sellers that will also host your free game for you.

Lulu is a service that offers print on demand. I recommend printing at least one for yourself because it is a joyous moment to see your creation in hard copy.

Get it listed and reviewed

Make sure you let the following people know:

Me, ask for a review and to be added to my free RPG directory

Eric Chris Garrison’s Homebrew RPGs

John H. Kim’s free RPGs on the web

Ask on the 1KM1KT forum for a review.

Tell the Reddit Community, they like free stuff.

RPG.net (the big purple) have an Ads and Open Promo forum that’s worthwhile.

Enworld has a lively comunity but make sure you’re posting in the right place. They’ve changed their policy on promo posts in the past, so have a good look before you accidentally annoy anyone.

Update your signatures on forums to link to it.

Tweet it, Google+ it, slap it on Facebook. Be proud of it, you’ve worked hard.

Now what? Support.

Chances are a huge hole has been left by the completion of the game. Starting the process again for a new game might feel daunting so instead, support your game. Support is the act of engaging with the community to promote its play. Supporting your game will give it longevity not only in the eyes of the world but for you too.

Start a blog, posting up characters, rule options, new adventure ideas and people’s feedback. Most use either Blogger or WordPress.

Add Google Analytics to your blog so that you can see where people are coming from. It is really handy to see if someone blogs about your game so you can then reply – with thanks!

Create a Google+ Page for your game. Use a nice graphic for the logo.

If you’re really keen on regular updates, create a Facebook page and Twitter account. Make sure they’re used, though!

If it is a generic system, write another setting for it.

Find other free games like yours and contact the authors.(source:thefreerpgblog)