PBEM v92 n03 (15Sep92)

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The Game Administrators' Corner                          Mel Nicholson
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The Playtester

The one indispensable resource to a game designer is the playtester,
as no matter what genre or format the game takes, there must be
someone to play it.  Playtesters provide lots of very useful feedback
towards the design of a game, but they can also be a real burden on
the game designer.  To start, I'll try to categorize the playtesters
into a few large classes.

1: The hard-core enthusiast

This is the sort of players who wants to put a seemingly infinite
amount of time into the game.  Enthusiasts spontaneously generate
user-client aids, huge statistical analyses, start and run magazines
about the game, and provide all sorts of wonderful labour intensive
work.  For the most part, these playtesters are great, so long as you
can keep their efforts from drifting over into the sorts of things
which require too much work on the administrator's part (as they can
fill all of your free time if you let them, leaving none to put the
finishing touches on the game).

2: The bad loser

The bad loser is the all too familiar sort with a particular breed of
egomania who can't seem to accept that others might just get the
better of him from time to time.  I imagine these players flushing red
when they read turn reports, with foam drooling from their mouths and
pooling on their shirts.  They often become paranoid and will even
accuse the game administrator of tampering with
score/results/whatever.  If you are one of those, I have some advice
for you: calm down.  If my experience as an administrator is typical,
I usually run all the games and send out the results BEFORE I look the
results over to see who did well and who didn't.  We should all be
nice to our administrators and avoid being this person, and keep in
mind the difference between "Wow!  I thought I had that
battle/game/whatever sewn up.  How'd s/he manage to beat me?"  and
"What?  I had that game sewn up, who are you trying to kid?"  If you
REALLY think your administrator is out to get you and is willing to
cheat, just quit the game.  If that administrator was a jerk, then you
are safe. If you were being paranoid, then the poor administrator
doesn't have to deal with you.

3: The bungler

In every batch of players, no matter how simple your turn format is or
how carefully you explain what to do or when the deadline is, there
will be one person who can't cope.  That is the Bungler.  This person
can't type correctly, can't get things in on time, and often makes you
wonder how they managed to log in to a computer and send you mail in
the first place.  I am of two minds in dealing with this sort.  There
is a mean streak I try to suppress which says "Drop 'em --- no one will
notice" but I have a feeling that isn't the best way (or even a good
way) to deal with them, as often someone who has a little trouble
catching on will finally get their act together and become a really
good player.  Fines for errors and tardiness may help a little, but
for the most part only patience and reminders seem to work.

4: The dropout

This guy isn't evil, but s/he sure is damaging to most games.  The
dropout's modus operandi is to sign up for (usually many) games, sound
very enthusiastic and ready to go, and then disappear without a trace.
A few will at least warn you as they disappear, but most of the time
silence is the only notice that you get.  While you ignore a bad
loser's whining, plead with the enthusiast for lack of time, and write
better error-checking/recovery to deal with the bungler, it isn't easy
to deal with the dropout.  The easier-said-than-done method is to
"just screen them out in advance". Forcing the player to jump though a
few hoops when signing up (like a waiting period or having to submit
some orders which don't affect the other players before things start
in earnest) will eliminate many of them, but others will slip through.
Try to be verbose about what sort of commitment you want from your new
players, and make it clear what effect dropping out will have on the
others BEFORE you admit them to the game.  As a player, try to meet
the administrator halfway and ASK if you aren't told, then if you
don't think you have the time, don't sign up.

5: the invisible man

This guy just plays the game, and surprises you when he asks a
question because you'd forgotten that s/he exists.  While s/he
certainly isn't much work to maintain, s/he won't provide all the
support an enthusiast will either.  One important thing to keep in
mind is that this is the most common sort of player there is.  As
such, this person may be the best playtester of all, as they provide a
typical sample, and that which affects them is likely to reflect your
game's overall popularity.

However...

Real playtesters often won't be easy to categorize into the these
categories, since real people usually have more to deal with in their
lives than just your game.  Even Joe Enthusiast may find that
work/school/whatever intrudes upon his playtime occasionally, and
perhaps all the time he spent on the game instead of other commitments
will turn him into a dropout.  The invisible man may burst out with
some brilliant play or amusing press release, and the bungler may be
the first to pick up your new system.  I suppose bad losers won't
change much, but we can always hope.  Dropouts, for all the problems
they cause, are gone: replace them and go on.

Most importantly, remember that games are supposed to be fun.  Next
month I'll try to talk about methods for game automation unless
something really brilliant forces it's way into my head and demands to
be written first.