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<blockquote data-quote="Blue" data-source="post: 7698114" data-attributes="member: 20564">I come from an IT background, and playtesting is like disaster recovery testing to me.&nbsp; A pain but invaluable.&nbsp; With DR testing you start testing the little bits, much like &quot;hey, does this skill target system work at different tiers of play&quot; and work your way up to end-to-end testing, where you're running a campaign including advancement across the whole gamut of what you should cover.&nbsp; OMG that's a lot of effort - well, yes, that's why it's a pain.&nbsp; But without it, you don't know if it all hangs together.The other thing is you don't have the person who wrote the documentation do your testing - they will fill in a lot of things automatically not realizing that they are assumptions that need to be documented.&nbsp; Sure, the designers should be testing it along the way - that's the most direct feedback they can get.&nbsp; But running it with their knowledge filling in the holes in the rules, to a group they are familiar with, is only part of it.&nbsp; Give the rules and an adventure into the hands of an experienced DM who hasn't seen it played.&nbsp; Try it with experienced players who understand how things are supposed to fit together and can give targeted feedback.&nbsp; Have them look for edge cases and balance as well.&nbsp; Try it with new or novice players to see if things make sense without the framework of playing other games.&nbsp; Theri feedback can be very important for making sure you include everything, but also if the mechanics actually support the type of play you want and the genre (or setting if for a specific one).</blockquote>

[QUOTE="Blue, post: 7698114, member: 20564"] I come from an IT background, and playtesting is like disaster recovery testing to me. A pain but invaluable. With DR testing you start testing the little bits, much like "hey, does this skill target system work at different tiers of play" and work your way up to end-to-end testing, where you're running a campaign including advancement across the whole gamut of what you should cover. OMG that's a lot of effort - well, yes, that's why it's a pain. But without it, you don't know if it all hangs together. The other thing is you don't have the person who wrote the documentation do your testing - they will fill in a lot of things automatically not realizing that they are assumptions that need to be documented. Sure, the designers should be testing it along the way - that's the most direct feedback they can get. But running it with their knowledge filling in the holes in the rules, to a group they are familiar with, is only part of it. Give the rules and an adventure into the hands of an experienced DM who hasn't seen it played. Try it with experienced players who understand how things are supposed to fit together and can give targeted feedback. Have them look for edge cases and balance as well. Try it with new or novice players to see if things make sense without the framework of playing other games. Theri feedback can be very important for making sure you include everything, but also if the mechanics actually support the type of play you want and the genre (or setting if for a specific one). [/QUOTE]

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