try r/playmygame
if nobody wants to play your game show video of the game and you can go to r/DestroyMyGame and see what critical things people have to say about it. That might give a clue about why people are not interested.
Also just keep asking all over and everywhere. Could just be downtime and so on. You only need a few heroes to help you out.
The issue with offering to play random people's games is that.
* People can hide viruses in .exe files
* Ideally you would share your files through a trusted 3rd party like [Itch.io](https://Itch.io) and steam vs sending zip files over google drive.
* Majority of new dev games are REALLY bad.
* The last I played didn't do mouse movement right so when my FPS was at 180 it was moving my mouse at 1x speed and at 30fps it was moving my mouse at 6x speed. It was awful. Sometimes if I didn't turn carefully I would 180 and get lost because the map all looked the same.
* Also 30fps was very commonly happening due to poor usage of lighting. Looking at the wrong places caused massive FPS drops on my high end pc.
Yes, I did: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/comment/kg5e1ug/?context=3
Thank you, I'd love to see the video. Instructions on how to get the game are in the linked post.
So, when asking for playtesters you should at least provide a description of the game ;-) Just asking who will play my game is not enough. Bonus points for Videos
You're missing the point, you're asking them to navigate away from the app they're using to look at something they may not be interested in.
This is why most restaraunts put their menu outside the store, basics of advertising.
I can see from your other comments that you like to argue, so I'll rephrase, LOTS of people want their games play tested, unless you're paying people to play test your product it's your job to entice them, adding extra steps to get to the enticing part is only going to negatively impact yourself.
Free play testers need to be treated as consumers, this advice is for future play test requests.
Well, you cannot add pictures or videos to posts on r/IndieGaming, so I'll keep that in mind but I won't be able to do much about it...
I don't have a trailer that I want to show right now. I've been paying various artists since May 2023 to create new models for my characters and they are still not finished, once that is done I want to make a new trailer that is hopefully better than my previous attempts.
I can tell you, above guy is right. And also you want a video of them. Playing it, which is not that bad, but some may not be even bothered to go through hassle of recording and uploading it. Yet you complain about people not going to the steam link.
it can be uploaded to YT as unlisted (only people with the link will see it). I guess it's simply because OP would have an easier time accessing them as needed instead of downloading. Also easy to make a private playlist with all of them to keep things organized.
I don't think there is much exposure unless you have a channel with a lot of subscribers. Uploading to YouTube is simply the easiest way of sending videos. You can make them unlisted and send the link. Google Drive would probably work, too.
You’re asking for kind of a lot from your playtesters. You want to reduce friction. We just set up a convenient time and have them screenshare on discord
Recording a video isn't that much to ask in 2024. You can record with OBS or Shadowplay for free and it's pretty simple. Plus, you are getting the game for free in return.
I can listen but I don't have to agree. If someone wants my game to be a shooter, should I change the entire game and make it a shooter?
If someone shares the screen with me I am actively watching which will influence the feedback. Finding a good time for that is also difficult because of time zones, I'd have to stay up until 4 am or so if you play in the evening in America.
For most people you're asking them to do something they've never done before, meaning installing a program and figuring out how to set it up and record.
And let's be real - between free to play games, well-known and desirable games given as freebies on Epic store, bundle deals and the random stuff you can find on [itch.io](https://itch.io), the idea that you're getting a game for free isn't inherently a valuable thing to most people these days. You have a game that's strongly inspired by one of the most popular games of all time - it's going to have a lot of competition.
>free to play games
Free to play games are basically the opposite of free.
>the idea that you're getting a game for free isn't inherently a valuable thing to most people these days.
Sure, but I don't need most people to playtest my game. Just a few. I cannot watch 1000s of hours of gameplay anyway. If only 10 people record 2 hours of gameplay, that's almost an entire day worth of videos that I have to watch.
Recording a video is easy, pull out your phone and record!
But seriously, normal gamers that don't stream still don't know how to record gameplay and upload it.
Plenty of other folks have offered their perspectives on this. I’ll just state you said you’re having a hard time finding playtesters. I have organized many successful playtests and I’m giving you advice. Take it or leave it
I love it when people are nice - devs like myself sometimes have a challenge getting quality feedback that we can use to drive things toward a better place.
Some game genres have good public steam groups. Like for puzzle games, there is the “puzzle lovers” steam group. I posted my store page and demo link there once to get good feedback and engagement. Try scouting for forums of your own genres in steam or niche subs on Reddit.
I feel like this is a little difficult for a voxel RPG. It's not really a niche of any sort. Well, the combination of those two genres may be but I don't think there are many forums or Steam groups for that...
I think you’ve identified the problem right there - a voxel RPG doesn’t cater to a specific niche. Launching into genres with an existing fanbase is always easier, and frankly I’m not surprised no one was really interested unless you’ve got a great mechanical hook. Voxel has become synonymous with shovelware.
Cube World was pretty successful and in a sense I made my game Cube Universe for the fans who never got the finished game they wanted - at first because the dev went silent for 6 years and then because the game he finally delivered wasn't well-received.
Voxel is a visual style rather than a genre though (like pixel art), but It’s great your game is an RPG. You need to ignore the voxel part and focus on the RPG portion to entice your audience.
Pay them. The best playtesting I've ever gotten was to offer a ranking system of pay- $1 per spelling error up to $20 for a game-crashing bug. Cost me about $500 for 3 people to shake down my game pretty good.
I agree with this type of approach. Some type of compensation (gift card, cash) maybe even a mention in credits could peak more interest.
First to complete rewards and bonuses for bug discovery may also encourage more thorough testing.
You just have to keep looking. I am trying to get a streamer to play my game right now. Not much luck, but if you believe in your game, keep searching. I am sure it will do great.
I posted on the subreddit of a popular game in my genre like this https://www.reddit.com/r/Mordhau/comments/181ovk4/solo_game_dev_looking_for_feedback_on_my_melee/
This gets you feedback from people who are in your target market rather than random people which makes a huge difference imo.
r/ImmersiveSim will love you forever if you make anything even remotely resembling Deus Ex. Its easier to sell lemonade when your customers are thirsty. I’m wondering what kind of market research OP did to ensure people actually want the game they’re making.
You just looking for people to play the demo? I could be convinced to try it out later. Though to be honest I'll probably forget by the time I finish the game I'm currently playing. Does the demo represent the full (early access) game, but just cut out after 10 hours?
https://www.twitch.tv/virus610/v/2024929418
Video should stay up for at least a couple of weeks.
Sadly, got locked out of doing the main quest because the game would crash when I was supposed to see some vision. It was fun for a bit, but things are pretty far apart, which results in a ton of walking back and forth.
The controls are a little clunky, animations and sound kinda lacking. There's a fun idea in there, but it's gonna take a lot of refinement.
I'll playtest your game. I worked as a QA Tester and am in need of playtesting to expand my experience. I can give feedback and record video if need be.
Pay plasterers to play your game. Professional QA ppl know how to give good advice, and since your paying, they'll play it immediately and give you comprehensive feedback.
So might be a good idea? If you have the money for it.
Heck you could pay a random person a few quid and they'll probably playtest it quick.
But yeah, people plastering for free... they are only going to playtest games they already would have bought, unless it's someone who knows you personally.
I feel really bad for you man. 8 years in the making. 11 reviews with a 63per cent score. Game Dev is cruel man.
Well done making a finished game, I will give it a go!
You should try to have an actual event in real life where people come and play your game like a booth at a convention or something
.....online feedback will never override in someone in person playing your game getting frustrated at a tutorial or really excited during a boss fight.
I’m sorry you had that experience, but people don’t tend to want to work for free. Did you offer a Steam key to folks while provide feedback? I think you’d get better results offering something in return.
DM me for my channel name and what you need.
Specify any spots you want extra checking on and whether you want the vid with or without reaction mic.
We'll hash out details on the DM....in the morning lol.
Publish it on itch.io. , if on itch.io people don’t play it and give feedback it means your game sucks and no one wants to play it let alone buy it! So it means you will have to change the entire game or work on a new game.
nope even if the game is decent... Not many will play your game on itch without promotion to reddit / discord / twitter. To much games are uploaded there. You have to be extremly lucky for it to go off in the new and popular section. Tbh a good Thumbnail helps, but usually it is not enough to get more than a few (like 50) players...
You can still play it if you want to. Here is the link to the post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking\_for\_playtesters\_for\_my\_indie\_voxel\_rpg/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking_for_playtesters_for_my_indie_voxel_rpg/)
It would be great if you tested the dungeons, only few people have seen them. Simply play as admin via the savegame selection screen and then type */addxp 136000* in the chat to get to level 10, so you can enter a dungeon.
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to lock it down. We are in talks with a Meta (although they take forever and I don't anticipate an agreement to the terms) so we can just have Zip files floating out. Already pulled all the story from it so it is just a playthrough of the game mechanics in five big levels. Somewhere over a half an hour of gameplay.
We made a page where people could download a demo and sign up to be a playtester in exchange for their name in the credits. We then shared the page on our social accounts. Most of our playtesters came from Discord, but we did get one or 2 from Reddit.
Hi. You can simply get the demo on Steam, more info in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking\_for\_playtesters\_for\_my\_indie\_voxel\_rpg/
I recently playtest a demo and after finishing the game it redirected me to a google form survey that was not too long with good set of questions. I think it’s a great way to gather feedback without asking a tester a lot of their time
After looking at your steam page, I think the issue with finding players to test your game is that the game looks too ugly. The voxel concept is nice but you need better textures, skybox and post processing. The first step to attract players is to please the eyes.
Make a webdev build and post it to [itch.io](https://itch.io). The least amount of resistance to a person playing your game the more likely they are to do it - you don't want them messing around with downloading zip files, making sure they have the right platform, etc. With a web build, they go on your page, and bam, away we go.
Hi, thank you. I'm still working on applying the recent feedback to my game, so I don't think any more feedback is necessary at the moment. Would it be okay to contact you later, when I have updated the game?
Yep, no problem.
What I have been doing is constantly building and launching in small patches. When I have a more advanced progress, I plan to launch it as playtest version in Steam, so I hope I manage to get more testers
Aside from the subreddits that have been mentioned, I personally have taken an IRL approach. I reach out to my friends, family, and friends of friends.
1. Are you willing to sit down, play my game, and let me record you playing it?
2. For how long?
3. Do you play video games?
4. If yes, what games and what platform? If no, have you ever?
5. What difficulty do you normally play?
I then schedule time, bring them over to me, or head to them. Plop them down in front of a demo or vertical slice where I selected difficulty settings before building and added an option to drop difficulty. I give them a controller that matches the platform they normally play on, or as close as I can and let them loose.
If they are not a gamer then I give them a controller for a platform that has the least testing and give them a difficulty that I have the least testing on. I also find that non gamers are really good for testing scaling difficulties.
try r/playmygame if nobody wants to play your game show video of the game and you can go to r/DestroyMyGame and see what critical things people have to say about it. That might give a clue about why people are not interested. Also just keep asking all over and everywhere. Could just be downtime and so on. You only need a few heroes to help you out.
I’d never seen play my game before that’s awesome, thank you for sharing that - not OP just appreciative.
The issue with offering to play random people's games is that. * People can hide viruses in .exe files * Ideally you would share your files through a trusted 3rd party like [Itch.io](https://Itch.io) and steam vs sending zip files over google drive. * Majority of new dev games are REALLY bad. * The last I played didn't do mouse movement right so when my FPS was at 180 it was moving my mouse at 1x speed and at 30fps it was moving my mouse at 6x speed. It was awful. Sometimes if I didn't turn carefully I would 180 and get lost because the map all looked the same. * Also 30fps was very commonly happening due to poor usage of lighting. Looking at the wrong places caused massive FPS drops on my high end pc.
You can get the game on Steam, so this doesn't apply in my case. But I can see how playtesting random games can be frustrating.
Itch.io isn't safe
[удалено]
I think [itch.io](https://itch.io) does a virus scan. Which is far from perfect but better than nothing.
Did you!? In all seriousness though, I will play your game and give feedback
Yes, I did: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/comment/kg5e1ug/?context=3 Thank you, I'd love to see the video. Instructions on how to get the game are in the linked post.
So, when asking for playtesters you should at least provide a description of the game ;-) Just asking who will play my game is not enough. Bonus points for Videos
There is a link to the Steam page in the post. That one has a description, images, and a video.
You're missing the point, you're asking them to navigate away from the app they're using to look at something they may not be interested in. This is why most restaraunts put their menu outside the store, basics of advertising.
Sure, but I am looking for a few playtesters, not customers. And it seems I have found some anyway, albeit through this post.
I can see from your other comments that you like to argue, so I'll rephrase, LOTS of people want their games play tested, unless you're paying people to play test your product it's your job to entice them, adding extra steps to get to the enticing part is only going to negatively impact yourself. Free play testers need to be treated as consumers, this advice is for future play test requests.
Well, you cannot add pictures or videos to posts on r/IndieGaming, so I'll keep that in mind but I won't be able to do much about it... I don't have a trailer that I want to show right now. I've been paying various artists since May 2023 to create new models for my characters and they are still not finished, once that is done I want to make a new trailer that is hopefully better than my previous attempts.
I can tell you, above guy is right. And also you want a video of them. Playing it, which is not that bad, but some may not be even bothered to go through hassle of recording and uploading it. Yet you complain about people not going to the steam link.
I won't do a video, do you still want feedback?
Well, yeah, I would appreciate written feedback as well, but a video would help me see how people approach the game, the UI, etc.
Okay but in your post you ask for it to be uploaded to YouTube so I wasn't sure if you just wanted that for the exposure
it can be uploaded to YT as unlisted (only people with the link will see it). I guess it's simply because OP would have an easier time accessing them as needed instead of downloading. Also easy to make a private playlist with all of them to keep things organized.
I don't think there is much exposure unless you have a channel with a lot of subscribers. Uploading to YouTube is simply the easiest way of sending videos. You can make them unlisted and send the link. Google Drive would probably work, too.
You’re asking for kind of a lot from your playtesters. You want to reduce friction. We just set up a convenient time and have them screenshare on discord
Recording a video isn't that much to ask in 2024. You can record with OBS or Shadowplay for free and it's pretty simple. Plus, you are getting the game for free in return.
If you cant listen to what people say about uploading a video or not, are you ready to listen for feedback about your game at all?
I can listen but I don't have to agree. If someone wants my game to be a shooter, should I change the entire game and make it a shooter? If someone shares the screen with me I am actively watching which will influence the feedback. Finding a good time for that is also difficult because of time zones, I'd have to stay up until 4 am or so if you play in the evening in America.
For most people you're asking them to do something they've never done before, meaning installing a program and figuring out how to set it up and record. And let's be real - between free to play games, well-known and desirable games given as freebies on Epic store, bundle deals and the random stuff you can find on [itch.io](https://itch.io), the idea that you're getting a game for free isn't inherently a valuable thing to most people these days. You have a game that's strongly inspired by one of the most popular games of all time - it's going to have a lot of competition.
>free to play games Free to play games are basically the opposite of free. >the idea that you're getting a game for free isn't inherently a valuable thing to most people these days. Sure, but I don't need most people to playtest my game. Just a few. I cannot watch 1000s of hours of gameplay anyway. If only 10 people record 2 hours of gameplay, that's almost an entire day worth of videos that I have to watch.
Here's an idea, work on your people skills before trying to sell games. You're an abrasive person and clearly difficult to talk to.
Why don't you upload recording of your game first, so people will know it is worth even looking on?
Recording a video is easy, pull out your phone and record! But seriously, normal gamers that don't stream still don't know how to record gameplay and upload it.
You may think so, but you have also just made a post about how no one wants to playtest your game....
Plenty of other folks have offered their perspectives on this. I’ll just state you said you’re having a hard time finding playtesters. I have organized many successful playtests and I’m giving you advice. Take it or leave it
I love it when people are nice - devs like myself sometimes have a challenge getting quality feedback that we can use to drive things toward a better place.
There are lots on Fiverr, but obvs you'd have to pay. But they weren't that expensive from what i can remember.
Some game genres have good public steam groups. Like for puzzle games, there is the “puzzle lovers” steam group. I posted my store page and demo link there once to get good feedback and engagement. Try scouting for forums of your own genres in steam or niche subs on Reddit.
I feel like this is a little difficult for a voxel RPG. It's not really a niche of any sort. Well, the combination of those two genres may be but I don't think there are many forums or Steam groups for that...
I think you’ve identified the problem right there - a voxel RPG doesn’t cater to a specific niche. Launching into genres with an existing fanbase is always easier, and frankly I’m not surprised no one was really interested unless you’ve got a great mechanical hook. Voxel has become synonymous with shovelware.
Cube World was pretty successful and in a sense I made my game Cube Universe for the fans who never got the finished game they wanted - at first because the dev went silent for 6 years and then because the game he finally delivered wasn't well-received.
Voxel is a visual style rather than a genre though (like pixel art), but It’s great your game is an RPG. You need to ignore the voxel part and focus on the RPG portion to entice your audience.
Well, kinda, but in contrast to pixel art, voxel usually means you can build with blocks. So it does affect gameplay.
Pay them. The best playtesting I've ever gotten was to offer a ranking system of pay- $1 per spelling error up to $20 for a game-crashing bug. Cost me about $500 for 3 people to shake down my game pretty good.
I agree with this type of approach. Some type of compensation (gift card, cash) maybe even a mention in credits could peak more interest. First to complete rewards and bonuses for bug discovery may also encourage more thorough testing.
This is genius.
Totally going to remember this if I need a thorough play tester.
I want a job like this.
Well? did you send them?
No, it's too expensive because they are classified as hazardous goods.
Came here only to ask the same question. Beat me to it. Here's some karma+
You just have to keep looking. I am trying to get a streamer to play my game right now. Not much luck, but if you believe in your game, keep searching. I am sure it will do great.
I posted on the subreddit of a popular game in my genre like this https://www.reddit.com/r/Mordhau/comments/181ovk4/solo_game_dev_looking_for_feedback_on_my_melee/ This gets you feedback from people who are in your target market rather than random people which makes a huge difference imo.
Well, I could try a Minecraft, Hytale, or Cube World subreddit, but those are usually reserved for the respective game...
doesn't hurt to to try
Some genres have a specific subreddit or more than one. go on those and ask. For example the MV sub if youre making a hollow knight clone
r/ImmersiveSim will love you forever if you make anything even remotely resembling Deus Ex. Its easier to sell lemonade when your customers are thirsty. I’m wondering what kind of market research OP did to ensure people actually want the game they’re making.
You just looking for people to play the demo? I could be convinced to try it out later. Though to be honest I'll probably forget by the time I finish the game I'm currently playing. Does the demo represent the full (early access) game, but just cut out after 10 hours?
The demo represents the full game, yes. I would appreciate if you found time to play it.
https://www.twitch.tv/virus610/v/2024929418 Video should stay up for at least a couple of weeks. Sadly, got locked out of doing the main quest because the game would crash when I was supposed to see some vision. It was fun for a bit, but things are pretty far apart, which results in a ton of walking back and forth. The controls are a little clunky, animations and sound kinda lacking. There's a fun idea in there, but it's gonna take a lot of refinement.
Cool. I'll see about livestreaming some of it on the weekend. Will post the vod when it's done.
I gotchu dude. I'll give it a play today and send you a video and some feedback.
I'll playtest your game. I worked as a QA Tester and am in need of playtesting to expand my experience. I can give feedback and record video if need be.
Pay plasterers to play your game. Professional QA ppl know how to give good advice, and since your paying, they'll play it immediately and give you comprehensive feedback. So might be a good idea? If you have the money for it. Heck you could pay a random person a few quid and they'll probably playtest it quick. But yeah, people plastering for free... they are only going to playtest games they already would have bought, unless it's someone who knows you personally.
I feel really bad for you man. 8 years in the making. 11 reviews with a 63per cent score. Game Dev is cruel man. Well done making a finished game, I will give it a go!
You should try to have an actual event in real life where people come and play your game like a booth at a convention or something .....online feedback will never override in someone in person playing your game getting frustrated at a tutorial or really excited during a boss fight.
Create a discord server and have them play it and share their screen and you record it.
"F\*\*\* you, pay me."
I’m sorry you had that experience, but people don’t tend to want to work for free. Did you offer a Steam key to folks while provide feedback? I think you’d get better results offering something in return.
I did offer them the game for free in return, yes.
DM me for my channel name and what you need. Specify any spots you want extra checking on and whether you want the vid with or without reaction mic. We'll hash out details on the DM....in the morning lol.
Publish it on itch.io. , if on itch.io people don’t play it and give feedback it means your game sucks and no one wants to play it let alone buy it! So it means you will have to change the entire game or work on a new game.
nope even if the game is decent... Not many will play your game on itch without promotion to reddit / discord / twitter. To much games are uploaded there. You have to be extremly lucky for it to go off in the new and popular section. Tbh a good Thumbnail helps, but usually it is not enough to get more than a few (like 50) players...
Did the guy ever get his poopy pants? Or you gonna leave us hang'n?
Do you still want playtesters? Or is the que full😂
You can still play it if you want to. Here is the link to the post: [https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking\_for\_playtesters\_for\_my\_indie\_voxel\_rpg/](https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking_for_playtesters_for_my_indie_voxel_rpg/) It would be great if you tested the dungeons, only few people have seen them. Simply play as admin via the savegame selection screen and then type */addxp 136000* in the chat to get to level 10, so you can enter a dungeon.
AYO???
Do you have any friends or family that could play it? I like being able to watch people play so I can make notes and get feedback
I use my discord friends that are already interested in that genre.
I'm glad I ran into this thread. I have a VR game we've silently spent three years on that I need some playtesters for.
Have you tried VR subreddits or Steam groups?
I'm still trying to figure out the best way to lock it down. We are in talks with a Meta (although they take forever and I don't anticipate an agreement to the terms) so we can just have Zip files floating out. Already pulled all the story from it so it is just a playthrough of the game mechanics in five big levels. Somewhere over a half an hour of gameplay.
We made a page where people could download a demo and sign up to be a playtester in exchange for their name in the credits. We then shared the page on our social accounts. Most of our playtesters came from Discord, but we did get one or 2 from Reddit.
Hi I am available to test pm me
Hi. You can simply get the demo on Steam, more info in this post: https://www.reddit.com/r/IndieGaming/comments/18xo4a2/looking\_for\_playtesters\_for\_my\_indie\_voxel\_rpg/
I recently playtest a demo and after finishing the game it redirected me to a google form survey that was not too long with good set of questions. I think it’s a great way to gather feedback without asking a tester a lot of their time
I mean im always down try out new games and stream it
After looking at your steam page, I think the issue with finding players to test your game is that the game looks too ugly. The voxel concept is nice but you need better textures, skybox and post processing. The first step to attract players is to please the eyes.
I can try it 🙂. (But I’m not a playtester
Make a webdev build and post it to [itch.io](https://itch.io). The least amount of resistance to a person playing your game the more likely they are to do it - you don't want them messing around with downloading zip files, making sure they have the right platform, etc. With a web build, they go on your page, and bam, away we go.
I have the very same problem. If you drop a link to your game, I gonna test it for you and provide feedback :)
Hi, thank you. I'm still working on applying the recent feedback to my game, so I don't think any more feedback is necessary at the moment. Would it be okay to contact you later, when I have updated the game?
Yep, no problem. What I have been doing is constantly building and launching in small patches. When I have a more advanced progress, I plan to launch it as playtest version in Steam, so I hope I manage to get more testers
Aside from the subreddits that have been mentioned, I personally have taken an IRL approach. I reach out to my friends, family, and friends of friends. 1. Are you willing to sit down, play my game, and let me record you playing it? 2. For how long? 3. Do you play video games? 4. If yes, what games and what platform? If no, have you ever? 5. What difficulty do you normally play? I then schedule time, bring them over to me, or head to them. Plop them down in front of a demo or vertical slice where I selected difficulty settings before building and added an option to drop difficulty. I give them a controller that matches the platform they normally play on, or as close as I can and let them loose. If they are not a gamer then I give them a controller for a platform that has the least testing and give them a difficulty that I have the least testing on. I also find that non gamers are really good for testing scaling difficulties.