Playtesting To Test For Resonance - Will Indian Gamers Come Back For More?
Learn how moderated in-person single-session playtesting provided Mayhem Studios with actionable insights and real-time player feedback to evaluate launching a game with localized nuances, in India.
Lysto
Sep 25, 2024
3 min read
Game Studios
Key Takeaways
Quality Screening for Targeted Feedback: Using Screener Surveys and tools to ensure only relevant players are selected for valuable feedback / insights.
Real-Time Adjustments: Mayhem's team observed live player reactions and made quick changes.
Direct Engagement: Key stakeholders interacted with players to refine the game.
The Context
Mayhem Studios, a top Indian game developer, sought to assess if their mid-core shooter with local in-game themes and elements would resonate with players in India, or needed adjustments.
Lysto strategised and moderated multiple in-person single-session playtest with two key goals:
Gather real-time feedback from experienced Indian gamers.
Assess the game's launch readiness and identify necessary refinements for local preferences.
The Challenge
Aligning the Game with Local Preferences
Beyond mechanics, the challenge was to assess if Indianized visuals and gameplay resonated with the Battle Royale players or needed refinement to boost engagement.
The playtest focused on three key questions:
Is the localized gameplay engaging for targeted mid-core and hardcore players?
Do the mechanics match Indian player preferences?
Does the game have long-term potential, or need further changes?
The Approach
Data-Driven Screening and Multiple Single-Session Playtests
First step was identifying the right gamers, carefully screened through detailed surveys and pre-tests:
Lysto’s research operations team conducted a screener survey to meticulously gather players who aligned with Mayhem’s specific targeting criteria, ensuring we gathered insights from the right mid-core shooter audience.
Participants submitted videos of their performance to validate their skills for meaningful feedback.
A screener survey is a short questionnaire used in playtesting to identify gamers who match the target audience’s profile, such as skill level, game preferences, or experience. It helps ensure that only relevant players participate, resulting in feedback that's more accurate, actionable, and valuable for refining the game.
30+ mid-core to hardcore players that met the target audience criteria, including both male and female players (ages of 18-24) were finalized.
Next, Lysto moderated several in-person single-session playtests over weeks, each session lasting three hours, focusing on:
Gameplay Engagement: Assessed controls and intuitiveness compared to Battle Royale games popular in India.
Visual Appeal: Gathered feedback on graphics, emphasizing Indianized elements.
Cooperative Features: Evaluated teamwork and communication for greater immersion.
In a single-session playtest, players engage once, providing immediate feedback on gameplay, visuals, and resonance. Multi-session playtests span multiple sessions, offering deeper insights into retention and long-term engagement.
For testing localization, a single-session playtest was more valuable as it quickly assessed how well the game resonated with Indian players.
The playtest spanned several weeks, with 20% of playtesters returning to re-test enhancements based on earlier feedback. This allowed the studio to evaluate improvements while gathering fresh insights from new players on the changes made.
The Result
Actionable Feedback for Future Refinements
This collaboration provided vital insights:
Players sought better responsiveness, recommending sensitivity adjustments
Indianized themes resonated, but some scenes needed improved visual cues.
Communication tools needed refinement, advocating for more intuitive prompts.