I'm very happy with the progress our community as a whole is making. Instead of getting distracted with endless technical features, we're releasing games.

Lean Game Development

The Lean Startup Methodology basically states that life is too short to build a product no one wants. Companies invest years in development to release a product onto the market, only to discover that early design flaws doomed the product from the start. Lean Startup Methodology posits that one should release a minimum viable product before investing too much time in an idea that might be quite a ways of from what your user really wants. The idea is to put something out, get a response, use that response to formulate ideas, and then release again. This is how Leadwerks Game Launcher is meant to be used as a tool.

 

 

Many people have completed the first three steps and have a product out now that other people are playing. The next step is to measure the response to your product. This can be done in two ways.

 

Quantitative data is numerical or categorical data that is measured in a uniform manner. The number of subscribers to your game is one piece of quantitative data. Quantitative is easy to analyze with a formula, but the only data you will get are the metrics you record; If your number of players goes down, you don't really have any idea why.

 

Qualitative data is open-ended feedback. Comments on your game's Workshop page are an example. Qualitative data is useful because it helps reveal information you did not specifically ask for, but it can be difficult to compare among subjects, because the information isn't easily quantified.

 

At this stage in your game I recommend using a tool that can provide both quantitative and qualitative feedback. This tool is usability testing,and we have a way to easily perform it in Steam.

Usability Testing with Steam Broadcasts

Steam broadcasting allows you to view another player's game in real-time. Want to find out how a new player actually performs in your game? Want to find out where people are running into problems, getting frustrated, or getting bored? The truth is, user feedback isn't always that useful. Only a small percentage of your players will bother commenting about anything, and their opinions aren't necessarily reflective of your users as a whole. On top of that, users are pretty bad at describing what they really want because it's not their job to design your product. Usability testing allows you to find major usage problems in an objective manner without relying on the opinions of a few vocal players.

 

You can use Steam Broadcasting either by requesting to watch a player's game, or inviting someone to watch yours. To request to watch a game, just select the "Watch Game" menu item from your friend list, while the player is Leadwerks Game Launcher.

 

 

If you want to invite someone to watch your game, this can be easily done by inviting them in the chat dialog. (You can open the Steam overlay while you are in-game and open a chat dialog from there.)

 

 

Once the broadcast has started, you will see the video in the Steam interface.

 

 

The great thing about usability testing is it doesn't take much effort or time. If you have glaring problems that people get stuck on, you will find them very quickly with this method. I think you will be very surprised when you see how people are actually playing your game, and it will become immediately clear what needs to be fixed.

 

To get the most out of usability testing, I recommend the following:

• Use subjects who are completely new to your game and have never played it before.
  
• Don't bother testing more than three people. Any more than that is a waste of time. Trust me, they will find problems you had no idea existed, and it will be really clear afterwards what needs to be improved.
  
• Measure your results. You should write down notes as they are playing, and also measure some quantitative values like how many people got through a level or were able to accomplish some task.
  
• Don't answer questions or help the player, just passively watch.
  

 

Once your usability testing is complete, now you have real actionable data! Read over that data, learn from it, and use it to come up with ideas how you can make your game better. Build a new version,publish, and repeat. Your steps are as follows:

1. Perform usability tests and record data.
   
   • Quantitative data (number of players that completed a task, time taken, etc.)
     
   • Qualitative data (notes)
     

[*]Analyze data and come up with ideas for improvement.

[*]Release a new version and repeat.

 

This approach will help you create a game people love instead of guessing what players want and working blindly. Don't wait until after your game is released to find out what you did wrong. Release early, test, and learn how people are really playing your game.