Approach to gain gameplay testers
Sep.- Nov. 2024
Games User Research Intern
Case purpose
During my internship at the game user research company Affecture ApS, one of my tasks was to grow their tester panel. I increased their mailing list by almost tripling the number of initial participant sign-ups within less than two months.
So, how did I increase it?
I gave feedback on former approaches and developed redesign solutions for their sign-up page and poster based on what I assumed would be more user-friendly. I also contacted relevant companies and educational institutes to hand out flyers and posters and used Facebook groups.
A pair of fresh eyes on former approaches
At the start of my internship, the team and I discussed past approaches. Which methods have Affectures tried in the past? What worked well or poorly during my past UX Research internship? When I was an intern at GAMUCATEX, they collaborated with Affecture, which resulted in having a shared booth during the event Historiske Dage, where I met the team I am a part of today. Therefore, there were some comment approaches we all have experience with, such as spreading awareness on social media and events.
Make it easy and informative for the testers
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What I wanted to focus on going forward was to inform potential community members and future playtesters what being a gameplay is all about and the benefits of it. I mean, how often do people conduct gameplay testing? My guess is rare. How many people have tried it before? My guess is few. It can be hard to convince others to test because they lack experience and assume they are not the target audience. Throughout my one-year UX research internship at GAMUCATEX, I have met countless people who responded, "But I am not a gamer" when asking if they wanted to provide feedback on a game. Although "gamer" has become a broad term nowadays for all sorts of people, some still assume it is someone with a significant PC buildup who plays games all day. My redesign of approaches is based on giving more insights into what happens when you test at Affecture, which benefits you gain and that it is for everyone.
Sign-up flyer
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My first impression of their sign-up flyer was that their use of brand visualisation in font and colour is wise. However, the flyer lacked a more personal touch. An image of the playtest room gives a concrete example of how the playtest would look like for an outsider.
Their inital flyer (left) and my suggestion (right)
Google Form
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The form is short and precise. It highlights text, which is a wise choice because many people skim it and do not read it word for word. A few questions make it quick and easy for potential new community members.
The old question of the egg and chicken
​If I could change something, it would be to reconsider which comes first: the demographic and game preference questions or the sign-up. On the one hand, they want to gather data about the members and then, based on that, match them to the specific game based on perhaps requirements from their clients. That is entirely understandable.On the other hand, a potential member might opt out due to not viewing themselves as a “gamer” and might not even find a genre among the options they like. While it may be wise to divide the participants in the future, it is difficult to recruit them right now. Therefore, perhaps the approach should not invite them to test a game based on demographical aspects and game genre preferences but instead invite them nonetheless. We should ask the participants these questions but perhaps do that later within the user task flow.
User Test Flow
Possible Future Strategy
Step 1: Awareness
Based on the ideas I discussed with the team, I added additional ways to spread awareness about the membership community. This is besides their former approach using their website or events. While it is not narrow or focused, the company wants to explore different methods right now at this stage. One method is to inspire, where they can educate students at universities and high schools about biometrics and AI. That way, they might recruit a few members, and they can be viewed as a company to admire. Another method is simply to spread awareness in shops and cafes where it is assumed potential playtesters would step their foot in. Building a relationship with companies related to games can also plant a seed for the potential to collaborate with them later on. I also added a video as a more visual way to showcase how playtesting occurs.
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Step 2: Action
A suggestion is to ask demographic and game genre preference questions at a later stage instead of using the Google Form survey mentioned above. Their website has a pop-up box about the sign-up but without additional information. Another suggestion is to add an extra page about becoming a member and how the playtests occur. This can viewed further down.
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Step 3: Invite
Here, the community members receive an invite to become playtesters. They can choose a date and time via Calenderly and also have to sign the consent form and answer some pre-questions via a survey. I suggest shortening the signing-up for playtesting tasks by moving the consent form signing and filling out a pre-question survey to step 5. Perhaps a participant would be more comfortable signing the consent form at the address once the interviewer explained what it contains and informed them of storing their data safely.
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Step 4: Community member accepts
The member set a time and date.
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Step 5: Pre-gameplay
If the participant is unsure of the purpose behind each pre-question and does not understand every part of the consent form, it is much easier to speak with them in person.
User task flow overview
Not too selective
When recruiting participants, it is wise to have requirements and find the most suitable testers. However, I was tasked with acquiring testers for a start-up company, and I aimed to recruit community members who could be potential testers for different games and genres. Steve Bromley, a British Games User Researcher who worked for EA and other big game companies, argues that game development students are not a good choice for participants because they may want a job at a game research company. I noticed that with one participant during a gameplay test in April 2024. I was an intern at GAMUCATEX while the company collaborated with Affecture, where I am an intern now, and one of the participants mentioned that she had applied for a job at Affecture and was very focused on selling herself. That was her purpose, which I fully understand, but it took away her focus, which was the games she had to test. While I mainly tried to spread the word of Affecture to gamers rather than students, I still visited some university campuses to hang posters, etc. At this stage, the company could not be too picky.
Screenshot of Steve Bromley’s course: Find your first 100 playtesters.
Cold calls and shaking some hands
Once the team and I decided on the design of the posters and flyers, I conducted desk research and found various places to promote Affecture and its membership community. I then called them beforehand and asked if it was possible to place some flyers and hang posters for ethical reasons and leave a good representation of the company. Based on past experiences with potential testers saying, "But I am not a gamer", I knew when calling, for instance, a board game shop, that I had to quickly let them know that despite the participants testing digital games, we also seek board game enthusiasts. I otherwise assumed the store owner would say "No". I visited 30 places: shops, cafes, community facilities and universities that gladly received the flyers and permitted me to hang the posters.
Images of places I have visited.
Reflection
What worked well?
Calling places beforehand and politely asking seemed to resonate well with many people.
Showing the places that Affecture cares about their boundaries and rules.
Talking with different people also started a possible relationship or collaboration.
Planted some seeds that could grow into more in the future.
The places I did not get to call beforehand, I asked while holding the poster and flyer in front of them. Then they were more likely to say "Yes" instead of asking while trying to find the flyers in my backpack.
What did not work well?
Asking stores that do not have to do with gaming, but their customers might fit the bill over the phone since the store clerk is more prone to say “No”. In this case, is it better to ask in person inside the store as they are more likely to say “Yes” since you are already there with flyers in hand.
Too many days have passed since the phone call to visit the places. While each person remembers the phone call, it is better to go there while the memory is fresh.
The posts on Facebook groups could have been done earlier.
After knowing I had already been near them, I found or thought of more stores and places. So, I recommend researching and finding multiple places before contacting or visiting them. That way, you avoid losing time and reduce the cost of travelling fees. It is wise to travel to Roskilde once instead of visiting all its relevant places in two days.
Webpage design suggestion
Show them what playtesting is all about
As I mentioned earlier, I also designed a webpage to give potential community members and gameplay testers insight into how playtesting takes place with the Affecture team and the benefits they gain. It can be quite a considerable step for someone, let's say, a novice gamer who occasionally plays board games with friends or a single-player game on the console for a few hours or a week to hop on a bus and take a test while wearing a biometric EEG helmet and heart rate bracelet. What do I get out of it? Where is it located? Am I what they are looking for in a tester? Do I have time for this? These questions are answered on the webpage I designed in Figma.
Additional notes
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​​My initial ideas and designs have changed throughout based on feedback from the team members.
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My approach does not generate significant changes but can serve Affecture later on. It's all about being consistent and patient with spreading awareness, networking, and ensuring the information is user-friendly for testers new to this experience.
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For discretion and ethical reasons, I did not mention the places I visited and provided vague descriptions of Affecture's approaches and plans.
Quote
"As a result, the panel grew its initial amount by almost 300%."
- Andreas H. - Co-founder of Affecture