thread: 2011-02-17 : Ben Lehman: Playtesting: Stop
On 2011-02-19, Josh W wrote:
I'm not sure I'd call a social version of a game a barrier. Ok, yes it's true that you are intentionally delaying publication, and have one extra thing to write before you get to something to want to sell, but this idea is for those people who are already delaying publishing to do it honestly.
In addition, every time I've got the shivers about making something for public consumption, it has helped to make a draft version for a friend or a small group first. I've litterally writen essays, marketing tracts, and important emails as if I was writing them for a friend, maybe shown it to them, maybe not, and then seeing an actual finished version has allowed me to take the remaining steps to making one for the "general public" (ie an unknown recipient). You can reach clarity within a familiar setting, then replace the crutches you used with more general touchstones. The same works with trying to explain your game to friends with words.
On the broader issue, I can feel myself gearing up to discuss the different values of publishing for money on an open market vs private gift economies, but I'll probably save that for another time. I will say that I understand the bravery involved in putting your stuff out there for anyone to own, and that creating/legitimising an intermediary state can allow people to cop-out of something they'd otherwise really value doing.
But by labelling that mostly-existing intermediary state distinctly from playtesting, we can have that discussion seperately, without it causing negative side effects and pressure on new designers.
