thread: 2011-02-17 : Ben Lehman: Playtesting: Stop
On 2011-02-22, Ben Lehman wrote:
Hey Bret. You're welcome.
Hey, John. I really think that talking about this outside of its intended audience (with corporate-developed games, which, as noted above, have different issues with playtesting; or with other random stuff that involves user testing like websites or video games) is distracting from the point.
Yes, if you take the essay outside of its intended context, and use it in some sort of mushy way to talk about totally different topics, it makes less sense. It might even make no sense at all, or be patently wrong! This is true of any essay, but it seems mostly to serve as a distraction and evasion rather than any sort of substantive engagement or critique.
Does "editing" become the new "playtesting?" I frankly hope that my writing has that kind of sub-cultural reach. And, you know what, if it does actually fall out that way, maybe I'll be doing another guest-post on anyway three years hence entitled "editing: stop." I'm willing to take that risk.
yrs—
—Ben
