Playtesting: Measuring Player Experience

Playtesting is where the “play” in player-centric design truly goes into action, transforming prototypes from abstract ideas into tangible experiences in the hands of real players. Prototypes allow designers to experiment with mechanics, systems, and visuals in a controlled setting, but it is playtesting that reveals how these elements are actually perceived, interacted with, and felt by players. In this phase, design intentions collide with player behavior, producing insights that no internal test or simulation can fully capture.

Player Experience Goals

At the heart of playtesting are Player Experience Goals (PX Goals). PX Goals define the emotions, motivations, and interactions designers want players to encounter while playing the game. These goals are context-specific: each game’s mechanics, narrative, and systems shape the experiences that emerge. Player Experience is a holistic measure, encompassing the socio-psychological, behavioral, and physiological responses of players as they engage with the game.

PX Goals are designed around a player persona, a fictional representation of the single player the game is intended for. This persona embodies the motivations, preferences, and behaviors the game is targeting. Even if you, as a designer or early playtester, are not part of the target audience, you must evaluate the game objectively: is it meeting the PX Goals for that persona? In essence, you act as an advocate for the player, ensuring that challenge, engagement, and reward align with the intended experience.

This approach connects closely to empathy in design thinking. By stepping into the shoes of the player persona, designers anticipate frustrations, identify opportunities for engagement, and refine the game experience to better match the goals set for the intended audience. Empathy ensures that PX Goals remain player-centered rather than designer-centered.

Evaluating PX Goals through Playtesting

Playtesting helps designers determine whether a game is achieving its PX Goals by answering critical questions:

• Is it playable? Does the game function as intended and meet player expectations?
• Is it enjoyable? Would players return to the game, and do they perceive it as fun?
• Is it challenging? Does the game strike the right balance of risk, reward, and motivation?
• Is it engaging? Are the intended emotions, behaviors, and decisions elicited from players?
• Is it balanced? Are outcomes fair, consistent, and free of unintended surprises?
• Is it accessible? Can all players understand and interact with the game as intended?

By linking prototypes to PX Goals, playtesting becomes a vital feedback loop, guiding iterative design toward meaningful, player-centered experiences. It’s the moment where abstract concepts are tested, refined, and validated in the messy, unpredictable, and enlightening world of actual play.

Conducting Playtests

Playtesting should begin as early as possible in the game production process, starting with physical prototypes. Prototypes allow designers to test mechanics, engagement, and challenge before investing in full production. The goal of playtesting is to gather meaningful feedback that helps determine whether the game is meeting its Player Experience (PX) Goals.

The type of playtest used depends on both the stage of development and the kind of feedback the designer is seeking. Before selecting a method, designers should clarify what questions they want answered about gameplay, balance, and player engagement.

Selecting Playtesters

Once PX Goals are aligned with the player persona, the next step is to observe the game in the hands of real players. Different groups of playtesters provide distinct insights, and each stage helps ensure that PX Goals are being met:

• Self-Testers: The game production team should playtest frequently. These early tests catch major issues before they become larger problems, but results may be biased since team members are deeply familiar with the game.
• Friends & Colleagues: Once self-testing is sufficient, friends and colleagues can provide mostly unbiased feedback. While they may not perfectly match the target audience, they can still identify issues internal testers might miss.
• Target Market: Finally, testing with the intended audience, players who closely match the player persona, provides fully unbiased feedback. Observing these players ensures the game achieves its PX Goals and allows designers to refine mechanics, engagement, and balance for the people the game was actually designed for.

Methods of Playtesting

There are many ways to conduct playtests, each with advantages and limitations:

• One-on-One: Observe and ask questions of a single playtester as they play. Provides detailed insight but may make players nervous.
• Group Testing: Observe multiple players simultaneously. Provides broader observation but some participants may feel uncomfortable.
• Feedback Forms: Surveys completed independently. Quantitative data depends on questions, qualitative on player articulation.
• Interviews: One-on-one discussion after playtesting. Similar strengths and limitations to feedback forms.
• Open Discussions: Group conversation after playtesting. Can generate new insights but some players may remain quiet.
• Metrics: Collect in-game behavioral data. Provides objective insight, but requires a digital prototype.

Playtest Tools

While methods describe how a playtest is run (one-on-one, group sessions, interviews, etc.), tools are the instruments designers use to collect, organize, and interpret feedback from those sessions.

• Some common playtest tools include:
  Observation Checklists: Structured guides for noting player behaviors, confusion points, or engagement spikes during a session.
• Questionnaire: Instruments for capturing quantitative ratings and qualitative comments in a consistent, organized way
• Playtest Journals: Notes taken by observers or players during gameplay, documenting detailed reactions, decisions, and emotional responses.
• Analytic Tools: Applications used to analyze and interpret the collected data, such as spreadsheets, dashboards, or visualization software. These tools turn raw metrics into actionable insights.

Playtest Questions

Many of the tools described above rely on well-crafted questions to ensure the data collected is meaningful. Game designers must go beyond asking vague prompts like, “Is the game playable?” Such open-ended questions rarely provide actionable feedback. Instead, designers should focus on specific, targeted questions that explore concrete aspects of the player experience:

• To what extent is the game playable?
• Were players able to complete the objectives?
• Did players understand the goal in the first place?

Breaking down broader player experience (PX) goals into smaller, more direct, and well-defined questions allows designers to pinpoint exactly what is working and what needs improvement. These questions can then be organized into sections that correspond to game mechanics, gameplay, and core systems, and should also vary depending on the type of playtest being conducted.

This structured approach ensures that playtests generate data that is not only relevant but also actionable, helping designers iterate efficiently toward a better player experience.

Play Matrix

Another playtesting tool is the play matrix, used to categorize and analyze games based on their core mechanics and player experiences. It helps designers understand how different elements of a game interact and where the player’s focus lies.

• Skill vs. Chance: This axis measures whether a game’s outcome depends primarily on player skill and strategy or on random elements and luck.
• Mental Calculation vs. Physical Dexterity: This axis evaluates whether the game challenges the player’s cognitive abilities and strategic planning or their physical actions and coordination.

By mapping a game on these axes, designers can identify balance points, engagement opportunities, and areas for improvement during playtesting.

Playtesting Best Practices

Regardless of the method or tools used, an effective playtest follows a clear structure that helps designers gather meaningful feedback while keeping players comfortable. A typical session consists of a series of steps that guide players through the experience and provide designers with actionable insights:

1. Introduction: Briefly explain the session, its goals, and what players can expect.
2. Warm-Up: Ask about players’ gaming backgrounds and preferences to contextualize their feedback.
3. Play Session: Have players interact with the game. Sessions typically last 15–20 minutes up to an hour. Begin playtesting as early as possible—even with basic prototypes—to catch major issues before they become costly to fix.
4. Game Experience Feedback: Collect observations during gameplay, noting where players get stuck, unexpected behaviors, or exploits. Step back and observe without intervening; if guidance is needed, ask questions that reveal the player’s thought process rather than giving answers.
5. Wrap-Up: Thank playtesters and emphasize that their input is valued. Conduct post-play interviews or surveys to gather both subjective opinions and insights.

In addition to a structured playtesting session, Brackey’s video on “HOW TO PLAYTEST!” highlights additional key strategies for making playtests more effective, ensuring useful feedback, and avoiding common pitfalls, such as:

• Broaden Your Playtester Pool: Include a mix of experienced, casual, and even younger players for diverse perspectives.
• Be Aware of Designer Bias: What feels intuitive or balanced to you may not feel that way to new players.
• Use Different Types of Playtests: Focused tests for individual mechanics, blind tests to observe free play, and exploit-hunting sessions all provide unique insights.
• Document Thoroughly: Record timestamps, player actions, and reactions. Combine this with surveys or interviews for a full picture.
• Embrace Discoveries: Players may find unintended mechanics or solutions—decide whether to adapt the game or reinforce your original design.
• Playtesting Saves Time: Identifying flaws early prevents wasted effort later in development.
• Automated Tools Can Help: Tools like Unity Game Simulation can run massive numbers of test iterations, but human playtesting remains essential.

Playtest Data

Before conducting a playtest, it’s important to identify the specific types of feedback that designers want to gather. The data collected during playtesting helps answer critical questions about how well the game meets its Player Experience (PX) Goals.

Playtest criteria can be organized by the type of insight they aim to provide:

• Concept Testing: Does the game work as intended? Is it playable?
• Scattershot Testing: Do players enjoy it? Are they likely to play again?
• Experience Testing: Is the game engaging? Does it provide the intended challenge and emotional response?
• Stress Testing: Are outcomes fair and consistent? Is the game balanced under different conditions?
• Accessibility Testing: Can players understand and interact with all game elements as intended?

These different types of testing are typically conducted at different stages of production. They can be run individually or combined into a single playtest session, depending on the goals, timeline, and resources of the game production.

Collecting Playtest Data

During a playtest, designers gather different types of data to understand the player experience. The timing of data collection is just as important as the type of data collected, ensuring designers capture a complete and accurate picture.

Types of Data:

• Quantitative Data: Measurable metrics such as completion times, scores, number of mistakes, or choices made. This data provides objective insight into how players interact with the game.
• Qualitative Data: Observations, player comments, or survey responses. This data captures subjective experiences, such as frustration, enjoyment, or confusion, which help explain the “why” behind player behavior.

When Data is Collected:

• In-Game: Observational notes and metrics captured while players are actively playing. This helps identify immediate issues and patterns in real-time interactions.
• Post-Game: Responses collected through surveys or interviews immediately after the session, focusing on perceptions, enjoyment, or understanding of mechanics.
• Reflection: Insights recorded by the designer after the session, synthesizing observations and feedback to guide revisions or improvements for future playtests.

By combining these types of data at multiple points, designers can make informed decisions and iteratively refine the game experience.

Analyzing the Data

Once a playtest is completed, it’s crucial to review and analyze the collected data. Every game production team may have their own approach, but all analyses should focus on key insights that can inform design decisions. Some of the primary questions to consider include:

• Which elements of the game are most praised by players?
• Which elements are confusing, frustrating, or disliked?
• How can these elements be highlighted, refined, or improved?

Each playtest adds more information, gradually building a clearer picture of the game’s direction and whether it is achieving the intended player experience goals.

Beware of “Evil Data”

While analyzing playtest results, designers must be careful to avoid evil data, which is defined as data that is misleading, distracting, or unclear. The term, popularized by indie developer Adriaan de Jongh, highlights how even seemingly useful data can steer design decisions in the wrong direction if it is not interpreted carefully.

To see these concepts in action, Jongh demonstrates strategies for avoiding evil data in playtests in his 2017 Game Developers Conference talk:

By being aware of evil data and biases like survivorship bias, designers can more accurately interpret playtest results, make informed design decisions, and iteratively improve the game toward its intended experience.

Checkpoint: Playtesting Summary

Playtesting is a critical step in game development, providing designers with the insights needed to create engaging and balanced experiences. Through this process, you have learned to:

• Plan and Prepare – Identify player experience goals and determine what data to collect.
• Collect Data Effectively – Gather quantitative metrics and qualitative observations in-game, post-game, and through designer reflection.
• Ask the Right Questions – Formulate targeted questions that generate meaningful feedback rather than vague responses.
• Analyze Data Carefully – Identify patterns, avoid pitfalls like evil data and survivorship bias, and interpret insights responsibly.

Every playtest is a learning opportunity. Even small observations can inform improvements that bring the game closer to its intended player experience.