How To Playtest Games On Steam

To playtest games on Steam, you primarily use Steam Playtest, which allows you to invite players, manage access, and gather feedback through a dedicated build of your game.

Have you ever wondered how developers get their games ready for prime time? It’s not magic, it’s playtesting! And if you are making games for PC, learning how to playtest games on Steam is crucial. This platform offers some handy tools for developers.

You can easily distribute your in-progress games to selected people. Steam provides a system to manage and gather the feedback. This helps you polish your product before the big launch.

How to Playtest Games on Steam

So, you’ve poured your heart and soul into creating a fantastic game, and now you’re itching to see what players actually think of it. That’s where playtesting comes in! Playtesting is super important. It’s like giving your game a check-up with real players instead of just looking at it yourself. And if you’re planning to release your game on Steam, understanding how to playtest there is crucial. It can really help you to get your game ready and improve it before the final release, so let’s dive into the world of playtesting on Steam.

Setting Up Your Steam Playtest

Before you can get anyone playing your game, you need to set things up. It’s like getting all the tools ready before starting a big project. First, make sure you have a Steamworks account. This is where all the game-making magic happens. Here are the initial steps you will need to follow:

Get a Steamworks Account: If you’re making a game for Steam, you probably already have one. But if not, head over to the Steamworks website and sign up. You will need this account to upload your game and manage it.
Create a Game App: Once you’re logged in, you need to create a new “app.” This is where your game’s information and build will be stored. Think of it like getting a special spot on Steam just for your game.
Upload Your Game: This is where you put all the files for your game. This includes the game executable, all art, sound and code. Steam has specific ways you should upload it, so you might need to use their tools. Steam also has some strict rules regarding your uploaded content, make sure that you follow their policies before uploading the game.

Steam Playtest Options

Now that you have the app set up, you have a few options for how you want to run your playtest. Each of these has its own benefits, so it’s good to understand what each of them does. This lets you choose what best fits the situation. Here are some of the options available:

Steam Playtest Feature: This is a specific tool that Steam provides for playtesting. It lets you invite players using keys or have them request access, as we’ll explain later. It allows a large number of people to play your game for free, giving you valuable feedback. This is often great for seeing how a larger group reacts to the core gameplay.
Steam Beta Branches: These are like separate versions of your game. You can have a “beta” branch where you put your playtest version, and then a “main” branch where your regular game is. This is helpful for testing big changes without impacting your main game.
Using Steam Keys for Testing: You can generate Steam keys that you can send to specific players. This is good for smaller, more focused playtests. It’s useful for testing individual features or getting detailed feedback from testers you already know.

Finding Playtesters

Now that everything is set on Steam, you will need players. It’s like having a playground but no kids to play. You have to get those kids to play so you can see if the playground is actually fun. Here are the best ways to find people to help test your game:

Where to Look for Playtesters

Looking for testers is a very important part of the playtesting process. Here are a few places where you can start your search for testers:

Friends and Family: Start with people you know. They can give you honest feedback, and they’re usually happy to help. This is a good way to catch any major bugs or confusing parts of the game early on. Since they know you, they will likely give honest feedback.
Online Communities: Look for game development forums, subreddits like r/gamedev or r/playmygame, and Discord servers. These places have tons of people who love games and want to help others. Post about your playtest and invite people to join.
Your Mailing List: If you have a mailing list of people interested in your game, this is a perfect place to find testers. These players are already excited about your game.
Social Media: Post about your playtest on your social media accounts. You can reach many people at once this way.
Specialized Playtesting Services: There are companies that specialize in finding playtesters. These can cost money, but they may give you a wider range of testers. They can offer lots of different people to try your game.
Local Game Development Groups: Meetups, or local development groups can offer targeted testers. It’s good to connect with local developers and ask them for help.

How to Approach Playtesters

Getting players to help you out is great. It’s important to be polite and professional when asking for help. Here is some advice on how to approach players you’d like to test your game:

Be Clear About What You Need: Tell them what kind of feedback you are looking for. Be very specific. Do you want them to focus on gameplay, bugs, art, or the story?
Be Polite and Thankful: Remember these testers are helping you for free! Show that you appreciate their time and effort. A simple thank you can go a long way.
Offer a Key or Access: If you use the Steam playtest system, you can let them request access or send keys to specific people. Make sure they know how to get the game.
Provide Clear Instructions: Tell the testers exactly what you want them to do in the game. Giving them some goals helps them stay focused on important parts of the game.
Set a Deadline: Let them know how long they have to play the game, to give you proper feedback in a timely manner.
Use Surveys: Set up surveys with important questions to help get feedback.

Running Your Playtest

The testers have downloaded your game, and now the testing can really begin! It’s important to watch and listen to what the players are saying, because now it’s time to take action and see how well they are playing your game and if they understand the game and its mechanics. The testing process is all about watching the players.

Collecting Feedback

Getting feedback is very important. It helps you to make your game better. Here’s how to gather useful information from your testers:

Use Surveys and Questionnaires: Create simple surveys with questions about specific things in your game. Ask about things like gameplay mechanics, art style, user interface, story, and music.
Record Gameplay: If you can, record the players playing the game. This way you can go back and see exactly where people got stuck or confused. This will help you find problems you might have missed.
Watch Players Live: If possible, watch players while they are playing, and if you can, have a conversation with them after. This can give you lots of great insights and let you ask them questions on the spot.
Use Feedback Forms: Have a form that players can fill out to give you feedback. It can be basic form that includes a few questions like how much fun the game was and if they found any problems.
Observe Play Patterns: Watching how players move, and what they do can give you important information about the design of your game. Do players seem to go where you expected?

Analyzing the Results

Now you have tons of feedback. What do you do with it? Now you have to go through it, organize it, and start using the information to improve your game. It’s like solving a puzzle, putting all the pieces together to make a better picture. Here are some points you should take into account:

Organize Feedback: Put the feedback into categories, such as bugs, confusing parts, fun stuff, and stuff that was just not fun. It’s very helpful to sort information like this.
Look for Patterns: Do a lot of players have the same problem? This means that’s a big issue you will have to fix. Finding patterns helps you know what problems to take action on first.
Prioritize Issues: Not every problem is the same. Some problems stop players from playing the game. These problems need to be fixed first. Some other issues might be smaller.
Be Open to Criticism: It’s hard to hear negative feedback about something you made, but this is exactly why testing is important. Try to be open to ideas and use the feedback to improve your game.
Don’t Be Afraid to Change Things: Your game will likely need a lot of changes. It’s important to be open to changing it as much as needed to make it great.

Making Changes and Iterating

This is the part where you take all that feedback and make your game better! It’s like using clay to make something amazing, you might need to add to it, take away some of the clay, and reshape it. This process is called iteration. It’s important to make changes, and then test it again. Here’s how to approach it:

Prioritizing and Implementing Feedback

Now you need to figure out what to work on first. You can’t change everything at once. Focus on the issues that are stopping players from having fun, this can include bugs, balance and game mechanic problems:

Focus on Core Gameplay: If players don’t find your main gameplay fun, it doesn’t matter how good your story or art is. Fix what is most important first.
Fix Game-Breaking Bugs: These are the bugs that stop the game from working. You should always fix these first.
Address Confusing Parts: If people are having trouble understanding something, make it clearer. Change the tutorial, add more hints, or simply redo the part that is confusing.
Balance Gameplay: Is the game too easy or too hard? Change things to make it just right.

Test Again, and Again, and Again…

One round of playtesting is usually not enough. It’s important to test a few times to make sure you are making progress. Here’s why you should test more than once:

New Changes, New Testing: Each time you make changes, you should test again to see if those changes worked. You need to make sure the game is improved.
Catch More Problems: The more you test, the more you will find. You might find small things you missed the first time.
Refine the Game: Testing is not just about fixing bugs. You are also improving the way the game is, and making sure that the game becomes more fun.
Get Different Perspectives: If you use different testers each time, you might get new ideas about how to make the game better.

Key Takeaways for Playtesting on Steam

Playtesting on Steam can feel like a lot, but it’s a very important part of making a great game. Here are some main points to remember:

Set Up Your Steam App Carefully: Make sure your game is set up correctly on Steam.
Find Testers From Different Sources: Don’t rely on one group of testers. The more testers, the more feedback you can get.
Collect Good Feedback: Don’t just ask “did you like it?” Ask specific questions and watch players.
Fix The Important Problems: Don’t get stuck fixing small things. Focus on the main problems.
Keep Testing: You are not done with testing until your game is released! Test many times, and always try to make things better.

Playtesting isn’t just about finding problems, it’s also about finding what makes your game great! So get ready to test and make the best game you can!

Remember, playtesting is a journey, not a destination. Each test and feedback helps you shape your game into something players will enjoy.

Steamworks Quick Tips – Steam Playtest

Final Thoughts

To effectively playtest games on Steam, use Steam Playtest feature. This allows developers to share early builds with chosen testers. Testers can easily access and provide feedback.

Utilize Steam’s built-in tools for feedback collection. Analyze player data to understand player behaviors. Iterative testing based on the feedback will be helpful.

Ultimately, effectively playtesting on the platform involves careful setup and consistent player communication. Learning how to playtest games on steam involves using their system and actively engaging your playerbase.