Where should I advertise a new playtest?

[D-naras]

For some time now, I've been fleshing out my homemade RPG. I am currently running 2 games, and have another 2 on hold. However I really feel that it needs to be playtested by others. So, once they are compiled, I intent to give the playtest rules away to as many rpg forums as I can find. However, since I am entirely new at this, I came here to ask: is that a good idea? Should I try something else? Do you have any suggestions as to which websites I should use?

[infinitetech]

if you get replies to this im in a similar boat and would love to hear more info

[Milodiah]

Almost every RPG in existence has its own forums nowadays; I'd say the right thing to do is think about which pre-existing RPGs are thematically and/or mechanically similar to yours and then go to those forums. This is a primarily D&D/PF forum, so here would probably be right for heroic fantasy. Of course, you also have to think about traffic, I think GITP gets a fair bit more traffic than a lot of other sites I've seen.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

Wherever the rules go out to, you need a way to get reliable playtest feedback from them. I'm of the opinion that you can derive the most playtest feedback by observing a session where other people play and run your game. That said, you can pitch it pretty much anywhere.

Here's the problem, though. If you ask people to playtest your game, that's a time and scheduling investment. They have to be interested enough to chop time out of their schedule and coordinate scheduling between various players. That's quite a lot upfront. When you're a total stranger (aka fellow Internet denizen), the barrier to entry gets even higher. So it needs to have something about it that's immensely compelling.

Do you have any particular plans on how you'll be getting feedback on the sessions run?

[D-naras]

Wherever the rules go out to, you need a way to get reliable playtest feedback from them. I'm of the opinion that you can derive the most playtest feedback by observing a session where other people play and run your game. That said, you can pitch it pretty much anywhere.

Here's the problem, though. If you ask people to playtest your game, that's a time and scheduling investment. They have to be interested enough to chop time out of their schedule and coordinate scheduling between various players. That's quite a lot upfront. When you're a total stranger (aka fellow Internet denizen), the barrier to entry gets even higher. So it needs to have something about it that's immensely compelling.

Do you have any particular plans on how you'll be getting feedback on the sessions run?

I was thinking about giving out a few questionnaires along with the rules. If I design my own site, I will probably include a link to an electronic form of the questionnaire. I think Google offers such a service. You are right about the commitment thing. Maybe I should inform people and build hype prior to releasing the playtest.

[Talakeal]

I was thinking about giving out a few questionnaires along with the rules. If I design my own site, I will probably include a link to an electronic form of the questionnaire. I think Google offers such a service. You are right about the commitment thing. Maybe I should inform people and build hype prior to releasing the playtest.

I am in a similar boat. I have had my rules online for about six months now with a link in my signature on this and other forums I frequent. So far the only feedback I have gotten is something along the lines of "this looks good (or more rarely not so good) but it too long for me to read right now. I will get back to you when I have the time to read it in depth," which of course they never do.

I am trying to think of ways to abbreviate it, but am kind of lost as to how, and am starting to think I need a different approach altogether.

[CarpeGuitarrem]

The basic idea, of course, is that you want to get a play experience done. Playtests turn up at least ten times the information that reading the rules does, in my experience. So you need to commit people to that. I'd honestly just focus on facilitating playtest sessions yourself. Go to any local gaming conventions, go to your local gaming store, and do things like hosting sessions on Google+. (There's a big "G+ Roleplaying" community that uses Google Hangouts for online roleplaying.)

Though you should also make sure you have targeted questions. You can get a lot of answers by observing people (which is one reason to get someone else to run the game for you), but otherwise you want to have a quick list of questions to ask. Things like "What part of the rules stood out to you the most as good/bad?" or "What was a really cool thing you saw in the rules?" or "What was the most interesting thing that happened in the session?" (use that last one to figure out if it's the rules or the session that are creating cool moments). Ultimately, you're looking for clues. You can also ask follow-up questions on moments in the session that people had specific reactions to or trouble with.

Also keep in mind that playtesters will suggest solutions, but it's your job to figure out what problem they're trying to solve, and then fix that. The playtesters' solutions themselves are often not what the game needs, but they're helpful pointers to the problems they see in the game.

Finally, it's a good idea to have levels of playtesting.

Alpha Prototyping is my name for when you try a game out by yourself. Just run through sample things to make sure there aren't any massive speed bumps.

That done, you can move to first-round testing, where you run the rough game by a group of players who know you. Welcome and invite criticism, and focus on fixing the biggest problems.

You can then move on to field testing, where you try it with groups you don't know.

And so on. The main idea is that you iterate testing, widening the scope of who you test with as you refine the game. Remember that playtesters will notice the big problems first, and that it doesn't take much testing to find the big problems. When you come to a group with the game, do what you can to hunt down the big issues in the game and fix them, before you bring it to the group.