Well, I browsed through many topics that says: playtest this, playtest that, but no guide on one of the most important thing to ensure map quality— playtesting. So, long story short, here it is! In this guide, using common questions and answers, you will know what to playtest, who should playtest, and more. Also I need to make this paragraph less advertising because it sounded like an ad on the elevator.
Q: What should I playtest?
A:
-
Playtest complex mechanics.
When making complex mechanics, such is a series of buttons that will grant you things but also deactivate other buttons in that series, it it easy to forget a channel here and a wire there. In complexer mechanics, forgeting even 1 channel can ruin the whole map, every part of it. For this kind of playtesting, it can be replaced with careful checking of all parts of it, however it is less time-efficient and easier to bypass problems. -
Playtest skill required sections.
Have you ever played a map just to find out it is impossible due to arrangements? That will not happen if the mapmaker playtested it. For skill-required sections, it is a good idea to let others, your friends and very skilled players to playtest it. Unless you are making a no-lazer no-zone platformer so you can playtest in editing mode, you need to enter playtest or play mode for this. -
Playtest general theme and lagginess.
I don’t think this is specifically mentioned anywhere. This is important because, when creating the map, the mapmaker cannot experience everything from the player’s perspective and it’s definitely harder to catch logical problems. Also, the mapmakers has to see the map in every phrase of the game, in which it may changes in play but not in edit mode. -
Playtest for bugs.
GKC is generally a buggy and glitchy website, and weird bugs pop up every now and then. Many of the bugs can be fixed by deleting and redoing the affected area or rejoining, which fixes “fake bugs”. Also, a glitch that you need to watch out for is what I call the “deleted glitch”. Learn more here. Bugs should be playtested every 1-2 months.
Q: How many people needs to playtest my map?
A: Below is a table for top-down. Note that it is specifically made for OWO-like games.
| Difficulty | Player Needed | Column 3 | Column 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Educational Only | You | ||
| Beginner | You | ||
| Easy | You + 1 friend (optional) | ||
| Normal | You + 1 friend | ||
| Hard | You + 1-2 friends + 1 skilled player (optional) | ||
| Difficult | You + 2 friends + 1 skilled player | ||
| Gimpossible | You + 2-3 friends + 1-2 skilled player |
This one is for DLD-like platformer games and difficulty charts.
| Column 1 | Column 2 | Column 3 | Column 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| No jump | No playtesting needed | ||
| Single left or right jump | You | ||
| Double left or right jump | You | ||
| Head hitters | You + 1 friend (optional) | ||
| Slope jumps | You + 1 friend | ||
| Jumps on a tiny platforms | You + 1 friend (optional) | ||
| Lazer Jumps | You + 1 friend + 1 skilled player | ||
| Right prop jump* | A friend |
Right prop jump: A jump when some props are sturdy while some is not. Players need to go to the right props in order to not fall.
Below is another one for other types of games.
| Type of Game | Players Needed | Column 3 | Column 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Ending Games | As may people as possible | ||
| PvP Games | You + 1 friend (optional) | ||
| Level Up Games | You + 1-2 friends | ||
| Tag/ CTF Games | You + 1-2 friends | ||
| Money-Making Games | You + 1 friend | ||
Q: What is the difference between playtest mode, play mode, and a real play in Discovery?
A: First lets know the difference between playtest mode/play mode and real discovery play.
In playtest or play, the mapmaker will always spawn at where they clicked the button. Fortunately, this is not a problem if your waiting room have nothing needed to playtest, and if you do, you can always get in without using the spawn pad.
Now it’s the difference between playtest mode and play mode. One of the most important difference is that playtest mode is made for solo-play while play mode can be used more more people. Also, playtest mode has no pre-game phrase while play mode do. To playtest, you click the bottom-right button as mentions in tutorial— to play you press the game c0de on top of the screen.
Q: How to make playtesting more efficient?
A: One of the best ways to save time when playtesting is to playtest EVERYTHING at once instead of going playtest-problem-edit-playtest-problem-edit. Remember, when you click ‘restore map’ after game ended, you teleport to the pre-game spawn pad. You can memorize or write down problems and solve them at once.
Another way is to make you run super-fast at the start of the game, which saves time on running around. Deactivating barriers, temporarily deleting respawners and making gaps on walls in the correct places might help you save time by allowing you to playtest things that needs to be playtested twice get done at once.
Can someone tell me how to do screen recording? I planned to do some and posted but I don’t know how to.
)
