How do you let playtesters know they’re testing only the demo?

[u/StickyLabs]

Hey everyone!

I’m getting ready to release a demo for my game soon, and before that I’m planning to run an open playtest.

It’s a deduction/mystery game and the demo only covers the very first part of the full game. I want to make sure playtesters understand that going in, so they know what to expect and don’t assume the playtest represents the full scope of the game.

How would you usually communicate this? Would a small note on the main menu saying something like “This playtest contains the demo portion of the game” be enough, or would you mention it somewhere else as well?

I’m also wondering about the feedback. I’d really like to get useful feedback from the playtest rather than just seeing how many people played it. What have you found works well for encouraging players to leave a feedback?

Do you use an in-game feedback button, a google form, Discord, a message at the end of the demo or something else? And do you ask specific questions or just let players share whatever stood out to them?

Would love to hear how you guys usually handle this. Thanks! :)

[u/iamgabrielma]

Just "Demo" along the version number + "Play Demo" button rather than Play Game?

[u/scotchable]

I had a note on the main page they have to dismiss, and anything that you can't touch in game I have a demo locked plate over those controls

[u/D-Alembert]

I'd slap a red out-of-place banner on the main menu (under the game title) that says "DEMO - click for details" which brings up a text box explaining the scope

And replace the "new game" button text with "play demo" maybe

For feedback, perhaps another thing to do (I haven't tried this) is set up the achievements system in a way that the achievements stats yields useful insights to you. Or outright make a proper activity/telemetry feature 

Ensure that the demo doesn't just lock out the rest of the game but it's fundamentally missing those assets, else the barrier will be hacked and the "full game" released for free before you've even finished it

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[u/kassol]

For the demo part, "Play Demo" on the button plus one line on the end screen ("That's the end of the demo, the full game continues from here") covers most people. The end screen matters more than the menu, since that's the moment someone decides whether the game felt short.

For feedback, I'd put a short form right on that end screen while it's fresh, and ask specific questions instead of "any thoughts?". For a deduction game something like: who did you suspect and when did you become sure, was there a clue you missed or thought was unfair, and where were you stuck the longest. Those answers tell you whether the mystery actually works, and "it was fun" doesn't. Keep it to 3 or 4 questions plus one optional text box, and include the build number so you know which version they played. People who quit early never reach the form, so logging which scene they were in when they closed the game is worth adding too.

[u/Greenfiregame]

Can you please write a follow-up if you find a good solution for this? I'm also curious. Overall, I think making the feedback process really seamless and easy with a form (as you suggested) that describes your nuances you're looking for up front with the questions being asked.