Player feedback is a powerful resource. It plays a key role in creating products that truly connect with the audience. While this might seem like an obvious point, such oversights happen far more often than you’d expect.

Many indie developers fall into the trap of trying to create a one-in-a-million game, forgetting that complexity doesn’t always equal success. To this, our team is no exception.

We have seen how quickly players can give up on a game if it feels unnecessarily difficult. Just days before one of our release, after reading a particularly critical pre-release review, we made the decision to halve the game’s difficulty. We increased the resources and experience available to players while significantly reducing the strength of the enemies.

But even after that, Highfleet (the aforementioned release) proved to be too difficult for some players. This challenge isn’t unique to us – studios behind games like Kingdom Come: Deliverance and Rain World have grappled with similar feedback. This always happens due to the common cognitive bias: what feels obvious to the creator can be completely baffling to the player, leading to frustration and a skewed perception of the game. Here, the only solution is extensive testing and diligent gathering of user feedback.

Before you jump to conclusions — playtesting isn’t always costly. Indie developers on a tight budget start by testing games for free: involving friends, acquaintances or fans. Later, when there’s a bit more room for some spending, developers use low-cost methods like questionnaires and surveys. What’s in it for the people? Participants can be rewarded with game bonuses or free access to the full version after release.

Professional playtesting, which is the most expensive option, is typically reserved for targeting specific audiences (with the help of professional testing services), testing complex or large-scale games, or preparing for a multi-platform release.

Regardless of the budget, these six steps will guide indie developers toward receiving effective and valuable feedback.

1. Prepare for the test.

Without proper preparation, feedback can end up vague (e.g., “the graphics could be better,” “the controls feel awkward,” or “the interface is confusing”).

Such feedback doesn’t address the core issues. For example, what specifically needs improvement in the graphics — is it the style, texture quality, or overall atmosphere?  Similarly, what makes the controls feel awkward — is it the character’s sluggishness, the button layout, or delayed responsiveness?

2. Build a playable demo or early access version.

The goal of a demo is to offer a focused, polished experience that represents the core elements of the game, enticing players while also providing enough context for actionable feedback.  When creating a demo, several important factors need the team’s careful consideration:

The game demo should be short enough to maintain interest but long enough to showcase the key aspects of the game. The optimal duration is 15–30 minutes, depending on the genre and testing objectives. This time allows players to explore the core mechanics, and understand the overall style and atmosphere, but not get tired or lose interest.

If the demo is too short (e.g., 5–10 minutes), players might not have enough time to immerse themselves in the game or appreciate its potential. On the other hand, if it’s too long (e.g., 1–2 hours), players can become fatigued, especially if the tested content is repetitive or lacks a clear conclusion.

The perfect balance would be a limited amount of content, showcasing the most important elements of the game, such as controls, core mechanics, and unique features. Plus, an ending with an engaging moment that leaves the player intrigued and eager for the full version.

3. Create channels for player feedback to conduct surveys and encourage playtesting at different stages of development.

Choosing the right platform to test your game is crucial because it determines what kind of audience you will attract, what data you will collect, and how useful it will be for improving your project. Different platforms provide access to different types of players, from a creative community for early prototypes to a mass audience for testing final versions. The right platform will allow the team to focus on the right aspects of the game and get quality feedback, saving time and resources. It also dictates the format of interaction with players, be it face-to-face, analytics or gameplay observation.

Thus, the platform directly affects the success of testing and finalizing the game before its release. We can distinguish the main platforms depending on the stage of testing:

Platforms for Early Testing (Prototypes and Concepts):

Platforms for Large-Scale Testing (Later Stages):

For community engagement, these would be a great pick:

Attending game conferences is a good opportunity to test games in both early and late stages. These events allow studios to witness firsthand how attendees approach and interact with your game, which provides valuable insights into user behavior. Feedback can be obtained not only from players but also from peers and game development professionals at the conference. A myriad of perspectives can only make the final experience better. In addition, participating in such events allows you to feel like a player-tester, learning about other developers’ games.

This dual perspective helps empathize with new players testing the game and gain a deeper understanding of their issues and experiences – all in a very relaxed and enjoyable atmosphere.

4. Conducting a test

During testing, players launch a demo version of the game, often with prior instructions from developers on specific aspects to test (e.g., controls, level difficulty, or new mechanics).

In synchronous testing, developers observe the process in real-time via streaming platforms like Discord or Zoom, or in person, noting players’ actions, delays, errors, or reactions. Players report difficulties or shortcomings directly during gameplay.

In asynchronous testing, players test the game independently, recording their actions through screenshots or videos or through completing a questionnaire afterwards. Testing results are collected through surveys with closed and open-ended questions, gameplay recordings (videos or screenshots), automatic metrics (completion time, number of errors), and direct feedback. Surveys help structure the data, recordings allow observation of player actions, and metrics provide objective measurements. All this is analyzed to identify bugs, design issues, and player behavior, which helps in making improvements to the game.

5. Identify the most useful feedback.

Distinguish constructive feedback from noise. Constructive feedback is often specific, actionable, and repeated by multiple participants. “I don’t like this feature” isn’t helpful, but ‘I think this feature is too complicated because…’ provides context and possible areas for improvement.

Identify recurring themes: Monitor feedback to find common complaints or requests. Recurring issues are usually indicative of broader player concerns.

Balance player feedback with the game vision: Not all feedback will match the original vision. Avoid veering off course unless the reviews offer something useful to the core experience.

The reality is that, no matter how thorough the preparation, it’s impossible to anticipate every situation. For instance, you need to account for the countless combinations of drivers and software. A game might run smoothly on one computer but lag or fail to start on another. In Highfleet we faced an issue where the mouse wouldn’t work for users with software installed to connect PlayStation gamepads. It was unexpected, to say the least, and there was no way of anticipating this issue. These problems are nearly impossible to identify until hundreds or thousands of players install the game and start playing.

But, once all possible issues have been identified, it’s time to get down to work.

6. Incorporate the selected feedback into the development:

Implement an agile update schedule. Agile, iterative updates allow you to incorporate changes in smaller, manageable steps, showing players that their feedback leads to visible improvements.

Keep a flexible but structured roadmap. Use feedback to adjust, but keep a clear roadmap to avoid being overwhelmed by new ideas. A flexible approach with milestone adjustments helps keep the project on track.

Even after you have received and processed feedback, it is important to maintain a relationship with the community. It is important to inform players about improvements, incorporate their suggestions and build a loyal fanbase through transparent communication.

Regular updates and patch notes. Publish updates summarizing major changes, bug fixes, and improvements. Patch notes should include specific community feedback so players can see the impact.

Work with player suggestions. Even if a suggestion is not implemented, respond to players with reasons. This promotes understanding and respect by showing that all feedback is taken into account.

Playtesting is an essential step in the development process for indie game creators. It offers valuable insights and provides a realistic picture of the situation at hand before a launch. By setting up accessible feedback channels, identifying valuable input, and establishing open communication, developers can make decisions that are driven by real data, and improve their games to better fit expectations while keeping the core that makes the game unique.

Feeling valued as a player is one of the key notions that support the major fanbases that exist in the gaming world today. And, it is a two-way street: you take care of the player’s joy, and they will take care of the game’s success. Early supporters can become loyal fans in a heartbeat and will be the foundation that will keep the game living and thriving.

No game is immune to unexpected challenges, but a solid playtesting process and a strong connection with your fans give you the best chance to create that one-in-a-million game we all strive for.