Survey: Where do devs find good Beta testers?

Discussion in 'Public Game Developers Forum' started by jrtb, Jan 30, 2010.

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Which method works best for you to find good beta testers?

  1. ibetatest.com

    29.2%
  2. posting on touch arcade

    66.7%
  3. posting on other forums

    0 vote(s)
    0.0%
  4. other

    12.5%
  1. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Hey iPhone devs: where do you find Beta testers? The most popular site/service appears to be ibetatest.com - are there others? Are devs able to get enough reliable beta testers by posting here on touch arcade? Are there other good forums for this as well? Have you been able to find beta testers by other means? We'd love to hear about it! Thanks! :)

    James
    Co-Founder and Lead Developer
    fairladymedia.com
     
  2. MikeSz_spokko

    MikeSz_spokko Well-Known Member

    May 27, 2009
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    well, we found some 13-15 beta testers here on TA forum, never even attemted looking anywhere else

    we asked them to write a short "resume" (previously tested games, OS, device etc) and chose best among them

    the results were beyond our expectations :)
     
  3. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Thanks MikeSz_spokko! :)
     
  4. Stroffolino

    Stroffolino Well-Known Member
    Patreon Silver

    Apr 28, 2009
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    Software Engineer
    Pennsylvania
    My recommendations:
    - Get at least 12 testers.
    - Make sure that your first release to the testers is as close to final as possible. If your experiences track mine, you'll get plenty of feedback for an initial alpha, but much less for follow-up build snapshots.
     
  5. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Thanks Stroffolino. Where do you recommend that I find the testers? Here? Elsewhere?

    Thanks!!! :)
     
  6. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    I'm not a developer, but from a beta tester's point of view... most of us can't stand ibetatest.com, it's easier to make a group here on TA.
     
  7. jak56

    jak56 Well-Known Member

    yeah. i went on ibetatest but i gave up after a while as it's so inconvenient
     
  8. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Thanks MidianGTX! :) Could you tell me a bit more about what aspects you don't like about ibetatest.com? PM me if you'd rather. I'd greatly appreciate it!! :) Thanks! :)
     
  9. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Thanks jak56! What specifically did you think was inconvenient? I'd be *very* interested to know! Please PM me if you'd rather. Thanks! :)
     
  10. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    Personally I just find it too formal, it seems more relaxed and friendly in a TA environment. I guess it's partly because here on TA we all know each other, so we make it a group effort to get the game made to it's full potential. When I used iBetaTest it was basically just each individual tester talking to the developer, but not to each other... that kinda made it feel like the whole process was missing a vital link. It was all Q&A sessions and no real conversation.
     
  11. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Fantastic, thanks! :)
     
  12. Vingdoloras

    Vingdoloras Well-Known Member

    Aug 29, 2009
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    Someone else has posted a great beta strategy in another thread.

    For the first beta, get 3 or 5 testers. Listen to their feedback, and so on.

    For the second beta, keep the 3/5 testers from before and add 2 or 3 testers. This way you have some feedback that focuses on the new changes, but also fresh unbiased feedback about the overall feeling of your app, etc.

    You can do it again and again, adding a few testers every time you have a new beta build (or every second build... You get the point...)
     
  13. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    Awesome, thanks Vingdoloras! :) Where would you recommend finding good beta testers for this strategy? Thanks! :)
     
  14. eJayStudios

    eJayStudios Well-Known Member

    Oct 17, 2009
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    Can anyone recommend good beta testers from TA forums?

    Or is it better to start a new thread and sort trough list?
     
  15. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    #15 MidianGTX, Feb 1, 2010
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2010
    Obviously it depends on whether they have time and an interest in your game, but I would say reliable people on here include:

    BOARDUMB
    Devilishly Good
    DGH94
    drelbs
    eggzbacon
    freedog
    ImNoSuperMan
    Kamazar
    Kunning
    LordGek
    Mew2468
    New England Gamer
    spidey146
    Squirt Reynolds
    The Bat Outta Hell
    Prab
    Zincous

    All of those people would be likely to give good feedback and stay active in the beta group. If I missed anyone I either apologize or don't trust you :p
     
  16. eJayStudios

    eJayStudios Well-Known Member

    Oct 17, 2009
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    Thank you, it is really helpful to know that you or other developers where happy with them.

    I completely understand about time/not liking game issues etc. :)

    For some reason I have better luck with beta testers from outside TA (friends etc.), but OTOH I didn't try hard finding them on TA either.

     
  17. MidianGTX

    MidianGTX Well-Known Member

    Jun 16, 2009
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    #17 MidianGTX, Feb 1, 2010
    Last edited: Feb 1, 2010
    I'm not a developer at all, but those people are pretty much the core of the community ;) I'm sure there are plenty of other developers around that would recommend them though, some of them have quite a deep portfolio of beta testing and they'll all engage in conversation rather than give you unhelpful one-word answers.
     
  18. jrtb

    jrtb Well-Known Member

    Dec 31, 2008
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    Raleigh, NC
    By all means, I'd love to see them! :) Thanks! :)
     
  19. New England Gamer

    New England Gamer Moderator
    Staff Member Patreon Silver Patreon Gold Patreon Bronze

    Jul 30, 2009
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    Hi just want to chime in here that I really appreciate being in the process that beta testing involves. I love watching the product start from the initial stage to its final form. I have beta tested several games with most of the people on Midian's list and can say that we make a very good tag team! We all see the games from a different angle and can honestly say that we cover a good demographic of your average consumer.

    I can also say that while, as a team of beta testers, we are interested in producing the best product; we do not have emotional ties to a dev such as if you had friends beta testing the game. Therefore, our feedback would be honest and would not be influenced by perhaps "hurting your feelings."

    Also a team from TA can publicize your game and give it the build up and hype pre-release. When it is released you have a crew of people ready to post that they already played this game and is great, blah blah blah. Its all pretty win-win really.

    But ultimately its how much a dev wants to manage a team of beta testers and all that that entails. I can see beta testing done in whatever way makes the dev most comfortable ultimately.
     
  20. Kunning

    Kunning Well-Known Member

    Aug 30, 2009
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    Well, I was going to chime in here, but NEG seems to have said everything for me. :p

    Couldn't give me a few sentences of the speech, could you?

    Anyways, yeah, everybody on that list (including me, haha) is a really great beta tester, especially New England Gamer and Eggzbacon.
     

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