I found some beta testers here at TouchArcade, a few were friends that I've known for quite some time, others were friends of friends that I trust
Wow, thanks NEG! That's a very valuable perspective. It certainly sounds like recruiting beta testers on TA is the best approach. Thanks again!
I am proffesional beta-tester, who has already tons of experience. All developers I have been working with, find my job as excellent and want it to continue in the future projects. But I was not mentioned by Midian because good beta testers are kept like treasures I think. Proffesionals are not users who are shouting at beta-testing game thread: "I am testing this game. It is so awesomeeeeee!". They deliver their reports and feedback directly to the developer via e-mail. I voted for "TA forums", because this is magical place. This is where I gathered my experience, and this is where You can find the most unique and creative people. What can I advice You more? Ask other developers about their list of potential best beta-testers. They are those, who know the best. Yours,
Are you not involved?! I didn't mention you because I don't really know you The people I mentioned are all very professional in their approach though. To be honest delivering reports via email is part of what I don't like about beta testing in places other than TA, which is why I prefer the group environment where you can discuss the game with multiple people in a more casual manner. Formality feels too much like a job, and jobs are less enjoyable than hobbies Obviously all developers and testers have their own preferences though.
Yes, exactly. I find delivering reports and feedback directly to the developers as great solution. Then You can present YOUR opinion, as a person and as a gamer, not as a group of people where feedback is taken overally and statistically. And contact via e-mails does not have to be formal too. You can make a friendship with developers and keep Your realtinship with him at chilled level. By the way, I don't camplain You didn't mention me in Your list. I am pretty new at TA, but I am doing my best to participate as much as I can and keep posts at decent, intelligent level. Best regards,
I've noticed most of the names mentioned above on several of the high-score lists for the games I play. Some devs contact such players directly for both their testing services and valuable feedback on such matters as app store presentation. If a dev is looking for someone with ultimate reliability, especially regarding safeguarding of intellectual property and a mature rapport with the general community, then it makes sense to recruit someone with an established reputation. You may find better gamers out there if you look hard enough, but few of them will offer the rare combination of skill, responsibility, and genuine passion for trying out and mastering new concepts and mechanics. Of course a dev can occasionally hit gold at TA, and end up finding an avid gamer unencumbered by numerous projects, by taking a chance and relying on intuition and apparent topic involvement. For example, a player who is obviously fascinated by tilt games - even to the point of making new levels and sharing with the community - might be a good bet for dev attempting to turn the genre on end with a ground-breaking genre hybrid.
The best way to find a good group of beta testers would be 1. Pick some of the persons mentioned on the list that was posted earlier (as far as I know these guys they should give really good feedback ) 2. (optional, for bigger groups) Open a thread here on TA and ask for some information (email, name, device UDID, previous beta experience, why are you interested in testing our game, what is your favourite game type, etc). Then pick the best ones. 3. (optional if you need even more than what is available for you after 1. and 2. ) Ask for testers on other sites. This one is not recommended, because if you ask for testers on one site only, then you can have some centralized discussions etc. Don't forget to make a "<App Name> beta group!" social group here on TA. You can make them "Moderated", which means that nobody can enter the group if you don't accept the group application, and you can hide the group content, so everything about your beta stays secret until the release or until the app is ready
I've not been in beta testing for a while now due to time constraints but with only one exception the betas I have joined were started on TA, or at least recruited from here as well. The one beta I joined on ibetatest.com fell apart and very little feedback was given in comparison to ones organized through TA with a developers website/forum for feedback posts and builds sent trough email. Given thats only one experience from ibetatest.com but if I were a dev I would recruit from here.
