First Playtests: Core Loop Survival Guide for Indies

So, you’ve finally reached the point where your precious indie game is… something. It’s not just a fever dream in your head anymore. Time for the dreaded, yet vital, first playtests.

Defining Your Core Loop Before Playtests

Before you even think about inviting people over, you need a clear definition of your core loop. What is the fundamental action a player repeats, that drives them forward? Don’t vaguely say "explore and fight".

Is it "Explore -> Find Resource -> Craft Item -> Fight Stronger Enemy"? Get specific.

Why is this important before testing? Because you’re testing the loop itself. If you don’t know what it is, you can’t tell if it works.

I once worked on a roguelike where we thought the core loop was about building a character through finding equipment. Turns out, players were ignoring the fancy equipment and focusing purely on cheesing the enemy AI with basic attacks. The loop we envisioned simply wasn’t the loop they played. Defining your intended loop first lets you identify these crucial disconnects.

Structuring Your First Playtests

Forget elaborate setups. Your first playtests should be lean and mean.

Invite 3-5 people who roughly fit your target audience. These don’t need to be industry veterans. Friends, family, or random strangers from online forums are perfectly acceptable.

The key here is observation.

Tell them as little as possible upfront. Just enough to get them started. Then, shut up and watch. Resist the urge to explain your brilliant design decisions. Let them stumble. Let them struggle. That’s where the gold is.

Take notes. Lots of notes. Timestamped notes are even better. Note what they do, not just what they say. Someone saying “This is fun!” while looking bored is a valuable data point.

Prepare a short, focused questionnaire for afterwards. Don’t ask open-ended questions like "What did you think?". Instead, ask specific questions tied to your core loop. "On a scale of 1 to 5, how satisfying was it to craft the sword?".

Gathering Actionable Feedback on a Shoestring

Indie developers rarely have access to professional playtesting labs. That’s okay. You can still get gold-standard data.

Prioritize observing player behavior over their opinions. People are notoriously bad at articulating why they do things. They’ll say they didn’t like crafting because it was "too complicated", when the real reason might be that the UI was unclear.

Look for patterns. One person struggling with something might be an outlier. Three people struggling with the same thing is a problem.

Don’t get defensive about negative feedback. It’s easy to dismiss criticism as "they just don’t get it". Maybe they don’t. Or maybe your game isn’t communicating its mechanics effectively.

I remember one playtest where everyone hated a particular enemy type. I was convinced they were just playing it wrong. Turns out, the enemy’s telegraph animation was subtly different from its actual attack timing, making it feel unfair. A small tweak fixed the problem and everyone loved fighting it afterwards. Humble pie never tasted so good.

Iterating on Your Core Loop: Avoid These Pitfalls

The feedback is in. Now what? Resist the urge to implement every suggestion. Focus on the why behind the feedback, not the what.

Don’t be afraid to drastically change your core loop if the data suggests it’s fundamentally flawed. This is the hardest part, but it’s also the most important.

One of the biggest mistakes I’ve seen indie developers make is clinging to their initial vision, even when the playtests clearly show it’s not working. Be willing to kill your darlings.

Another common pitfall is adding features to mask a weak core loop. A shiny new mechanic won’t fix a fundamental problem with the game’s foundation.

Instead, focus on refining the core loop until it’s genuinely engaging. This might mean simplifying things, removing unnecessary complexity, or even completely rethinking the player’s core actions.

Remember, playtesting is an iterative process. You’re not trying to create the perfect game in one go. You’re trying to incrementally improve it, one playtest at a time. Good luck!