[mncharity]

> how powerful and unique this situation is [...] cannot be easily replicated

I've long wished for an HN-like community which combined software folks, sci ed researchers and creators, and teachers - to get tighter loops around "What do you think? / Could you try this?". But it still wouldn't be the power of playtesting.

I wonder how one might offer playtesting as a service?

> I want to target people of all ages and backgrounds

This opens up opportunities for guerrilla usability testing with adults. Though I've little idea what forms of it might fit culturally in Japan. In Cambridge MA, I could easily do street conversation testing.

Which still leaves ethical issues. One participant was distressed, "Disgusting!", and I only figured it out later... a (Powers of Ten zoomed) E. coli micrograph can look like poop.

> The importance of playtesting cannot be understated.

s//overstated/. Very yes. I've been gobsmacked by things which turned up in user testing. Example: a scene opens with a cartoon character reading a sign aloud... and the cognitive load spike (new setting + audio + text) disappears the entire event from memory. Literally: pause for feedback, "You should say what this is up front", hit replay, "Oh yes, this version is much better than the first one".

[LandenLove]

I think one of the biggest problems is scale. You need someone to analyze how people are experiencing your game/software. I think there are all sorts of ways you can get feedback. Having people screen record might be a good solution.

> s//overstated/ Oops! I will fix that. Thank you!