Playtesting Recruitment Post {Draft}
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Hi folks,
Here’s the “final” draft of the post I’m looking to put up on the blog, on the boards, and potentially on Reddit to try and start active recruitment of playtesters. The playtesting process going forward will be a little more rigid. Essentially what we’ll be doing is something as follows:
> Once complete (or x-complete), author posts song thread on the playtesting board.
> In this thread, the author explicitly notes the parts he wants playtesting for.
> I, being super awesome Administrator Responsible for Playtesting, assign testers to the parts requested.
> Assigned testers review these parts — and, if they feel like it, anything else they have time for/want to test.
> A sweet feedback loop of iteration and testing occurs because magic.
> A little ways out from the desired release date, an administrator swoops in like a badass and signs off on the release date if the track is in a good state.
> The track is released. The testers get a cookie (one of my quadrillions from Cookie Clicker).
The recruitment post below is designed to highlight the traits that we consider beneficial, as well as covers the “wants” from testers. Testers are obligated to complete assignments, or they will be removed. They need to communicate the feedback in a valuable way. They can go above and beyond, if they want. In the near future I’m hoping we can codify our standards w.r.t. what a chart “must have” and what a chart “should have” both to let you know what we want as a minimum in a release (e.g. Pro Keys: right-hand animations a must, left-hand animations a nice-to-have) and to help guide testers as to what they should look for.
Considering that playtesting has been mostly down to authors (and mostly down to a small subset of authors), I’m hoping to get this rolled out within a day at most and start getting people in-house for this weekend (to test songs for next week and beyond). What I am looking for is your thoughts on what we’re asking for and the expectations being laid out — if you feel anything is too vague or ambiguous, or if there’s something we should stress that I have completely overlooked, let me know and I will see if it can be worked in.
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Are you a discerning man or woman of wealth and taste? Do you enjoy the fresh new content that the authors comprising the Customs Creators Collective put out every week? Are you interested in helping us to make that content even better? Have you answered yes to the past three questions? If so, consider joining the Collective as a Playtester!
The Customs Creators Collective (C3) is seeking interested members of the community to join the Collective and become a key part of our playtesting process. Reporting to the administrator responsible for playtesting, members of the playtest team will be responsible for providing support to authors and to each other as part of the chart development process. Testers are a key part of this process, as they are able to provide authors with a second (or third, or fourth) set of eyes to identify potential errors and offer recommendations/input on charts prior to their release, helping to deliver a polished product. Playtesting is a great gateway for someone looking to eventual become an author, as you get a feel for the tools, processes, and requirements of authoring a successful, quality full band chart.
Your Responsibilities as a Playtester
- Review charts entering playtest to help identify potential errors and offer solicited input into the chart’s construction.
- Provide succinct, clear feedback to authors, often focusing on authors’ specific requests.
- Complete a number of assigned tests per week (this amount will vary with the number of testers and the number of charts needing review). Failure to complete assigned tests will result in removal from the playtesting team. You can playtest outside of your assigned tests if you feel like going above and beyond, of course.
- Maintain familiarity with RBN charting standards and those of C3 (where they differ).
Essential Qualifications
- Ability to playtest customs in an Xbox 360 environment.
- Familiarity and proficiency with the instrument(s) you wish to test.
- Flexibility within your schedule with regards to number of tests per week.
- Written competence in English.
Preferred Qualifications and Technical Competencies
- Proficiency in multiple instruments, including keys/pro keys and pro guitar.
- Diverse musical tastes.
- Experience authoring customs or RBN charts.
- Familiarity with REAPER.
- Knowledge of music theory.
Other Beneficial Traits
- Analytical Thinking
- Effective Communication Ability
- Flexibility
- Self-Control/Ability to Work Independently
We encourage interested parties to express interest by sending me a private message or e-mailing rockbandharmoniesproject@gmail.com. Please include an e-mail address (if PMing), your account on the C3 forums (if e-mailing), instruments you are able to test (with preferences and difficulties noted), the number of hours you believe you would be able to devote week-to-week to testing, any genre preferences, past testing/beta testing experience (Rock Band or otherwise), and any other cool facts that you think I should know about you, because, why not?
[Note]
Seems to pretty much cover everything, though perhaps you should not have it so it’s a set in stone requirement to be able to test on a Xbox? I mean I do all my tests in Reaper and I feel I manage to get a better in depth look of the charts with Reaper rather than Xbox testing honestly.
Also question, us authors, will we have to do assigned tests or is it enough that we just contribute regularly casually? I tend to try and give a review to at least 1 or 2 songs each week but I have more motivation to do so personally when I know I am not really forced to do it by contractual obligations but is still expected to do a bit of testing in return of releasing charts. Makes it feel more fun and rewarding basically.
The assigned tests are only going to be for people brought on board, though my hope is that authors may (if time permits) pick up the slack there until we get enough of a pool together.
I list the 360 as an essential but I suppose I could trim that now, especially with the Wii conversion thing in place.
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