About beta games...

I was just wondering... My game is only at a very early stage though I putting a lot of efforts and time and work in it... I was wondering if it would be a good idea to put some beta (or should I say very early alpha or gamma?) version of it on the net so that other people might just have a look?
What I want to ask is, would there be people interested in seeing others's job even if it s just very small part games??? is it worth the uploading? would there be many of you people you might be curious to just what I ve made so far, look at the graphics and so... and other people 's games?
I personnaly have seen many users on this forum asking questions about how to do this or that, meaning there are a lot of games being developped but very few screenshots or playable parts... and I personnaly would interested of seeing what others can do... so if there are people like me, I would just upload my own little thing, and would like to hear of what the others are doing...
just tell me... is it worth it or should I just wait for the completion of my game before releasing it???
(this wouldn t be a beta-test, just some sort of a show to have people's advices on what I m doing, is it great, is it bad... and being able to compare it with others' job)

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Sounds like a great idea. Taken by Darkness was put up as a beta, if I'm not mistaken.

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Nothing is foolproof to a sufficiently talented fool.
"Logic is futile"-Scott Adams

I have to admit that the response I got from my beta of Kit's ABC Adventure really got me going (more-so than I was before the beta which was a lot). It's good to know whether or not you're heading in the right direction.

I say yes - betas help in several ways - all being positive (I believe).

Good luck!

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In my experiences, beta testing is a crucial part of a game's development as long as you follow a few guidelines to keep things on track.

• Have a goal in mind : Are your testers supposed to be bug/typo hunting? Are they supposed to be judging the quality of the story? Making suggestions for improvements/additions to your game? It is best, in my opinion, if you lay out a clear frame work for your testers so that they know what you are expecting of them.

• Have a system for feedback : A mailing list works well, as does a web board. This allows not only you to get the feedback from your testers, but allows them to communicate as well. This helps to prevent multiple reports of the same bug, plus allows testers to quickly verify/reproduce bugs that others are having.

• Know where you want your game to go : Similar to the first but have a plan for your game. I've found that if you give testers a long enough rope they will drive any project you give them into the ground with requests for features, change this or that, etc. Note that this isn't a criticism; a good tester should have a lot of ideas on ways to "improve" your game. However, what they want may not coincide with your vision and do not let testers deviate you from your vision until you've thought long and hard about it. Just make sure that you know what you want and don't be afraid to nix ideas given to you by them if they don't fit your designs.

• Have a rough time schedule : The absolute worst/hardest for me; I suck at guestimating how long a beta test will last. But it is a good idea, if you plan on having "core" testers, to give them an indication about how long you will require their services. Expect that some testers will quit before testing is done, and you will probably pick up some new testers part way through. But people on the whole like to know whether they are signing up for a short-term project or one that they can pass off to their children...

All in all I think a beta test is a good thing and can turn a decent project into an excellent project. Testers find things you would never think of and can point out areas that can be improved. They are also a good sounding board for ideas that you may have but aren't sure of. But by far the most important thing about the beta test is a good set of testers. And unfortunately you will find them through luck, mostly. But when you find good ones be sure to keep them around.

Good luck.

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