Five fresh players. One better shooter.
Use this guide with five people who have not played ScrapBlaster. Allow 10–15 minutes each. Watch quietly, then ask what they enjoyed and what made them stop.
These are real playtests to run—not completed results. Use each player’s own device so their saves stay separate. Do not reset an existing player’s progress.
1. Let them discover it
- Launch from the Home Screen if installed. Ask them to start World 1 without help.
- Let them play the first three minutes. Note hesitation, accidental taps, trouble aiming, and whether they discover Dash.
- Watch their first upgrade choice. Ask afterward what they expected it to do and whether they noticed the difference.
- Try a later level and the World 1 final boss using the unlocked testing map. Look for unfair hits, blocked movement, unclear weak points, and long empty stretches.
2. Check the phone experience
- Rotate upright and back; confirm the game pauses and fills the screen correctly.
- Switch apps for 30 seconds, then return. Expect the title screen and working sound after pressing Start.
- Try left-handed controls, button sizes, and camera shake off. Check buttons remain reachable.
- Long-press and double-tap gameplay. Neither should select text or zoom the page.
- Play for at least ten minutes on one older phone. Note heat, stuttering, audio dropouts, and any crash.
- With a new update available, check Settings → More → Check for updates. Confirm earned progress survives the reload.
3. Capture the useful details
Open Settings → More → Playtest feedback. Choose a fun rating, identify the main problem, and save the report. The report includes the current level, combat counters, frame timing, and notes. Nothing is sent automatically; ask the player to share the downloaded file with Phil.
| Player / device | First hesitation | Unfair or confusing moment | Would play again? Why? |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | |||
| 2 | |||
| 3 | |||
| 4 | |||
| 5 |
4. Pick the next three fixes
Group repeated problems. Fix crashes or lost progress first, then control problems and unfair deaths, then pacing and rewards. Pick the three issues observed most often. Repeat the same test after those fixes; compare observations rather than guessing from a single rating.
Test targets: start without coaching, understand the first upgrade, identify the source of damage, resume reliably, and want another run. Automated checks cannot prove those outcomes.