Industry Vet Says Pre-Teens Make the Best Testers

[Dexiro]

Seriously? That's what he thinks?

If you're going by this mind-set, you can't have one single remotely difficult part in your game. If you do, the kids are going to start scream and cry in anger, blaming everything on the game instead of their lack of skill.

It makes a lot of sense really. While they wouldn't be ideal for more difficult games they're definitely better at smoothing out the easy sections.

Adults have pre-determined ideas of what they need to look for, they'll notice things that they've seen in games 100 times before. Kids just cause chaos though and scan the least likely corners of a game for breakage and giving feedback on the slightest little problems.

The best developers should use both kid and adult testers where suitable

 

[Cherry Cola]

Seriously? That's what he thinks?

If you're going by this mind-set, you can't have one single remotely difficult part in your game. If you do, the kids are going to start scream and cry in anger, blaming everything on the game instead of their lack of skill.

It makes a lot of sense really. While they wouldn't be ideal for more difficult games they're definitely better at smoothing out the easy sections.

Adults have pre-determined ideas of what they need to look for, they'll notice things that they've seen in games 100 times before. Kids just cause chaos though and scan the least likely corners of a game for breakage and giving feedback on the slightest little problems.

The best developers should use both kid and adult testers where suitable

...

Why was I quoted on something I wrote nearly half a year ago?

Damn necroers, confusing me all the time!

As for your actual comment, it makes some sense, but I still don't agree with this being a good idea. I've seen several kids play video games, and they do nothing like what you just described that they do. They just run around in confusion until I have to help them understand how a mechanic that was introduced 5 minutes ago work.