Bay Area folk: Sign up to be a SBCG4AP playtester!

[Emily]

If you live near our San Rafael, CA office and would like to throw your name into the hat for Strong Bad's Cool Game for Attractive People playtests, please make your wishes known (http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad/playtesting). We hold a playtest a few weeks before an episode is finished. Often, pizza is served.

Also, tell your friends!

Update: 102 playtest coming soon, so if you're local and would like to participate but haven't submitted your name yet, please do!

[Iron Curtain]

Too bad. I live in NYC (which rules, no doubt, but the Bay Area has its Amenities (and lots of them, I might add)).

[Shauntron]

Scoretastic :D

[Damon]

Great chance for everyone to see the studio gifts Live and In Person! :D

[Mel]

I was just at TT the other day and I can't believe how FULL it is. I was last there to playtest 201 and it was pretty barren with a bunch of empty cubicles. I also saw the Moai lamp, which was really cool. :)

[wefeelgroove]

Curse my living on the East Coast! *shakes fist*

[Maratanos]

OK, I gotta know. If all the playtests are in San Rafael, why do you need to ask where people live and if they can get on-site?

[Emily]

Because a lot of people respond even if they don't live nearby, and that's the only way to sort through and find the people who do. :p

[ShaggE]

My East side brethren and sistren (it's a word now, foo's!)... we need a Telltale-bound road trip... :p

[Freelance Poster]

I was wondering about something. After the playtesting commences can we bug the playtesters of the game about what the game is like on this board :), or do they have to sign some sort of confidentiality agreement?

[tabacco]

Nope. Non-disclosure agreements all 'round.

[Kaldire]

My lips would be sealed, but lemme ask...
Is Sacramento considered out of reach? Its not that far of a drive. I would love to attend if others don't take priority. (and its not held at 8am or something insane)

I'm not local, but SF isn't local to SR in my opinion.. its like saying Sacramento is Marysville (its not yet every year warped tour is held in Sacramento's Sleeptrain...residing in Marysville)

I filled out the application anyway but I was just wondering how far you will go out. If just local you should say that on the application (MUST BE LOCAL)
the forum was the first time I saw SF residents was needed.

[tabacco]

That's up to you, really. If you can get to San Rafael, you're more than welcome :)

[Emily]

We included the "Where do you live?" question to help us understand where people are coming from, but anyone who says they can come on-site will be considered. :)

[Shauntron]

Playtest normally start at noon (?) so as long as you can wake up at a sane hour to get to San Rafael I think you can call yourself local.

[Mel]

My lips would be sealed, but lemme ask...
Is Sacramento considered out of reach? Its not that far of a drive. I would love to attend if others don't take priority. (and its not held at 8am or something insane)

I'm not local, but SF isn't local to SR in my opinion.. its like saying Sacramento is Marysville (its not yet every year warped tour is held in Sacramento's Sleeptrain...residing in Marysville)

I filled out the application anyway but I was just wondering how far you will go out. If just local you should say that on the application (MUST BE LOCAL)
the forum was the first time I saw SF residents was needed.

I've gone in multiple times and I live in Davis. You'd just have to tack on another 10 miles. They have yet to lock the doors when I arrive. :p

Edit: It usually takes me 1 and a quarter to 1 and a half hours to drive in. It's usually on a Saturday, so the traffic isn't bad at all.

[jackcos13]

I was cheeky. I asked them for a .exe file because I can't reach their offices. Why? I live in the UK. :)

[tabacco]

Sorry guys, we're not distributing builds outside the office for now. Gotta come to us or nothing :)

[Iron Curtain]

Sorry guys, we're not distributing builds outside the office for now. Gotta come to us or nothing

That seems fair. You know what I would call a build distributed outside of your office before release?

A leak.

[wisp]

on the other hand: in the age of digital distribution worldwide online-testing should be possible...maybe in a few years.

anyway, next time you do the testing thing, could you notify me maybe a half year beforehand? i can then file a vacation request on time..

[Seg]

on the other hand: in the age of digital distribution worldwide online-testing should be possible...maybe in a few years.

That's not quite the purpose for a play test. It's not testing in the sense of bug hunting and reporting. A play test is our chance to have people approach the game with fresh eyes and tell us how it plays. It's for us to figure out what works, as opposed to what breaks.

For this, person-to-person communication is needed both individually and in a group setting. We want to have a conversation with the people who play the game and figure out what works and what doesn't. For this very reason, play testing is done on-site.

[Mel]

That's not quite the purpose for a play test. It's not testing in the sense of bug hunting and reporting. A play test is our chance to have people approach the game with fresh eyes and tell us how it plays. It's for us to figure out what works, as opposed to what breaks.

For this, person-to-person communication is needed both individually and in a group setting. We want to have a conversation with the people who play the game and figure out what works and what doesn't. For this very reason, play testing is done on-site.

Not enough game developers do this. :)

[ShaggE]

Not enough game developers are located in Pennsylvania. :)

Fix'd. :p

[Tester Scott]

Thats because everywhere except California is bunc. CA for the win!!! HAHAHAHAHAHA. Oh and all those awesome developers not located in California are a shame. Their offices are really here but for tax purposes they claim to be elsewhere. :)

[ShaggE]

We have Amish. Booyah! :D You guys just have a few Beach Boys, RHCP, and Tupac songs based on you. We have AMISH! :D


Wait... damn... you win this time! *shakes fist toward sky*

[Erwin]

That's not quite the purpose for a play test. It's not testing in the sense of bug hunting and reporting. A play test is our chance to have people approach the game with fresh eyes and tell us how it plays. It's for us to figure out what works, as opposed to what breaks.

For this, person-to-person communication is needed both individually and in a group setting. We want to have a conversation with the people who play the game and figure out what works and what doesn't. For this very reason, play testing is done on-site.

TMAP (a testing standard our company uses, don't know if it's known outside of Europe) calls this method "ghosting". Testers (and sometimes we developers too) would watch people use the software, and see how they respond to it, and how they use the GUI.

It's not often used, but very insightful.

--Erwin

[wisp]

that sounds fun..instead of working yourself, watch other people work.

@seg: the playtesting you do at the moment seems to be definitely working and having a few people onsite, so you can talk to them in person, is probably the best way to do it, but that doesn't mean you couldn't also do online-tests. of course this is completely theoretically...but, since telltale has quite a few international cutomers, wouldn't it be interesting to know how they react to a game beforehand? some jokes just don't work for other cultures..

[Seg]

@seg: the playtesting you do at the moment seems to be definitely working and having a few people onsite, so you can talk to them in person, is probably the best way to do it, but that doesn't mean you couldn't also do online-tests.

For the case of Wii titles, it requires special Wii hardware in order to play the Wii version. That blows any chance of remoting it right there. But playtesting isn't about sending someone out to play the game and report back the results, it's also observing the player while they are working the project. It's a lot better to have people on-site. While granted it would be nice to include a wider cross-section, the technology hoops to allow remoting hinder the goals of playtesting. I should mention that the world really loves the Sam & Max yet we still playtested in English at our studios.

Playtesting is actually very common in the games industry. It's just not very common that the studio makes a casting call on the internet publicly. As an example, Harmonix was all about who you knew. To get into a playtest was for someone who had done it prior to bring a guest.

[Mel]

it's also observing the player while they are working the project.

Heh. When I was playtesting 201 (I think it was that) and I was playing the boxing game, I was sitting sort of close to Brendan's cubicle and I wasn't getting the gameplay and muttering/swearing under my breath. He heard me and came over to help (and I think they may have even tweaked that a bit for idiots like me :p).

[Locomojo]

Heh. When I was playtesting 201 (I think it was that) and I was playing the boxing game, I was sitting sort of close to Brendan's cubicle and I wasn't getting the gameplay and muttering/swearing under my breath. He heard me and came over to help (and I think they may have even tweaked that a bit for idiots like me :p).

Hehe, yeah swearing always helps in software development. On my machine, cursing is setup as a macro. I think "barbara streisand" is setup as Shift+F11

:D

[Chuck]

but, since telltale has quite a few international cutomers, wouldn't it be interesting to know how they react to a game beforehand? some jokes just don't work for other cultures..
During playtests, we usually focus on making sure the story's clear and whether the playtesters think the puzzles and minigames make sense and are fun. We don't usually monitor testers' reactions to the dialogue or jokes, because that stuff is so subjective, and also because if you start trying to write for a particular audience, it comes out lame.

[Shauntron]

During playtests, we usually focus on making sure the story's clear and whether the playtesters think the puzzles and minigames make sense and are fun. We don't usually monitor testers' reactions to the dialogue or jokes, because that stuff is so subjective, and also because if you start trying to write for a particular audience, it comes out lame.

Do you think Comedic timing still has a technical component in editing that might be worth adjusting per audience reaction?

[LuigiHann]

Do you think Comedic timing still has a technical component in editing that might be worth adjusting per audience reaction?

Nah, that's intuition.

[Sterrance]

Ahh, if only you were SoCal.

[Jake]

Do you think Comedic timing still has a technical component in editing that might be worth adjusting per audience reaction?

I imagine that if a bunch of people specifically call out a scenario that isn't reading, it would be addressed, but successful comedic timing is usually up to the discretion of the choreographer responsible for that scene (and the writers). Like, as in, making sure a joke times out well is part of their job when putting together dialog scenes.

Nah, that's intuition.

Says what I was trying to say more succinctly.

[Shauntron]

Will I be breaking my NDA by saying that I was happy with what I played?

Really, was fun as usual. Good to see folks again and meet new ones. Scott you're pretty much as amped in person as you are on the net, and that's something when you're at work at 6pm on a saturday.

[Iron Curtain]

Will I be breaking my NDA by saying that I was happy with what I played?

Considering that this doesn't tell me any new info, except that you liked what you played (which isn't as revealing as say, any type of Spoilers), I don't see that as breaking the NDA...

...Then again, I'm not a lawyer for Telltale, so...

[Will]

Will I be breaking my NDA by saying that I was happy with what I played?

Really, was fun as usual. Good to see folks again and meet new ones. Scott you're pretty much as amped in person as you are on the net, and that's something when you're at work at 6pm on a saturday.

Our lawyers will be at your door within the hour. Don't try to leave. We will find you.

[Shauntron]

Our lawyers will be at your door within the hour. Don't try to leave. We will find you.

I was very neutral and tepid about what I may or may not have played.

...ambiguous.

[Will]

Well ok... we will let you off. THIS TIME!

[Kaldire]

Lol

I had fun too :P

(Kal runs and dives into the nearby bushes!)

[Iron Curtain]

Lol

I had fun too :P

(Kal runs and dives into the nearby bushes!)

*bush moves towards Pizza place*

Kaldire: Can I have some free Pizza?

Pizza cooks: Sure thing, bush!

see
here (http://www.homestarrunner.com/sbemail178.html) for reference

[Kaldire]

hahaha nice.. I know this email too.. awesome.. a textile factory disguise... id love to see that.

[Givil]

is it done i relly wanted to do it:,(

[tabacco]

We'll be doing more playtests for the rest of the episodes.

[Darkblade07]

Dang I wish I could live close enough to be a tester

[Krodge]

Dang I wish I could live close enough to be a tester

Second.

Hopefully someday Telltale will grow into a big enough company to have several branches, perhaps near my home, in which case I'll come apply for a playtest job.

[Znex]

Dang I wish I could live close enough to be a tester
Second.
Third. :D

[ShaggE]

@Krodge: Telltale North will be a huge success! *crosses fingers for Point Click Auto: Max City*

[Znex]

What about Telltale Australia? WHAT ABOUT TELLTALE AUSTRALIA?!?! ARGLBLBL

[Shwoo]

By which you mean Telltale Canberra, right? Right?

You live sort of near Canberra, Znex.

[Znex]

By which you mean Telltale Canberra, right? Right?

You live sort of near Canberra, Znex.
Yeah, kinda. But Sydney would make more sense, since it's bigger and better, like California is to Washington DC.

[Juhsayngul]

Telltale Australia could be in Michigan.

[Znex]

Erm...Michigan's in America, you fool.

"I Pity The Fool"

[Shwoo]

Yeah, kinda. But Sydney would make more sense, since it's bigger and better, like California is to Washington DC.
More like New York. California and Washington DC are on opposite coasts. Also, California is a state. Queensland can be California. And far north Queensland can be Florida. I realise that Queensland and Sydney are both in the east, but there's nothing in the west but Perth.

[ShaggE]

Did somebody say.... Perth Day?

[MaxFan]

...oh, wait.

[Seg]

Telltale Australia could be in Michigan.

Sorry, but Governor Granholm already sent a clear message that games are bad. Even though the law were overturned, the message is still there.

One of the reasons making me confident about leaving home.

[Juhsayngul]

Granholm bad. We need a Libertarian over here.

But this isn't the place for politics...

[someguyfromazoo]

Granholm bad. We need a Libertarian over here.

But this isn't the place for politics...

Politics BAD!

[TrogLlama]

Politics BAD!
Fire BAD!

[Seg]

Politics BAD!

One industry economy BAD!

Ok ok ok. Let's stop this right now. Stardock (http://www.stardock.com) is being very successful in Plymouth, MI.

[Juhsayngul]

You mean the creators of The Political Machine?? *Politics politics politics politics*

[Iron Curtain]

One industry economy BAD!

Ok ok ok. Let's stop this right now. Stardock (http://www.stardock.com) is being very successful in Plymouth, MI.

But Stardock doesn't have DRM in their programs.

[Strong Max]

How old do you have to be for hiring?

[Tester Scott]

How old do you have to be for hiring?

You have to be old enough to legally work in California. But I doubt at that age you would have the requisite skills. Unless your a savant.

[Juhsayngul]

Yeah, definitely 246 toothpicks.

[Chuck]

But I doubt at that age you would have the requisite skills. Unless your a savant.
Irony.

[Tester Scott]

You have to be old enough to legally work in California. But I doubt at that age you would have the requisite skills. Unless your a savant.

Ouch. Me good with grammar.

[Juhsayngul]

Me well with grammar.

Idiot.

[Iron Curtain]

Me well with grammar.

Idiot.

Actually, Scott was right. It's "good with grammar."

Idiot. :p

[Strong Bad Fan]

Man man I hate NYC.....

Sadly I guess I wont be able to play test. *Curls in a ball and cries.*

[BadStrong]

Hmm, I wonder what it'd be like to work at Homestar's Bank?! (http://www.homestarbank.com/Locations.htm)

[Juhsayngul]

Actually, Scott was right. It's "good with grammar."

Idiot. :p
Why don't people understand jokes anymoar?!!

[BadStrong]

Why don't people understand jokes anymoar?!!

Is that a joke!?!;)

[andersod]

if i live in Ireland, can I still enter???

[tabacco]

You can fill out the form if you like, but unless you're planning to fly out to California, there's not a lot of point.

[andersod]

well maybe i will!!

[Iron Curtain]

Man man I hate NYC.....

Sadly I guess I wont be able to play test. *Curls in a ball and cries.*


You really shouldn't. We have Nintendo World here.

[Iron Curtain]

Why don't people understand jokes anymoar?!!

I was wondering the same thing, considering the smiley I put in my previous post: :p .

[Juhsayngul]

But that was a poor way to pursue a humerus response, in my opinion.

[Molokov]

But that was a poor way to pursue a humerus response, in my opinion.

Would a radius response be any better? How about an ulna or a tibula or fibia? A clavicle? Or a femur, that must be what you're looking for.

;)

[Iron Curtain]

Would a radius response be any better? How about an ulna or a tibula or fibia? A clavicle? Or a femur, that must be what you're looking for.

;)

Perhaps he was talking about his funny bone...Yeah, that's the ticket!

[Juhsayngul]

Would a radius response be any better? How about an ulna or a tibula or fibia? A clavicle? Or a femur, that must be what you're looking for.

;)
Now that was funny. You know how to catch these things.

[BadStrong]

I don't quite see how that was so funny. Clever? Somewhat. Funny? No.

[Will]

Ok, clearing this up once and for all. We are the humor patrol. We are also the thread police. You know that time old saying of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Well we are now under those rules. In short, if you don't think a post is up to the quality of the forum, don't respond. If you don't have anything useful to add to the conversation (within reason), don't post it. Seriously.

[TrogLlama]

Ok, clearing this up once and for all. We are the humor patrol. We are also the thread police. You know that time old saying of "if you don't have anything nice to say, don't say anything at all?" Well we are now under those rules. In short, if you don't think a post is up to the quality of the forum, don't respond. If you don't have anything useful to add to the conversation (within reason), don't post it. Seriously.
Even for that TomSuperman fella?
Sorry. That was a low blow.
Will's (W)right. I mean, I haven't really been helping matters much. Some of the stuff that's cropped up recently... it just bugs me. Still, though, this forum would probably benefit if people (like me...) could just back off and relax.

[BadStrong]

Even for that TomSuperman fella?
Sorry. That was a low blow.
Will's (W)right. I mean, I haven't really been helping matters much. Some of the stuff that's cropped up recently... it just bugs me. Still, though, this forum would probably benefit if people (like me...) could just back off and relax.
I think I'll take that last bit of advice.
Sorry for anything I may have said that was taken the wrong way, or was destructive to these forums.
I will try to keep my opinions to myself.

[someguyfromazoo]

I think I'll take that last bit of advice.
Sorry for anything I may have said that was taken the wrong way, or was destructive to these forums.
I will try to keep my opinions to myself.

Same here.

[Emily]

102 playtest is coming up soon! If you're local and keep meaning to apply as a playtester and haven't yet, the time to act is now (http://www.telltalegames.com/strongbad/playtesting).

[splash1]

you could've released 101 first before you did the playtests for 102

[Emily]

That's not really how it works. :) It's a common misconception that because the games come out a month a part, we only spend a month working on each one, but that's not the case. Each of these games have about a 3 month development cycle from beginning to end. The schedules overlap, so while we're putting the finishing touches on one game, the one right behind it is in active development and the one behind that is just getting started.

So yeah, 102 is almost ready for playtesting, and 103 will be ready for playtesting before 102 comes out. It's a neverending cycle! (Well, until we get to the last episode. Then it ends.)

[splash1]

ohhhh i see now.....so that means 101 comes out tomorrow right? right?!

[Botap]

Curses! It'd be about a two-three hour drive for me. If I was in, say, Vacaville, it'd be a much easier! :)

[stronggamer]

i just signed up

i hope i get in.
damn it im canadian.

[Juhsayngul]

You must sign down.

[someguyfromazoo]

ohhhh i see now.....so that means 101 comes out tomorrow right? right?!

No.

[TomSuperman]

Even for that TomSuperman fella?
Sorry. That was a low blow.
Will's (W)right. I mean, I haven't really been helping matters much. Some of the stuff that's cropped up recently... it just bugs me. Still, though, this forum would probably benefit if people (like me...) could just back off and relax.

Telling about gonterman was not much better. And you can insult someone like that especially since it is irrelevant.

[TrogLlama]

Telling about gonterman was not much better. And you can insult someone like that especially since it is irrelevant.
Well, it's good to know you're okay with it. Glad I can go forward with your blessing.

[TomSuperman]

Well, it's good to know you're okay with it. Glad I can go forward with your blessing.

Yeah I am okay with it.

[splash1]

No.

no no no....that's all i ever hear from you, don't you ever say yes?

[someguyfromazoo]

no no no....that's all i ever hear from you, don't you ever say yes?

Yes.See? I did it.

[littlehaze416]

hes obviously used to denying all the names people call him.

[someguyfromazoo]

Who, me?

[mhaley]

I think it is partly my fault for the "Bay Area" bit. I responded about Sam & Max 104 play testing way back in February of 2007. Thing is, I live in the Los Angeles area, and couldn't work out my travel arrangements in time. Rest assured, I wasn't planning on driving that far. One of these days, I'm going to get up to San Rafael, though.

For now, at least I've been fortunate enough to meet a few of the Telltalians at conventions, such as E For All Expo and Comic-Con. Speaking of which, I wonder if Telltale will be making a presence at this year's E For All Expo. If they aren't, I can't think of a legitimate reason to attend. Overall, it sucked last year.

[Jake]

We won't have any show floor presence at E for All this year, to my knowledge.

[Jade_Ottsel]

Signed up...I actually live not that far from San Rafael. :) Whenever the next season starts, do you guys plan on doing the same kind of playtest form for Sam and Max, as well?

[tabacco]

Most likely :)

[Luigi]

I will move to get to test it! Hear me? MOVE!

[Ben Again]

What episode is being tested now/where can I find out? Not that I plan on testing, but to get an idea of how... fine... it's goin'.

[Jake]

Episode 3 test is the next one up -- happening very soon.

[Alucard]

I'd like to do a remote test for Canada. You know for ummmm cultural sensitivity and to make sure it is compatible with the computers up here in the great white north.
:p

[splash1]

Episode 3 test is the next one up -- happening very soon.

oh boy! and once again i can't come :(

[Kaldire]

well thanks to my car stopping (yes full on stopping) on CA 37... I didnt make it to telltale.
I could almost see it from where I was off the road though.

Took the tow driver 90 minutes just to get there, much less drive me back to Sacramento.
Sigh... hope telltale doesnt hate me now.. I tried to call but all I got were messages from the worker bee's.

ah mush...trogdor must have known I was comin..

[tabacco]

Oh man, that's pretty rough. There's always next time, though!

Hope your car isn't massively broken.

[Ben Again]

I'd like to do a remote test for Canada. You know for ummmm cultural sensitivity and to make sure it is compatible with the computers up here in the great white north.
:p

Yeah, there no different from computers sold in the US. Why make, say, a IMB (or whatever) computer differently in each and every country? But play testing here would be good. Isn't there some way? Maybe send us some demo thing that is unusable after some date?

[tabacco]

Yeah, there no different from computers sold in the US. Why make, say, a IMB (or whatever) computer differently in each and every country? But play testing here would be good. Isn't there some way? Maybe send us some demo thing that is unusable after some date?

Sorry, coming into the office is the only way :)

[splash1]

Sorry, coming into the office is the only way :)

awww, can't we pay you or something?

[Kaldire]

cars alternator just went out and with it the battery... 37 is soo close to you too.. sigh..
the tow driver scared me
"tell em.. large marge sent ya!!!" (cackle into the night)

odd thing is the car just got its engine redone.. im thinking the mechanics are havin fun with my wallet.. hmm

[tabacco]

Well, the alternator isn't part of the engine per se, it's just driven by it via belt. IF you battery is failing mid-drive, though, it almost certainly is the alternator :(

[Shauntron]

If you're daring, you can take the alternator out yourself with a socket kit (if it's easy enough to reach, mine isn't) just to see if the brushes are worn. The brushes are little carbon rods in the alternator that gradually wear and cost like $10 for a pair. That might be a good alternative to taking it back to the shop, where they may want to replace the whole thing which is like $200 not including labor.

Good luck, sorry you couldn't make it.

[Kaldire]

Next time gadget

next time
(evil deep laugh followed by cough and a meow from fatcat)

Thanks for the heads up on the brushes, sad to report I already replaced the alt. No chance to test the idea now!

Thanks for all the love guys

[metalkombat]

Hmmm.... if I did my math correctly, Wisconsin = not anywhere near California. But I dont want to whine about it, so I'll just sit here and wait for the actual game. I'd hate to poison these sacred forums with complaints and/or other shenannigans.

[Lena_P]

Wow, great games and car advice! Telltale really does it all. Can you guys tell me what a ripe star fruit looks like? Seriously though, can any one tell me when the play testing for episode 4 will be? It seems like it should be coming up soon.

[Emily]

We'll be playtesting episode 4 within the next few weeks.