The Unbearable Lightness of Indie Game Testing
All images courtesy of Karhukuvat
As I pour my heart and soul into developing Marras, one truth stands out: gameplay testing and player feedback are the lifeblood of creating something truly special. But as any solo developer knows, the path to harnessing that feedback is fraught with challenges. Testing an indie game feels like part art, part science, and a whole lot of patience. In this post, I’ll share common hurdles I’ve faced in indie game testing before and the strategies I’m using while working on Marras to navigate them. I’m hoping to shed light on the process for fellow developers and players alike.
Part 1. The Challenges of Indie Game Testing
Being a solo developer often means wearing multiple hats. Programmer, designer, marketer, and community manager, to name a few. This juggling act creates unique challenges when it comes to testing:
Time Constraints: With only so many hours in a day, balancing development, testing, and community engagement is a constant struggle. Every moment spent testing is a moment not spent coding or polishing.
Blindness to Your Work: When you’re too close to a project, it’s hard to spot flaws. Objectivity fades, and what seems intuitive to me might confuse players.
Vague or Contradictory Feedback: Early feedback can be a mixed bag. sometimes vague, sometimes overly critical, or focused on subjective preferences rather than technical issues. Sorting through this to find actionable insights is a challenge.
Maintaining Community Interest: Game development can feel like an eternal journey. Keeping testers engaged over months (or years) requires consistent communication and momentum.
Balancing Transparency and Polish: Sharing early builds fosters trust and gathers valuable feedback, but unpolished versions risk negative first impressions. Players may judge the game based on incomplete features, which could harm its reputation.
Resource Limitations: Responding to feedback often demands multiple iterations, but as a solo developer, I lack the time or manpower to implement changes quickly. This can frustrate players expecting rapid updates.
Prioritizing Feedback: Deciding which feedback to tackle first is tough without clear data on what players value most.
Skewed Tester Demographics: Early testers, often enthusiasts, may not represent the broader audience. Their feedback might lean toward niche preferences, missing the needs of casual or mainstream players.
Reaching Diverse Testers: Without a marketing budget or established networks, connecting with casual players or diverse demographics for testing is no small feat.
Managing Expectations: Players often don’t realize the constraints of a small team, limited time, budget, or technical expertise. Explaining why certain feedback can’t be implemented without sounding defensive is a delicate balance.
Despite these challenges, I’ve been pondering ways to make testing Marras more effective and inclusive. Here are the strategies I’m using to gather meaningful feedback and keep the development process on track:
Leverage AGDG Demo Days on itch.io: Amateur Game Development General (AGDG) demo days are hosted on itch.io, which is perfect for sharing preview builds with fellow developers and, in this case, everyone who is interested in playing unfinished developer versions of Marras. These events provide a low-pressure way to distribute early versions of Marras and gather constructive feedback from a community that understands the grind.
Invite Diverse Testing Communities: To avoid skewed feedback, I’m reaching out to multiple communities one by one with varied backgrounds. The more diverse my external testers, the better I can understand how different players experience Marras. This helps ensure the game resonates with a broader audience.
Prioritize Critical Systems Early: In the initial testing phases, I focus on core mechanics and features over visual polish. By nailing the foundation of Marras first, I can build on a solid base before refining the details.
Create a Feedback Roadmap: To keep players in the loop, I’m sharing my analysis of playtest data and outlining my plans for the next development steps on this blog. This “feedback roadmap” will clearly show which suggestions are planned, under consideration, or shelved, fostering transparency and trust with the community.
Maintain a Public To-Do List: I’m planning to share a public to-do list with milestones, so testers can see what’s in the pipeline and track progress. This not only keeps the community engaged but also helps manage expectations by showing the scope of work ahead.
Part 2. AGDG Demo Day 63 & Initial feedback summary
AGDG Demo Day is a recurring game jam on 4chan's /vg/ board where the Amateur Game Development General community submits playable game demos to itch.io. It encourages developers belonging to its community to showcase progress, share feedback, and stay motivated in a (most of the time) supportive, community-driven environment.
Demo Day 63 focused on gathering feedback on campaign mode difficulty and general impressions from non-shoot ‘em up enthusiasts within the /agdg/ community. As a long-time member, I knew some community members, while not shmup fans, were open to testing new ideas. The demo entry provided critical feedback, boosting confidence in pursuing the campaign mode vision. It also encouraged inviting more players to try early, unfinished developer builds.
Developer previews/builds are available for two weeks post-Demo Day submission, after which they are removed to keep only the latest version accessible limited time, ensuring each entry feels special. I won’t archive deleted builds, but the community is free to do so if they find value in it.
You can find the Demo Day 63 submission from here: https://itch.io/jam/agdg-demo-day-63/rate/3663721
The latest development preview can be downloaded from the following page (DD63 build is up until 20th JULY 2025) https://mint-jams.itch.io/agdgpachi
The initial feedback summary
Gameplay (Campaign mode): Players enjoy the fun, accessible gameplay with short levels and a no-lives system. The “push and pull” spread shot/focus beam is engaging, but the focus transition might need to be snappier. Difficulty varies; early levels feel too easy, level 16 too hard; an easier post-midboss level is suggested. The small player hitbox is hard to understand for new players. Modular boss damage is praised, but boss defeats lack rewarding score/pickups. A visual cue for non-shooting enemies could be added. Collectibles lack a clear purpose before the scoring & resource system is implemented.
Controls: Keyboard, PS5 controller, and Mayflash F101 work well, but older controllers fail, and d-pad use is uncomfortable without stick support. Bomb input is missing from tooltips and is non-functional due to the bomb not yet being implemented. The lock-on button (alt fire) naming can be misleading. Adding a focus button for menus and stick support is planned.
Audio: The nostalgic soundtrack is a hit, but the ship explosion and collectible SFX need more impact. The enemy kill SFX bangs.
Visuals and UI: Polished sprite work shines. Collectibles can feel cluttered. Portals and player death smoke clash stylistically with everything else. The menu is clean but has a ~1s delay in transitions. Player missiles could be juiced up visually. Most of the in-game ui elements are missing.
Bugs: Pause menu issues with mouse click grabbing focus from buttons and bullets not respecting the paused game entity mode. There are issues with post-respawn when not all bullets are removed from the payfield when the player dies (issue with the bullet system). Stage reset can also cause unwanted behaviour with certain SFXs. These are top priorities for fixes.
Next Steps: I’m focusing on bug fixes and working with SFX based on the feedback. The campaign mode difficulty curve will be adjusted, and the Stage 1 main boss will be added. Midboss will be iterated further on, at least adding side miniguns destroyable. Arcade mode will be implemented alongside the in-game ui. The scoring system, item resource system, and bomb mechanic will be added to the player. Considering adding ddp-style laser-damage-aura to focused shot.
There will be the next development preview in the next AGDG demo day after the mentioned features, if not all, at least most of those are implemented.
The Road Ahead
Testing Marras is an ongoing journey, one that’s equal parts exhilarating and exhausting. By embracing diverse feedback, prioritizing critical systems, and maintaining open communication with players, I hope to turn the challenges of indie game testing into opportunities for growth. The process isn’t perfect, but every piece of feedback brings Marras closer to being the game I envision. One that players will love as much as I do. If you’re a developer or player with thoughts on testing indie games, I’d love to hear your perspective! Drop a comment on Marras_HQ or join the testing community on itch.io to help shape Marras’s future. Together, we can navigate the unbearable lightness of indie game testing and create something truly special.
We’ll meet again, don’t know where, don’t know when!
- M