You can provide instruction to playtesters via two methods: Custom Briefings and In-Game Tasks. You can also use a combination of both in your playtests. These options may not be available in all plans.  

Custom briefings are entirely optional messages that will be sent to players prior to starting their playtest, both via their playtest invitation email and in a pre-game message.

Custom briefings are great tools if you who want to better contextualize the game for players, such as explaining unfinished features (e.g. placeholder music) or directing players towards areas you’re most eager to test (testing the controls, performance etc). They can also be used to make players aware of known bugs or issues such as long loading times.

If no custom briefing is submitted during the ordering of your playtests, PlaytestCloud will send players a default briefing.

For more information on briefings, including how to add one to your playtests and what constitutes the default briefing, refer to our How to show players a briefing before their playtest article.

Unlike custom briefings, which are best used for non-specific information, in-game tasks can be used to direct players to perform specific actions during their playtest. These tasks will appear as an overlay for players during their tests, allowing them to work through them in sequence. If players do not complete all the tasks before the end of their time limit, they are free to leave the game.

In-game tasks can be used in a variety of ways to ensure players cover the areas you are most interested in testing, including directing players to particular areas of the game, testing certain features, asking players to comment on specific elements, or even acting as a placeholder tutorial.

For more information on setting up in-game tasks for your playtest, please refer to our How to set up in-game tasks article.