Playtest notes become builds

One note, one build, the same night. Sapper's builds 10 to 14 each came from a single playtest.

Sapper's later builds all have the same origin: Kraig played the latest build, wrote down what bugged him in plain words, and the next build fixed that and nothing else.

• Build 10: the surface was too quiet for too long. The waves now start 30 seconds after landing instead of 2 minutes.
• Build 11: a few bugs waiting when you land, about 25 seconds of false safety, then the flood.
• Build 12: rushing down was always the safest move. The Driller fixed it (that one has its own lesson).
• Build 13: "the soldiers stuck to me like glue, and digging ore by hand was so fast that miners felt pointless." Squadmates now pick their own posts, and hand mining is much slower.

Why it works

A note in the player's own words is the most useful thing you can get. It says what they felt, not what they think you should build. Keep the words exactly, and decide the fix yourself.

One build per note means you can tell what each change did. When build 11 plays better than build 10, you know why. When you change five things at once, you don't.

Doing it the same night matters too. The note is fresh, the player is still curious, and they'll play the next build to see if you heard them.

Try it

1. Watch one person play, or play it yourself cold after a day away.
2. Write down the moments that felt wrong, in plain words.
3. Pick one. Ship a build that fixes it, with that note as the "what changed" line.
4. Send the new build to the same person.