All my heroes are Playtesters
Playtesters are the unsung heroes of game design. They get in the trenches, spend their time trying something new and dangerous so that when you get the final game and sit down to play you are that much more likely to have a good time. They are the gatekeepers of fun. Heroes, one and all.
Some of the Microscope playtesters have said to me “do I really count? I mean, I played it with you but I didn’t give you any feedback.” To which I say: every minute of playing Microscope with someone was solid research-gold. Even if the players said nothing, I learned vast amounts seeing how they reacted to and played the game. Good games, bad games, boring games, exciting games: they were all critical, critical data points.
So to all these brave souls who played Microscope over the past two years, my deep and heartfelt thanks:
Versions One & Two
Ching-Ping Lin, Jem Lewis, John Harper, Kevin Lewis, Mike Frost, Paul Riddle, Robert Haskell, Ryan Dunleavy, Tony Dowler, Trey Marshall
Version Three
Adam Drew, Adam Flynn, Alex La Hurreau, Amy Fox, Andy Stanford, Austin Smith, Benjamin Key, Bret Gillan, Brian Ballsun-Stanton, Britt Scharringhausen, Bruce Anderson, Christopher Pullen, Courtny Hopen, Dain Lybarger, Dan Eison, Dan Hertz, Daniel Goupil, Daniel Taylor, Deirdra Kiai, Dennis Taylor, Eli Zukowski, Ellen Panetto, Eric Borzello, Eric Raehn, Eshed Magali, Fabian Schindler, Gabriel Sorrel, Gavin Cummins, George Austin, Guy Srinivasan, Heather Constantine, Holly Lyne, Ian Dall, Ian Law, James Cosby, James Dobbs, Jan Laszczak, Jason Dettman, Jason Lorenzetti, Jeff Barnes, Jeffrey Kelly, Jeremiah Cunkle, Joe Iglesias, Joe Mottram, Jonathan Davis, Jorge Montesdeoca, Joshua Hitchins, Joshua Riley, Juliusz Doboszewski, Karina Graj, Kirsty Mottram, Kynnin Scott, Laura Owen, Malcolm Taylor, Marco Leclerc, Mark Townshend, Mathieu Bélanger, Matthew McComb, Megan Crozat, Megan Dobbs, Melissa “Mouse” Douglas, Michael Pevzner, Mikhail Bonch-Osmolovskiy, Monica Mann, Morgan Crooks, Morgan Rushing, Nicholas Marshall, Nicole Cunkle, Ola Samonek, Paul Montesdeoca, Peter Martin, Przemek Zanko, Rani Sharim, Riley Perryman, Robert Baker, Roger Carbol, Sam Atkinson, Sam Zeitlin, Samuel Lee, Shawn Wretham, Susan Kim, Tom Seaton, Tommi Enenkel, Villum Lassen
Go Play NW 2009: Daniel Wood, David Drake, Douglas Bartlett, Hans Otterson, Jackson Tegu, Jonathan Lemer, Julian Michels, Kelly O’Hara, Kingston Cassidy, Michael Decuir, Michael Petersen, Mike Sugarbaker, Philip LaRose, Ralph Mazza, Ronald Steinke, Ryan Forsythe, Suzi Soroczak
Versions Four & Five
Cameron Merrick, Cameron Parkin, Chadwick Ginther, Dale Horstman, Daniel Stoltenberg, Daniel Worthington, David Dunn, Erin Sara Beach-Garcia, Frank Krivak, Gilbert Podell-Blume, James Brown, Jeffrey Hosmer, Matthew MacHutchon, Max Reichlin, Meg Higgins, Mona Hinds, Nick Lundback, Patty Kirsch, Perry Grosshans, Rachel Brunner, Robin Ghetti, Sam Kaviar, Sean Leventhal, Sean Li, Seth Richardson, Sohum Banerjea
Story Games Seattle: Brian Williams, Caroline Gibson, Cy Myers, Dave Fooden, Eric Logan, Jamie Fristrom, Jason Wodicka, Jered Danielson, John Aegard, Joseph, Josh Verburg-Sachs, Marc Hobbs, Martin, Mike Kimmel, Pat Kemp, Remi, Rob Jones, Robert Hennes, Shuo Meng, Susan Taylor, Sylvia Luxenburg Wodicka
Players are listed under the first version of Microscope they played. Lots of groups played multiple versions, and some of the hardcore gamers from the very beginning played every single one. How did they keep all the changes straight without popping a blood vessel? Sheer iron will.
I know there are people who played but whose names didn’t get sent back to me, so they aren’t listed here: my thanks to all you unsung heroes too.
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