DevLog 02: Excitement (and Fear) of Playtesting
Don’t take it for granted — I am playtesting Shadows of London! That alone is exciting. But it’s also terrifying!
I’m excited to share that I’m playtesting Shadows of London!
Shadows of London is a tabletop role-playing game set in a fictional Victorian-era where monsters are real. Built on the Monad Echo SRD, the game explores themes of duality, identity, and the struggle between light and shadow—both within the characters and the world around them. Players navigate this eerie, atmospheric setting while confronting mysteries, moral dilemmas, and their own personal darkness.
Sharing my game for the first time means seeing others react to it for the first time. Will they be engaged? Disappointed? Indifferent? Their reactions could easily affect my dedication to the project.
During a game design course with Ron Edwards, he told us to find people willing to embrace the madness when playtesting our designs. I took that to mean finding playtesters who aren’t just there to play a game but to be part of its creation—people who understand that early versions are rough and that they require time and patience. After all, they could be playing something polished instead.
That’s why I want to thank everyone who has joined me in this process, embracing the madness I’m proposing!
What Playtesting Teaches You
Another reason playtesting is so thrilling is that it reveals what works and what doesn’t. And if you pay close attention, you can even figure out why something doesn’t work.
That insight is valuable—not just for this game, not just for me as a designer, but also on a human level. One of the reasons I got into game design was the fascinating loop of creating a system, foreshadowing how players will interact with it, and then watching how their responses feed back into the mechanics in an endless cycle. That process is simply awesome to me.
How’s the Playtest Going?
So far, so good! I’ve run a few sessions and handled character creation.
As expected, the mechanics I was unsure about didn’t work as hoped, so I had to change them. But others did work—and that was surprisingly more rewarding than disappointing!
Next, I want to test the game with a broader range of players—especially people unfamiliar with me or the system. I also hope to organize some blind playtests. Finding the time and people for that is the next challenge.
I aim to publish the game on Itch.io by the end of June, though that depends on how the playtests go and how much time I can dedicate to it.
That said, I don’t want to drag this process out too long—there are plenty of other projects waiting in the drawer.
What Else I’ve Been Up To
Recently, I played The Facility, a Breathless game by Galen Pejeau that’s available on Itch.io. It’s easy to set up, requires zero prep, and was plenty of fun! (P.S. I somehow ended up with two copies—looks like I ordered it twice. Consider it my support, Galen! But why are they two different versions of the game!?)
Just yesterday, I received my copy of Death Enters The Saloon by Greta Bellagamba and Daniele Di Rubbo. I’ve already read through it, and I’m excited to play it as soon as possible. It looks fascinating—and, conveniently, it also requires zero prep (which is great because, as I mentioned, I have very little time right now!).
I’ve also been diving into various RPG zines, but I want to highlight RPG Design Zine Two by Nathan D. Paoletta. It’s a zine about game design and a zine itself—how could I resist? I only recently discovered RPG Design Zine (One), read through it, and found it incredibly inspiring. Now, I’m excited to dive into this second volume and see what insights it has to offer.
What’s next?
Reach out to me if you want to embrace madness!
Have fun!