What we fixed
after the first playtest.

I’m a Rocket League fanatic, and I wanted to bring its speed and mechanics into a football game. So I started building False Start. I want the big jumps and aerial catches to be fun, but the first playtest showed that some basic things still needed fixing.

More than 40 people applied

I posted on r/playtesters offering six paid spots: $30 for a 30-minute session. More than 40 people applied. I had no idea the response would be that big. We couldn’t fit everyone into the first round, but previous applicants are still being considered for round two.

The offer was for honest feedback. Finding a bug or getting stuck didn’t disqualify someone from being paid, and nobody had to say they liked the game.

What came back

Five testers completed the first round. Their sessions ranged from about 20 to 40 minutes and added up to two hours, 29 minutes and 40 seconds of footage, plus written feedback. One tester split their session into two videos, so six recordings didn’t mean six testers.

We had mobile touch, controller, and keyboard-and-mouse feedback. Different setups turned up different problems. A phone player was seeing keyboard prompts. A controller player could use the menus but then ran into input problems during a match.

Some of the useful details were easy to miss in a short bug report. One tester read the controls and still couldn’t tell which player was the quarterback. That helped explain why adding more instructions to the menu wasn’t enough. The game needed to explain things while people were playing.

People didn’t all feel the same way about it, either. Some wanted to play again; others didn’t yet. Those are five individual opinions, so I’m using them to decide what to fix rather than treating them as a score for the whole game. Thank you to everyone who took the time.

Fixing the controls

On a touchscreen, dragging could select text instead of just controlling the game. The controller settings wouldn’t scroll far enough to reach every binding. It also wasn’t always clear which input device was active.

Those fixes went out on September 13. Gameplay controls no longer select page text. The controller settings scroll properly, and a hint shows the active input device. You can still select and edit text in the feedback form.

Which player am I controlling?

Players also had trouble following what was happening during a match. They weren’t always sure which player they controlled, when to pass, or why possession had changed.

We added clearer labels for your player and the ball carrier, a quarterback cue, and short objectives for each part of the play. I want to see whether those explanations make sense to someone who hasn’t played before.

What still needs testing

Some players liked the movement and interceptions, and liked being able to finish a match quickly. I want to keep those parts fun while fixing the problems that interrupted their games.

The control fixes have passed browser checks. Testing with physical controllers and touchscreens is still ongoing. Five tests helped us find specific problems, but we need more people to try the updated game.

Round two starts soon.

Another round of False Start playtesting is coming soon. Keep an eye out for our next Reddit post if you’d like to take part. I’ll put the details there.

You can play the current version below. If you run into a problem, hit the feedback button or press F8. Tell me what happened and which device you’re using.

Play False Start ↗

The first round was paid. Recordings and tester identities stay private. The Reddit link above is the original round-one post.