***Note: The start of this entry is fiction. Anyone currently under NDA please respect that in this discussion and limit your responses to speculation and public or general information.***
You have had a long day at work/ school. You head home to check your email inbox for the 6000 time since the announcement that Vanguard: Saga of Hero's had begun its Beta Testing phase of development. You don't expect anything, because you've been disappointed 5999 times before, but wait.. whats this... An email from Sigil...?
Welcome to the Vanguard: Saga of Hero's Beta!
You're heart is pounding, you have waiting years for this game, posting on fan sites, on the forums, you are even in a guild. Some of your guild mates are probably waiting for you in the Beta... You hastily fill out the requested information, agree to the Terms of Service and the NDA without reading it, and begin downloading the beta client... so what now? Beta Pledge time.
I think it is important for every prospective game tester to revisit the purpose and objectives of a Beta phase, and to make a personal pledge to do everything in their power to better the game, and improve the MMO industry as a whole. So often, Betas become about a freebie chance to play a game, or a chance to test the waters before you fork over the cash.. While those are nice perks for game testers, you do not help the game when you approach it with that attitude. Game Testing is about working out the kinks, its about stressing the systems and features of the game, and providing meaningful feedback to the developers. It is about respecting the NDA at all costs.
We all are looking forward to Vanguard, or we wouldn't be on this site. But what happens when someone breaks NDA and claims the game is terrible? What if a hundred people do..? Does that mean it is bad, or are the positive opinions just bound by an NDA and respecting that? So 20,000 testers love it, but can't tell you they love it, and 100 very vocal haters are stirring up all kinds of bad press...
So when I get invited to a Beta, here is my pledge and I hope others will do something similar:
I will log in, and play hard.
I will try to break the game, exploit every way I can think of, use every feature and push the limits of the world that the development team has created.
I will take detailed notes. This servers two purposes, as I can both formulate my opinions for public discourse after the NDA is lifted and I can make informative posts for the development team.
I will report my findings often. Find a bug? Repeat it and record the facts. Write a synopsis and submit it with detailed concise information and a clear header [BUG] Moss Snake Kicks.
I will respect the NDA. I may think this game sucks and will flop, but it is not my place to push it over the precipice. There will be plenty of time for that after the NDA is lifted.