Using PAX as a test bed: How Spry Fox updated its demo builds daily

- Spry Fox's David Edery In a cool new post over at Joystiq, Road Not Taken developer Spry Fox dives into how it updated its new game, Free-Range Dragons every day of PAX based on the real-time feedback it got from show attendees playing the game. Though Spry Fox uses user testing services, they're not as effective as the real reactions you get at a show like PAX, says Spry Fox's David Edery. "PAX is one of the best opportunities we have each year to observe lots of 'real gamers' of all ages, sexes, etc, playing our games. Additionally, because PAX goers have LOTS of things competing for their time, their behavior is much more likely to simulate the behavior of a future potential customer," Edery says. The full post gets into the developer's methodology for the real-time updates and it's worth a read if you're planning to exhibit your game before the public and hope to capture their reactions -- and act on them.