Interviews & Focus Groups (FGDs)

When to Conduct Interviews and Focus Groups for Your Game

Interviews and Focus Group Discussions (FGDs) are qualitative research methods designed to uncover deeper player motivations, perceptions, and reasoning that gameplay data alone cannot reveal. These methods are especially useful when you want to understand the why behind player behavior.

Here's how it works:

Player Selection
We recruit players from Lysto’s panel or your own community based on your target audience criteria. Participants are selected to ensure relevant experience with your game genre or concept.

Structured Gameplay Context

Before the discussion, players either play your game or are shown specific gameplay elements such as builds, features, mechanics, or prototypes. This ensures feedback is grounded in real experience rather than abstract opinions.

Interviews or Group Discussions

• Player Interviews are conducted one-on-one to explore individual perspectives, decision-making, and emotional responses in depth.

• Focus Groups (FGDs) bring multiple players together in a moderated discussion, allowing you to observe shared patterns, disagreements, and collective perceptions.

A trained moderator guides the session using a structured discussion framework while allowing space for open-ended insights to emerge.

Important Note: Sessions can be moderated either by a member of your team or by an expert moderator from Lysto’s User Research Panel.

Why This Approach Works

Interviews and FGDs allow players to articulate their thoughts in detail, clarify confusion, and reflect on their experience in ways that structured playtests cannot capture. Group discussions often surface insights players may not express individually, while interviews help uncover nuanced personal motivations.

This method is particularly effective for:

• Understanding player expectations and mental models

• Exploring reactions to new concepts, features, or art styles

• Validating design decisions early in development

• Identifying emotional drivers and points of friction

What You Receive

After the sessions, you’ll receive:

• Session recordings or detailed moderator notes

• Summaries of key insights and player sentiments

• Clear takeaways highlighting player needs, concerns, and opportunities

These insights help inform design, onboarding, narrative direction, and feature prioritization with strong qualitative evidence.

Interested in Conducting Interviews or FGDs? Reach out to us at playtesting@lysto.io