Going through your data

Understanding the data you have

After your playtest, you’ll have access to a wealth of data about your players. Let’s break it down:

1. Transcripts

2. Annotations

3. Video recordings

4. Survey responses

5. AI-powered summaries. 

Transcripts

Every playtest recording at Lysto comes with an automated transcript, making it easier than ever to analyze player feedback. Located in the transcript tab of your video interface, this feature transforms player commentary into searchable text. Looking for specific player reactions to your game's difficulty curve? Or want to find every mention of your tutorial? You can use the search bar to quickly look for keywords in the transcript. 

Our annotation system lets you mark up important moments in the gameplay and organize player feedback efficiently. The transcript becomes your roadmap through hours of playtesting footage, helping you pinpoint exactly where players express confusion, excitement, or suggestions about your game. While our AI-powered transcription system is highly accurate, we're always looking to improve. 

If you notice any issues with your transcripts, our team is ready to help – just reach out to playtesting@lysto.io , and we'll work with you to ensure you're getting the most from your playtest data.

Annotations

We've made it easy to highlight and share specific moments in your playtest recordings through our smart annotation system on the Lysto platform. Unlike the AI summary notes which we’ll discuss in a bit, annotations let you pinpoint exact moments in the gameplay footage that deserve attention.

Need to flag the exact moment a player gets stuck in your tutorial? Or want to share that perfect "aha!" moment with your team? Simply create an annotation at that timestamp, add your notes, and share it. When your team clicks the annotation, they'll jump right to that moment in the video - no more scrolling through footage to find what matters.

We've also added hashtag functionality to help you organize insights. Tag annotations with categories like #UI, #tutorial, or #gameplayBug to create an easily filterable collection of observations. These tags appear in your Playtest Summary, giving you a quick overview of common themes across all your test sessions.

Think of annotations as your digital Post-it notes, perfectly placed to guide your team's attention to the moments that matter most. Whether you're conducting a quick review or diving deep into player behavior, our annotation system helps you organize and share insights efficiently.

Video recordings

On the Lysto dashboard, you'll get recordings of the gameplay footage, which capture every moment of the player experience. For longitudinal playtests, the progress bar even segments recordings by day, letting you track player progression over time. These unfiltered videos provide an unbiased window into how players truly interact with your game – showing exactly where they succeed, struggle, or feel confused.

The audio recordings are particularly powerful. By listening to players' voice-overs, you'll hear the real emotional journey behind the gameplay. A moment of frustration, a burst of excitement, a puzzled pause – these subtle audio cues reveal insights no survey could capture. Whether it's a tutorial that's causing friction or a game mechanic that sparks genuine joy, our video recordings help you understand the player experience at a deeper level.

Think of these recordings as your direct line to player behavior, offering a raw, authentic view of how your game performs in the real world. 

Survey responses

On the Lysto platform, you’ll receive a comprehensive and visualized overview of survey responses, allowing you to track changes in player sentiment and engagement across different metrics.

Through visual representations and statistical summaries, you can quickly identify patterns and shifts in player experience. For example, you might notice that difficulty satisfaction starts high but dips during middle sessions, suggesting potential balance issues in mid-game content. This birds-eye view of survey data complements your video analysis, providing quantitative backing to qualitative observations. Whether you're evaluating a new feature's impact or monitoring overall game satisfaction, the survey summary tools help you make data-driven decisions about your game's development direction.