Night Street Games (NSG), an indie studio building the definitive Capture The Flag experience, Last Flag, realized the importance of structured playtesting and iteration based on community feedback early into development. To meet this need, they turned to FirstLook. The platform gave NSG a simple way to manage playtest groups, communicate with players, and capture meaningful insights they could act on. From early vertical slice testing through onboarding for larger public alpha tests, FirstLook provided the tools NSG needed to keep Last Flag’s testing processes organized and responsive to players.
The Story of Night Street Games and Last Flag
At first, Night Street Games relied on friends and family to test the vertical slice of Last Flag. This informal approach made it difficult to capture consistent feedback or track progress over time. The team needed a system to efficiently manage recruitment, player communication, and feedback.
After reviewing several options, NSG chose FirstLook because it combined the essentials of Customer Relationship Management (CRM) and Games User Research in a single platform.
With FirstLook, NSG grew their community from a handful of players to thousands, while keeping communication and feedback organized. Cohort tools, customizable communication flows, and feedback monitoring gave NSG a clearer picture of player sentiment, helping them prioritize changes to Last Flag with data-driven precision.
Moreover, FirstLook’s responsive development cycle, regularly listening to NSG’s feedback, has led to iterative service improvements, including enhanced surveys and expanded community sentiment analytics. This collaborative support gave NSG confidence that their testing needs would continue to be met as their audience’s needs scaled.
Challenges and Opportunities Before FirstLook
The early challenge was simple yet critical: recruiting players willing to test an unfinished game affordably and reliably. The team struggled to tap into a broader, dedicated playtester base beyond their immediate network. NSG also wanted to build stronger feedback loops, leveraging early community input to guide development and foster sustained engagement.
FirstLook’s introduction of the Playtester Network directly addressed these challenges, providing access to hundreds of new players actively interested in playtesting. This strategic partnership transformed playtesting from a tedious hurdle into a growth engine, enabling NSG to harness the untapped potential in player communities for development insights and engagement.
Why FirstLook?
NSG quickly embraced FirstLook’s robust onboarding system as a core tool for regulating playtest participation. They could target the right testers with tailored registration flows and communications, assigning roles and permissions automatically in Discord and deploying the correct Steam keys, all with minimal manual intervention.
This automation was a game-changer, even for investor playtests where participants might be less tech-savvy. As the NSG team shared:
"FirstLook's onboarding is such a staple feature that I sometimes take for granted how good it is. I simply send an email, set a role, and everything else is handled—the player gets professional invites, keys, and onboarding flows, ensuring a smooth experience every time."
Beyond onboarding, NSG leveraged FirstLook’s survey tools and community sentiment tracking to synthesize qualitative feedback into quantitative data. This insight allowed for more frequent, informed playtests with customized cohorts tailored to specific development goals, ultimately accelerating iteration cycles and improving player retention
The Playtest Revolution
Data tells the story of success — since integrating FirstLook, NSG has invited over 12,000 players and onboarded more than 5,000 testers, with over 3,000 actively logged in on Steam. The team has monitored sentiment across 8,000+ messages and 700,000+ reactions in Discord, gaining unprecedented visibility into player perspectives.
The creation of 10+ unique roles and individualized player flows within FirstLook has saved countless hours in community management and testing coordination. Meanwhile, 23 targeted email campaigns via FirstLook’s Announcements system have efficiently reached tens of thousands of players, boosting engagement for upcoming playtests.
On the development front, NSG reports handling weekly playtests culminating in a successful open Alpha during key Steam events, all seamlessly managed through FirstLook. Bug tracking via community cohorts has enabled early identification and resolution of issues, enhancing game quality and confidence ahead of launch.
Real Business Impact
- •Community & Playtest Growth: FirstLook helped Last Flag drive 40,000+ Steam wishlists. Discord community and engagement soared with automated onboarding and role management.
- •Accelerated Feedback: Feedback-to-insight lag time dropped from 10 to 5 days. ~40% of testers returned for repeat playtests.
- •Development Efficiency: 1,700+ bugs reported, with dedicated cohorts catching issues pre-release. Community-driven features—including UI/UX tweaks and gameplay changes like passive healing—shaped the roadmap.
- •Resource Savings: The work of five team members at larger studios is managed by just two at NSG, thanks to FirstLook’s integration.
- •Investor Insights: Major player validation and robust playtesting metrics have provided valuable insights to current and potential investors.
Key Metrics Overview (Last Flag - Night Street Games)
- •Playtest signups increased by 500%
- •Steam wishlists grew by 400%
- •Discord community expanded by 500% through FirstLook onboarding
- •Development timelines shortened by 40%
Invite & Participation Breakdown
- •Out of 12,242 invitations sent, 5,014 participants successfully onboarded. Of those, 3,069 players have actively logged playtime on Steam
Developer & Studio Quotes
“FirstLook made onboarding and managing playtests effortless. We transformed from a handful of testers to thousands, with real engagement and actionable feedback. Their support and feature updates are invaluable.” — Brandon Drenikow, Night Street Games
“Helping small studios like NSG grow, learn, and launch with confidence is why we built FirstLook. Their journey is proof that community-driven development delivers results.” — FirstLook Team
For indie studios ready to scale their communities, gather robust player insights, and streamline playtesting, FirstLook is the all-in-one solution that delivers. Discover how FirstLook can drive your next breakthrough: https://firstlook.gg
