Should I credit my testers?

Question

Is it expected that beta-testers will be credited in the game?

Comments

I also like to credit specific reviewers if I am doing a re-release, if they helped (and would like to be credited,) as well as people who sent transcripts. This can be organized into who did what. I generally don't try to give extra billing to someone.

You can, if you want, credit people who created extensions you used, though in Inform, VERSION should take care of that.

Answer 1

Yes, it is expected and polite to credit your testers in the game, unless a tester asks you to leave out their name. In a parser game, it is common to acknowledge testers in response to a command like ABOUT or CREDITS, or as a menu option if you have a menu.

Players--especially during a competition--may check to see if your game lists any testers before they start playing. Some players, if they don't see any testing credits, may decide not to play the game at all, out of concern that the game may be untested and buggy.