When creating a game that synchronizes hand-to-hand combat with music—where every punch, kick, and combo flows with the beat—getting player feedback right isn't just important; it's essential to the core experience. This is the challenge that Brain Jar Games embraced with their debut title, "Dead as Disco."
Founded in 2024 by industry veterans with experience on renowned franchises like Mass Effect, Dragon Age, and Call of Duty, Brain Jar Games set out to create something truly unique. Under the leadership of CEO Will Cook, an award-winning creative with over 20 years of experience, the studio aimed to blend the kinetic action sequences of "John Wick" with the music-infused choreography of "Baby Driver."
Their mission: to create bold, vibrant games that players love to share—games defined by innovative gameplay, audio-visual spectacle, and watchability. For a game like Dead as Disco, where timing and feel are everything, the team at Brain Jar determined early that getting continuous feedback would prove critical to their success.
BEYOND THE TRADITIONAL PLAYTEST
In the early stages of development, Brain Jar's approach to playtesting followed familiar patterns that many small studios encounter. The team would conduct manual, in-person sessions, often taking a laptop to a specific location. Without a consistent recording solution, many valuable playtesting moments went undocumented.
When feedback was captured, it often came through second-hand reports—lists of bullet points noting player reactions without the crucial context of seeing those reactions firsthand. As the team evolved to remote playtesting, they attempted to standardize their approach using OBS, but this created a technical barrier that many participants couldn't overcome.
James Karras, Head of Development at Brain Jar Games, found himself creating Wiki pages to guide team members through complicated OBS setup processes, but adoption remained inconsistent. For a small team working on an innovative concept requiring precise execution, these issues created significant obstacles to the rapid iteration they needed.
BUILDING A CULTURE OF CONTINUOUS FEEDBACK
As Dead as Disco continued development, Brain Jar started using Live Aware, which transformed their internal processes before they even expanded to external playtesting.
The simplicity of Live Aware's desktop recorder allowed team members to start capturing gameplay with zero friction. This ease of use enabled Brain Jar to establish a consistent playtesting rhythm across the entire team—something that had previously been difficult to maintain.
The impact on their development culture was profound. The studio was able to institute a weekly playtesting requirement for all team members, with verifiable uploads ensuring accountability. The habit of continuous recording meant that unexpected bugs or issues were always captured, eliminating the tedious process of trying to reproduce problems for documentation.
Perhaps most significantly, Brain Jar expanded their use of Live Aware beyond their own game development. Team members began recording their experiences while analyzing competitive games, providing valuable context and reference points that could be shared across the studio.
"It allowed us to build a culture where everyone's contributing feedback, not just a few specific team members," explains Karras. "This has been invaluable for a game like ours where timing and feel are everything."
VALIDATING THE MAGIC
For a studio creating a novel game concept, validation of core design elements is crucial. One particular challenge for Brain Jar involved a level section that transitions to black light visualization. After investing significant development effort into this feature, the team needed to confirm whether it would deliver the intended impact.
Through Live Aware's recordings, they discovered that this moment consistently triggered the exact reaction they were hoping for—players responded with genuine surprise and excitement at precisely that moment in the game.
This validation provided more than just confirmation of a design choice. It created a powerful motivational boost for the team, showing them concrete evidence that their creative vision was resonating with players. Unlike traditional feedback approaches that often focus exclusively on identifying problems, Live Aware helped Brain Jar identify and celebrate what was working well.
"Finding what works is just as important as finding what doesn't," notes Karras. "When the team sees players responding exactly as we hoped, it validates all the hard work that went into creating those moments."
FINDING THE WOW MOMENTS
For a game aiming to deliver a visceral, emotional experience, the authenticity of player feedback matters immensely. Brain Jar's previous experience with traditional focus testing had shown the limitations of controlled environments, where players often felt obligated to provide certain types of feedback.
Live Aware enabled the team to capture more natural, honest reactions. Whether players were testing from home or participating in organized sessions, the recording process created a more relaxed environment that yielded more genuine responses.
Brain Jar’s development process now follows a consistent cycle: conduct regular build reviews and playtests, identify what’s working and what’s not from both data and observation, implement changes quickly, and repeat. This methodical approach ensures the team stays focused on the most important improvements rather than becoming overwhelmed by feedback.
As Brain Jar continues refining their innovative debut title, they're particularly focused on ensuring those moments of spectacle—where combat and music synchronize perfectly—to consistently deliver the emotional impact that makes Dead as Disco so innovative.
"We've found the right balance between staying true to our vision and letting player feedback help to guide our refinements," says Karras. "Live Aware helps us identify both what needs fixing and what's already working, which is crucial when you're creating something that hasn't been done before."
Dead as Disco is currently in development by Brain Jar Games. Join the Dead as Disco community on Discord: linktr.ee/DeadasDiscoGame for latest news and information.
To learn more about how Live Aware can help your team capture and analyze player feedback at scale, sign up for a complimentary trial here: liveaware.io.