[zaphos]

They give an indirect nod to friends play-testing in the "Time" section:

> "Friends around us were saying “it’s too difficult” right to our faces, but amidst our nonstop-no-days-or-time-off working, we were too dull to let it inspire action."

So I guess they did have some people play the game -- but they didn't build in the time they needed to properly use the feedback, so it was almost the same as not play-testing.