I am a hobbyist game developer that has been working on my own projects in isolation. I am not very skilled in game design and my current project is a breakout clone.

I realized that what I really need is feedback on what I create before I can get better at creating games but I am not sure what strategies/places are best for a clueless hobbyist like myself.

I have tried play testing in the past but I am not really sure how to interpret the information I get because most of the people I have play tested with are just as clueless about game design as me. I realized I don't know enough to even determine what was good/bad because I play games but the games I play are so far away from what i am working on that I don't really know how to look at my own projects.

What would be great is to determine a way I can get feedback for my projects so I can improve. So I guess my main question is, what ways can a hobbyist game designer get feedback like this?

Thanks for the response Tom. I do have a followup question though that the video didn't really cover, what are some strategies to find play testers? Most of the people that I go to to play test are close friends and family and I know that they are biased so I am hoping there are methods that I can use to find play testers.

It depends on where you live, if you want to invite people physically over your place to test your game in front of you.

Are you visiting your local gamedev conferences/meetups? Ask your fellow developers - either to become your testers or to give you some contacts.

Put up an add on your local channels (social media, newspapers, schools, …).

Use even this forum if it makes sense ?

Go to game conferences or expos, host a booth and observe people play a bit there (you'll get less data, as people will only stop by for a moment). You can still collect their email addresses in order to invite them to your playtest after the event once you're ready. Build a database of contacts interested in testing your games. Offer them ice-cream, ice-cream always works :D

I'm improvising as I haven't organised a playtest myself.