Behavioristics
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Expert Review, Expert Walkthrough
An Expert Review is a fast and effective way to check the usability of a game or product. An Expert Review quickly evaluates the interface, finding the larger, more obvious problems, leaving the user testing to discover the deeper issues.
Game Accessibility Principles (GAP)
Game Accessibility Principles are used for design and expert evaluation in the beginning and tutorial levels of a game.
References: Desurvire, H., Wiberg, C (2008). Master of the Game: Assessing Approachability (GAP) in Future Game Design. In the CHI'08 Extended Abstracts and Conference DVD, http://publik.tuwien.ad.at/files/PubDat_167638.pdf (Page 3177). International conference on computer human interaction, ACM CHI 2008 conference, April 2008, Florence Italy. Desurvire, H. Wiberg, C. Evaluating User Experiences in Games, published by Springer (Springer.com website: http://www.springer.com/computer/user+interfaces/book/978-1-84882-962-6. The ISBN is 978-1-84882-962-6). Published March 2010, edited by R. Bernhaupt
Game Player Interaction
Game Player Interaction is the user experience of a person playing and interacting with a game. We want the game player interaction to be optimal, meaning the pace is ideal and the challenge is at the right level for the potential users. There are multiple elements necessary for an optimal player experience, including such things as accessibility, playability, usability, game mechanics and story. The specifics depend on the type of game and the potential users.
Game Research
See also: Game User Research
Game Usability
Usability research for games is similar to that for productivity software, but differs in that researchers are trying to both make the game more user-friendly, and also more fun. The game’s tools can be usability tested normally, but there are multiple aspects that go in to determining if a game is fun, including pace, challenge, story, game mechanics, art, entertainment, engagement, immersion, and emotional connection. Therein lies the mystery to game usability research. There is no magic cure, but usability testing does aid in making games more fun.
As usability researchers do more testing, we become more knowledgeable, experienced and better able to help increase a game’s fun quotient. Games will get more and more fun as long as developers continue to employ game usability researchers’ expertise.
Game Usability Testing
Part of Game User Research, this testing focuses on the user’s interaction with the game to identify any issues, along with their objective solutions. Usability is about maximizing effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. This definition originates from the productivity software industry, but it is also true for game design. In games, usability is about delivering a better and deeper experience with fewer problems, interruptions or challenges that are not a part of the game.
Typically, Game Usability Testing involves one-on-one testing of the user (or more during multiplayer or cooperative play). The researcher designs the study to maximize the predictability of the results in the laboratory setting. The users are recruited to represent the potential real-world users and are observed in a Usability Laboratory.
The usability researcher typically moderates the sessions and observes the user interacting with the product, staying as unobtrusive as possible. The moderator probes the user on specific problems to clarify the user’s intent. The result of the sessions is to identify for the development team any usability problems, why the problems exist, and to identify potential solutions to resolve them.
Ideally, Game Usability Testing would be performed several times, at the beginning of design, in the middle, and before the design is complete (allowing enough time to implement any changes). Often, companies do post-launch testing to validate the final design and give the production team a chance to identify any issues they want to address in the next release. If the product is a website or has an online component, the researchers can also use analytics to track its use. With careful planning, the researcher can track usage patterns to identify problematic areas that can be further understood with additional Usability Testing.
See also: Game User Research and Usability Laboratory
Game User Research
Note: There are some misconceptions of what Game User Research actually is. Since this is such a new field, there is often not a consistent use of the terms. We will attempt here to unravel the differences, start a nomenclature, and keep it updated as the terms become more common in use. Please forgive us if we use any of these terms differently than you, and contact us if there is a term that you think would be beneficial to add.
The basis of Game User Research is Game Usability Testing and Playtesting. There are other methods of game research, such as expert reviews, contextual inquiry, personas, concept testing, field-testing, web analytics and biometric testing. The researcher is often creative in their approach to evaluation and finding answers to the development team’s questions.
See also: Game Usability Testing and Playtesting
Halo 1 2 3 4 wars…
Halo is one of the first franchises from Microsoft Game Studios to incorporate game research into the development and design process.
Heather Desurvire
Heather Desurvire of Behavioristics is one of the foremost specialists of usability and playability, whose published work on methodologies has added to the standards for usability testing and game testing research. She also is on faculty at the University of Southern California’s game studies program, teaching game usability.
Ms. Desurvire’s clients benefit from her wealth of knowledge and experience with many Fortune 100/500 companies. Her work spans e-commerce, software, websites and games for companies such as Fandango.com, United Airlines, Symantec, AOL, Yahoo, CMGI, Citibank, Transamerica, Pandemic, Electronic Arts, Disney Interactive, LucasArts, Sega, THQ, Blizzard, Black Box Studios, Heavy Iron, Relic, Incinerator Studios and more.
Ms. Desurvire has pioneered research on alternative methodologies for evaluating the usability of user interfaces. A summary of her research is published in “Usability Inspection Methods” (John Wiley and Sons, edited by J. Nielsen and R. Mack) and an upcoming book “Evaluating User Experience in Games: Concepts and Methods.” Her research has appeared in journals and conferences, such as the HCI, INTERACT, and CHI. Ms. Desurvire’s current research involves developing principles for helping game developers design better access for new gamers.
Heuristic Evaluation
A method for finding the usability problems in a user interface design so they can be attended to as part of an iterative design process. Heuristic evaluation involves a small set of evaluators examining the interface and judging its compliance with recognized usability principles (the "heuristics").
References: Heuristic Evaluation Nielsen and Molich (1990); Nielsen (1994).
Heuristics Evaluation for Playability (HEP)
The first in the series of Heuristic Evaluation principles developed in 2002, by Desurvire et al. The latest iteration was validated and renamed to PLAY.
Reference: Desurvire, H., Caplan, M., Toth, J. (2004). Using Heuristics to Improve the Playability of Games (HEP). CHI conference, 2004, Vienna Austria (In the collection of Abstracts).
See also: PLAY
Jakob Nielsen
Jakob Nielsen, Ph.D. is a user advocate one of the foremost authorities and widely published authors on usability. His seminal books are “Usability Inspection Methods,” and “Usability Engineering.”
PLAY
The principles for increasing playability in games that are used for both expert review evaluations and overall gameplay design.
Reference: Desurvire, Heather, Wiberg, Charlotte. (2009 ) Game Usability Heuristics (PLAY) For Evaluating and Designing Better Games: The Next Iteration. HCI Conference, 2009, San Diego, California USA.
See also: Heuristics Evaluation for Playability (HEP)
Player Experience, Player Experience Evaluation
See also: Game User Research
Playtesting or Playability Testing
An aspect of Game User Research, Playtesting is the process by which researchers validate that the game design is fun. It is typically done close to the game’s final development stage, after the development team is satisfied with the design, and also after a series of game usability testing sessions and other game research inquiry methods. Playtesting usually happens in a group setting where users play the game uninterrupted, except possibly to answer a few questions at a set period via surveys. Sometimes they end in a focus group session.
See also: Game User Research and Game Usability Testing
Research Game Analytics
This term covers a several types of user research for games. Analytics, similar to what is used for websites, is utilized to identify online game “hot spots” where users may be hung up, die too often, for example. The positive side is we can identify problems with large numbers of users, however, it can only identify the “What” is the problem, but not the “Why” this is a problem. The identified problems (the “What”) can then be delved in further by user testing, in order to learn the “ Why”.
SIG GUR – Special Interest Group—Game User Research
A Special Interest Group that is a part of IGDA (International Game Developers Association) and is linked to the Game Developers Conference (GDC). The group was formed in 2009, and will be expanded at the GDC 2010 conference. There will be a special session for Game Researchers on Tuesday March 22, 2010 from 2:00 to 6:00 pm at the Pickwick Hotel in San Francisco to discuss the direction of Game User Research.
Usability Consultants, Usability Consultant, Usability Consulting
Usability consultants, such as Behavioristics, can work with a company in a variety of ways. We can work with the entire production staff to develop and maintain game user research, which can include developing a strategy, implementing the research, or setting up the structure for full-time staff. We also commonly work for companies on an individual product or game to perform a series of usability testing and playtesting sessions.
Usability Evaluation
The goal of Usability Evaluation is to uncover usability issues through a series of testing sessions or focus group sessions, set up by a usability consultant. They involve a moderator and a set of users that represent the potential real-world users of the product.
Usability Evaluation tends to focus on productivity software, websites and other products, such as (but not exclusive to) a bank website for applying for loans, anti-virus software, printer software, or smartphones. The goal of a Usability Evaluation is to create a set of representative tasks from the product, and observe a set of users (one at a time), doing these tasks. This will uncover most of the errors and task failures of the product in real-world use. Doing this in a laboratory setting allows the development team to uncover and correct the issues before the product goes to market.
Doing several sets of Usability Evaluations (also called iterative design), allows the product to be designed so users can utilize the product without any frustration or confusion. This can result in a better user experience, higher product ratings, greater product usage and better brand equity.
There are many reasons why Usability Evaluation is important. For one, games are played on a voluntary basis. If the player has to struggle with problems that make game less fun than doing something else, there is nothing to stop the player from quitting. This is a serious risk, as the user experience is very sensitive to usability issues. Even the smallest glitch or hiccup in the user interface may transform an otherwise good game into an annoying experience.
Another reason why usability is important in games is the competition. Competition in the marketplace is fierce. Similar to what happened in productivity software and the online world, the game world has become very competitive. Usability is one of the key factors that make a game stand out from the crowd.
Usability is also important for the future of video games. Developing accessible and fun experiences is essential to bringing in more casual gamers to the market.
Usability Laboratory
A Usability Laboratory consists of two rooms. Sometimes the rooms will feature a one-way mirror and a sound-proof wall between them. Other times, the product image is relayed into a second room via a monitor and camera. In either case, the user is in one room and the development team and moderator are in the other. In some cases, the moderator is in the same room as the user, but this tends to be personal preference of the moderator. Social science methodology recommends the user be in a different room.
The video and audio sessions are recorded, and can even be streamed live to the development studio. Although in our experience, it is invaluable to have the developers onsite. The testing is typically recorded with one camera on the product, another on the face of the user to view their emotional response, and sometimes an additional camera on the hands or other body part that interacts with the product. The recordings are delivered picture-in-picture, with the bigger window on the product and the smaller window showing the user.
Usability Testing
See also: Game Usability Testing
User Experience
Creating a positive User Experience depends on the product and the resources devoted to design. This may involve task analysis, contextual inquiry, developing personas, initial conceptual design to create the initial design, then creating the design and performing usability testing on the product.