CRAFTING OUTSTANDING GAME EXPERIENCES

THROUGH USER TESTING

Rene Rebane & Marko Nemberg

2013

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Who are we?

Rene Rebane

• UX Architect

• Graphic designer

• Test moderator

• Gamer

Marko Nemberg

• Marketer

• Technology geek

• Test moderator

• Biometrics and neurogaming evangelist

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Our experience

Interaction design

Accessibility

User testingUser research

Prototyping

System analysis

Design thinking

Start-ups

Marketing

Visual design

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Playtesting?Never heard of it!

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Today’s topics

• What is playtesting?

• Why to test?

• Good time for testing

• How to test?

• What’s next?

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What is playtesting?

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Game design is just hypothetical until it’s actually been played by your target audience; only then will you know if your idea works.

– Sid Meier, creator of Civilization seriesSource: http://www.edge-online.com/features/are-gamers-tiring-same-old-thing/

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Goal is afun game

Design is hypothesis

Playtest is experiment

Evaluateresults

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Source: http://www.rockpapershotgun.com/2007/10/10/rps-verdict-portal/

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Why test?

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Why test?

• To make informed decisions

• Find out usability problems

• Players know what is best

• Understand how players think

• Reduce risks and unwanted surprises

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Competing with any other content out there

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Common misconceptions

• Playtests are not important

• The players don’t know what they want

• Bug testing is enough

• Players will probably just ignore the problems

• It is ok to have some usability and accessibility issues, players won’t notice anyway

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Accessibility

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Colour blindness

• 285 million people are visually impaired worldwide

• 39 million are blind and 246 have low vision

• Up to 10% of men in the world are color blind

• 1% of women

• In some regions this percentage is even higherSource: 2012 WHO statistics

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Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/why-games-need-color-blind-modes-see-simcity-with-simulated-color-blindness/

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Hearing loss

• 360 million people worldwide have disabling hearing loss

• Players lose out on video games if information about impending danger is coming only through sound effects or music

• Never give players information using just one sense – audio or visual

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Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/why-games-need-color-blind-modes-see-simcity-with-simulated-color-blindness/

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Reduced cognitive and motor functions

• Over a billion people, about 15% of the world’s population, have some form of disability

• Between 110 million and 190 million adults have significant difficulties in functioning

• How can we include players who have limited cognitive or motor functions?

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Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/why-games-need-color-blind-modes-see-simcity-with-simulated-color-blindness/

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Good time for testing

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Beginning of the project End of the project

Possibility of changes

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Beginning of the project End of the project

Cost of changes

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Start playtesting as soon as possible!

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Where to find people?

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Where to find people?

• Coffee shops

• Shopping centres

• Schools

• Elders’ centres

• Online application

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How many tests to conduct?

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0

How many tests to conduct?

3 6 9 12 150%

50%

100%

75%

25%

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One test with eight usersFirst test with eight users Found five problems

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Two tests with three usersFirst test with three users

Second test with three users

Found nine problems

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Testing example

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How to analyze?

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How to analyze?

• Write down what happened

• Why it is unexpected

• Why it is bad (longer process, wrong element usage)

• Remember it is not statistics

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Next steps

• What to keep

• What to change

• What to test more

• What to measure later

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What next?

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Biometrics and Neurogaming

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Biometric test methods

• Biometric game controllers (PS4, Xbox One, Eye Tribe)

• Galvanic skin response sensors

• Eye tracking

• Electroencephalography (dry EEG)

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Source: http://www.pcgamer.com/2013/02/01/why-games-need-color-blind-modes-see-simcity-with-simulated-color-blindness/

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Q & A

Thank you

www.trinidad.ee

Rene Rebane & Marko Nemberg

2013