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Usability and user experiencemethodologiesusedbygamescompaniesCATALONIARESEARCHPROJECT-REPORT

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ISBN978-84-945378-6-8incom-uab.net/ocveocve@incom-uab.netEditedbyRuthS.ContrerasEspinosaandJoseLuisEguiaSeptember,2017.Barcelona,Spain.

CATALONIARESEARCHPROJECT-REPORT

ObservatoryofCommunication,GamesandEntertainmentIncom-UAB/Uvic-UCC

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IntroductionThegoalforanygamedevelopmentistohaveagamethatisfuntoplay,entertaining,thatprovidessurprises,enablesgamerstobechallengedandapplytheirskills.Inordertoachievethisobjective,thereisabroadvarietyofgameevaluationmethodscurrentlyavailablethathelpgamedesigners,developers,practitionersandusers,themselvesthatstart to design anddevelop games.User experience evaluations in games andmoregeneral in interactive entertainment systemshavebeenperformed fromearly on ingamedevelopment.Developersandusersstartedtodeveloptheirgamesandsimplytriedthemoutthemselvestoseeiftheyweregoodandfun.Theseresearchprojectwaslaunchedtoprovidescientificknowledgeonaspecificfield:Usabilityanduserexperiencemethodologies.WefocusonCatalonia,Spain.TheCatalanvideogameindustryisoneofthemostdynamicsectors,positioningitselfasthedrivingforceforthelocaleconomy.This text is an introduction to the study led by the Observatory of Communication,Games and Entertainment. This study investigates the designmethodologies of thegamecompanies,andtheextenttowhichthegamecompaniesutilizeusabilityanduserexperience (UX) methods, and the methods they use. The respondents wereprofessionals with different roles in game development. Game companies usedmultitude of design methods, some of those mentioned are: Playtesting, wherepotential users are made to play and both their quantitative data (time taken tocompletea task,placeswhere theyget stuckorpass through tooquickly,etc.) andqualitative data (emotional reactions, comments, engagement, etc.) are observed.Heuristicevaluationsarealsocarriedoutwhenanexpertanalysesthegame’seaseofuse.ThereisalsoA/Btesting,inwhichdesignvariationsarelaunchedtoseewhichwhattheresultofbetterretentionandmonetizationwillbe.Weused theword "user experience", orUX, as a synonym for player experienceorgamer experience. The term "user experience" was only rarely used in the gamesindustry,butaccordingtoMelissaA.Federoff, itbecameextremelyprominent inthefieldofHCI.ThefieldsofHCI,usabilityandgameresearcharestartingtogainfromeachother.Firstly,userexperienceevaluationmethodsfromHCIareusedduringthegamedevelopmentto improveuserexperience,secondly,HCI is investigatingconditionsofthe gaming experience (fun, immersion,flow) to understand the concept of userexperienceandapplyit.AndduringthevariousdevelopmentphasesthereisasetofUsability/UXevaluationmethodsthatcanbeapplied.Thisprojectstartedonthe1stofSeptember2016andendedonthe30thofJuly2017.Utilizingbothquantitativeandqualitativeresearchmethodologies,theprojectgoalwastoprovidenewknowledgeandunderstandhowdogamecompaniesevaluatethegamer



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experience. The report summarizes the project results, which have been previouslydisseminated in “TheWhite Book of Catalan VideoGameDevelopment 2017”, “TheWhite Book of Spanish Video Game Development 2017”, and in "Informe de lacomunicacióaCatalunya,2015-2016".Inadditionhavebeenpropagatedinwebsites,seminarsandinacademicconferencesandjournalpublications.Thisreportisstructuredintothreedifferentsections.Thefirstsectionshowshowthevideogame sector in Catalonia is undergoing sustained growth. The second sectionpresentsaoverviewondefinitionsofusabilityanduserexperience,followedbysomebasictermsthatarecurrentlyusedinthegamesindustry.Thethirdsectionshowsabriefoverviewofthestudydesignmethodologiesofthegamecompanies,andtheextenttowhichthegamecompaniesutilizeUXandUsabilitymethods,andthemethodstheyuse.Finally,inthefourthsectiondocumentsrelatedtotheworkoftheresearchteamareshowed.Wehopeyoufindthisresearchreportinteresting.A research should present new research questions, and we believe that we haveaccomplished in this and that these results will be interesting for the academiccommunityandgameindustryalike.Wethankourresearchpartners,theSpanishAssociationofEntertainmentSoftwareandVideoGameDevelopmentandProductionCompanies(DEV)andInstitutCatalàdelesEmpresesCulturals(ICEC)helpinguscarryoutthisresearch.Inaddition,wegivespecialthanks to all our co-authors, informants, survey respondents, interviewees andcolleaguesformakingthisresearchpossible.Lastly,wethankInstitutdelaComunicació(INCOM)attheAutonomousUniversityofBarcelona(UAB)andtheUniversityofVic-CentralUniversityofCataloniafortheirhelpwiththepromotionofthisstudies.RuthS.ContrerasEspinosaScientificLeader



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SectionIGamedevelopmentinCataloniaRuthS.ContrerasandXavierRibes

AsnotedbyCubeles(2015),inInformedelacomunicacióaCatalunya1,duringthe2011-2012period,thevideogameindustryunderwentaseriouslossofsalesintheSpanishinternal market (-16, 04%). Despite this, thanks to the inclusion of online incomestatementsin2013,thistrendturnedupsidedown(13,38%).Theincreaseofequipmentsoldin2014(8,31%),whichcontinuedontheupin2015(12,02%),togetherwiththegrowth of online sales (21,16%) has allowed the overall revenue of the videogameindustryinSpaintocontinuegrowingforthethirdconsecutiveyear,despitetheongoingfallinvideogamesalesinphysicalmedia(-9.23%in2014,-3.30%in2015).Thesalesofequipmentandphysicalvideogamesduring2015wasaround791millionEuros in the Spanish market (GFK data, quoted in AEVI Spanish Association ofVideogames, 2015). On the other hand, sales of online videogames registered 292million Euros (data from GameTrack, quoted in AEVI, 2015). Therefore, in total theSpanishvideogamemarketmoved1,083millionEurosin2015.Bearinginmindthatthenumberreachedin2014was996millionEuros,thisisa8.73%increase.Seetable1. Table1.EvolutionofinternalvideogamemarketinSpain(2011-2015)inmillionsofEuros. 2011 2012 2013 2014 2015Softwaresales(physicalsales) PCGames 29 31 20 18 15ConsoleGames 470 397 381 346 337Total 499 428 401 364 352Hardwaresales Console 373 297 275 301 334Periferics 107 97 86 90 104Total 480 394 361 391 438Total

Softwareandhardwaresales 979 822 762 755 791Onlinesales 170 241 292Total 979 822 932 996 1.083

Source:CompiledfromAEVIsources(2014and2015).

1Seehttps://culturadigitaldotblogdotgencatdotcat.files.wordpress.com/2016/02/pla-digital-definitiu.pdf



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Obviously,alotoffactorsareinvolvedinthemarketanditwouldbetoosimplistictoexplainthegrowthusingonlyonevariable.Evenso,wecanunderlinethatonlinesalesareoneoftheenginesthathavehelpedtobreakthedownwardtrendthathadbeengoingonsince2013(surelythankstotheinfluenceoffewerphysicalsales)andthathavealsohelpedeconomicgrowththat,evenin2014,hadreturnedto2011numbersand,in2015hadoutstrippedthem.SeeGraph1.Graph1.EvolutionofvideogamesalesinSpain(2011-2015)inmillionsofEuros.

Source:CompiledfromAEVIdata(2014and2015).On the 31st of March 2014 the Generalitat de Catalunya’s Department of Culture,InstitutCatalàdelesEmpresesCulturals(ICEC)presentedtheDigitalCulturePlan2014-20162,withtheaimofstrengtheningCatalanculturalandcreativebusinesses.Thisplanseekstotakeactioninthreeareas,oneofwhichbeinglocaldigitalcompanies,wherewewouldfindthevideogamesector.

2Seewww.webcitation.org/6rML4YFO6



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Themain linesofactiontobetakenfordigitalbusinessesarethecreationofafinance programme with a new line of participatory loans for young digitalbusinessestothevalueof1.5millionEuros.AprogrammeofinternationalisationwillhelptobroadcastCatalancreationandproductivity,andacommunicationsprogrammewill help to give visibility to the sector’s businesses in specialisedmedia. There is also a programme to encourage digital businesses to becomesuppliersforthird-partyservices,aprogrammetoavoidtalentdrainbyimprovingrelationships between students and business, as well as attracting foreigncompanies.Inadditiontothesespecificactionsforthedigitalindustries,aseriesofcross-industrymeasureshavebeendesignedthatmayalsobenefitthesector,such as the promotion of university and business relations, supporting theorganisation of events that bring together digital and cultural content or theimprovementofCatalanbusinessskillsviatraining.According to ICEC data (2011-2016), in Catalonia the videogame sector is in amomentofstrongexpansion,bothintermsofthecreationofrelatedbusinessesand in hiring potential. Thismeans that, year on year, revenue quantities aregrowing.SeeGraph2.Graph2.EvolutionofthevideogamesectorinCatalonia(revenue,companiesandworkers,2011-2015).

Source:CompliledwithICECdata(2012-2016).Therefore, from 2013-2014, the number of companies dedicated to creatingvideogames in Catalonia grew by 12.16%; in the following period, 2014-2015,growthwassimilar(12,05%);interannualgrowthfrom2015to2016was29,03%.On theotherhand,despitea fall registered in2014of55people (-5.59%), thenumberofCatalanworkersinthesectorhasgrownfrom2014,from928to1180



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in2015(27.15%)andreaching1687in2016,a42,97%growthfromthepreviousperiod.Revenuedataalsohasfollowedthesector’sexpansion,whichhasgonefrom€70.1min2013to€97.7min2014(36.52%).Similarly,in2015thefigurehasreached €152m, i.e. a percentage increase of 58.83%, and in 2016 a total of€217m,a42.76%increase.For their part, the DEV (2016) notes that videogame development companieslocated in Catalonia billed €214.5m, 42% of the Spanish total. So, Catalonia,togetherwiththeMadridregion,co-leadthemarketwithsimilarfigures.IntheMadridregionwecanfind26.2%ofthe480activevideogamecompaniesandofthe125businessprojects,24.8%of themare located inCatalonia. In termsofnumbersofjobs,Catalonialeadsthenation,with38%ofvideogameprofessionals,followedby theMadrid region,which covers 28%.Production inCataloniahasremainedlargelyspecialisedingamesforiOSandAndroidmobiledevices,whicharebyandlargesmallerintermsofdevelopmentandlesscostlythanforotherplatforms(seeimage1).Inthiscontext,wehavetonotetheimportanceofcertainmultinationals likeKingandUbisoft for their locatingdigitalgamecreationanddevelopment centres in Catalonia. According to a study published in 2016 bySuperData Research,3 mobile games have generated $41bn profits, surpassingotherplatforms.Graph3.Developmentbyplatform/operatingsysteminCatalonia.

Source:ChartcompiledaccordingtothedatafromtheOCVE.CatalaninvideogamesAccording to the ‘Statusof videogamesandcomputergameson themarket inCatalan’report,createdbythePlataformaperlaLlengua(PlatformforLanguage,2015),thepercentageofgamesinCatalanis9%,farbehindEnglish(100%)and 3https://www.superdataresearch.com/market-data/market-brief-year-in-review/



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Spanish (witha rateof93%). This studyalso criticised the fact thatdespite12universities in Catalonia and 3 centres in Valencia teaching studies related tovideogamecreation,Catalan isonlypresentatundergraduate level,butnotatpostgraduatelevel.Thisleadsofalackofspecificvocabularythat‘tendstoturnintolowlevelsoflaterusage’.ThenumberofCatalan-languagegamesavailableonthemarketin2014was10forcomputer,3forconsoles,83foriOSdevicesand64forAndroid.Table2.Listof10gamesinCatalanforcomputer.

Game GameCompanyRust FacepunchStudiosUnepic FranciscoTéllez(independent)Nihilumbra BeautifunGamesSteamroll AtictoEstudiBinariRegnesRenaixents CelsiusBattleofWesnoth ComunitatlliureButinet Butijocs,SLHattrick HattrickLtd.LinCity Lincity-NGXMoto XMoto

Source: Compiled with data from the Plataforma per la Llengua (2015).Table3.Listof3gamesinCatalanforconsoles.Game Platform GameCompanyWiiSportsConnection Wii UbisoftMinecraft PS4,WiiU,xBoxOne,PC,mòbil MojangLesaventuresdeTintín PS3,Wii,xBox360,PC,mòbil Ubisoft

Source:CompiledwithdatafromthePlataformaperlaLlengua(2015).Noneofthevideogamesinthetop10positionsinsalesareavailableinCatalan.ThegamewiththebestsalespositionthathasCatalanasanoptionisMinecraft,inthe12thposition.Thereisalsonoproductioninthe10tenmost-playedgames:Rusttakesthe13thpositionontheSteamplatform.Asdescribedbygraph4,theDEV(2016)reportsthatinvideogamesdevelopedinSpain, Catalan is present in 15%, behind English (97%), Spanish (95%), French(18%)and German(16%).However, itbeatsother languages like Italian(14%),Russian (11%), Chinese (9%) or Portuguese (8%). The consumption of Catalan-language videogames in Catalonia has remained very low (less than 2%), asituationthatcanbeexplainedbytheweaksupplyofcontentinthelanguage.



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Graph4.Languageinvideogames(2015)

Source:OwnsourcecompiledfromDEV2016data.AmongsttheCatalanpopulationin2015theICECdata4showsthat21.8%ofthetotal population play games. Out of the total games, the percentages can bedivided so, 73.37%men and 26.63%women. Of 100% of players, 30.63% aregamersaged14to19yearsold,followedby22.5%ofusersbetween20and24years;inthirdplace,wefindfansbetween25and35yearsofage,with20.33%;withfourthplacetakenbygamers35to44yearsold,with12.88%.Furtherback,with7.91%and3.62%aretheolderplayers,withagesof45to54and55to64yearsrespectively.Usersolderthan65yearsofageareinlastplace,with2.06%.This21.8%ofgamerscouldencouragealargernumberofgamesinCatalan.SeeGraph5.TerritorialdistributionIn terms of ICEC data, the Observatory of Communication, Videogames andEntertainment(OCVE),compiledandupdatedthedataonvideogamecompaniesandindieproducerslocatedinCataloniain2016.Ofthe112references,datafrom99companiesandproducersdistributedthroughoutCataloniawascollected.Theprovince of Barcelona, and especially the capital, is home to 90.1% of theseproducers.Barcelona,with67.7%,isanimportantproductioncentreandabeaconfornationalandforeigncompanies.

4http://dadesculturals.gencat.cat/web/.content/sscc/gt/arxius_gt/Estad-culturals-Catalunya-2016.pdf



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Graph5.GenderandageofCatalangamers2015.

Source:OwnsourcecompiledwithdatafromtheICEC2016.CulturalparticipationsurveyinCatalonia2015.ThesecondcityinnumberofcompaniesandproducersrelatedtovideogamesisSantCugatdelVallès,with5.1%ofthetotal.ThepresenceofsectorcompaniesandentrepreneursintheotherCatalanprovincesisessentialtestimonial.So,intheprovinceofLleidawecanfind5%,whileTarragonaandGironaarehometo2%and1,1%respectively.Seethemap5.Asdescribedbygraph6,thedistributionintermsofageisrelativelyhomogenous.Newinitiatives, lessthan2yearsold,makeup28.1%ofthesector.The largestnumber(29.7%) is formedofcompaniedbetween2and4yearsold.18.8%arebetween4and6yearsold.Finally,companiesthathaveoperatedinthesectorformorethan6yearsmakeup23.4%.MoredatathatcanusedisthepresencethesecompanieshaveontheInternet.Asmightbeguessed,practicallytheentiretyofthesecompanieshaveawebsite(99.1)%.Theuseofsocialmedia,however, isnotuniversal:89%areonTwitterand87.2%areonFacebook.Justoverhalf(53.2%)haveaprofileonYouTubeandonly29.4%useLinkedInrelations.Google+andInstagram(bothwith13.8%)stayabove10%.Noneoftheothernetworksnoted,Tumblr,PinterestandDribblegoover4%ofuse.SeeGraph7.

5Seehttp://goo.gl/IyymDj



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Graph6.AgeofvideogamecompaniesandindieproducersinCatalonia.

Source:OwncompilatedusingdatacollectedbytheOCVE.Graph 7. Internet presence of videogame companies and indie producers inCatalonia.

Source:OwncompilatedusingdatacollectedbytheOCVE.



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SectionIIUsabilityanduserexperienceRuthS.ContrerasUsabilitymeansmakingproductsandsystemseasiertouse,andmatchingthemmore closely to user needs and requirements. The international standard, ISO9241-11,providesguidanceonusabilityanddefines itastheextenttowhichaproduct can be used by specified users to achieve specified goals witheffectiveness,efficiencyandsatisfactioninaspecifiedcontextofuse.Usability methods have been directly applied to games, but we need specificmethods.Forexample,Nielsen’susabilityheuristicshaveservedasguidelinesforcreatingusableapplications.Eachaspectofusabilityheuristics,asdescribedbythe ISO, ismeasured independently. But researchers like Laitinen (2006) haveconstructedsetsofheuristicswhicharespecifictogamesandtheseheuristicscanbeusefulduringthefirststageofgamedevelopment.Furthermore,thetermuserexperiencecanbeseenasangeneralconceptusedtostimulateresearchinHCItofocusonaspectswhicharebeyondusabilityanditstask-orientedinstrumentalvalues(Hassenzahl2003).TheISOdefinitiononuserexperience, ISO 9241 -210, focuses on a user’s perception and the responsesresulting from the use of a product, system, or service. From a psychologicalperspective, the responsesareactivelygenerated inapsychologicalevaluationprocess, and it has to be decided which concepts can best represent thepsychological compartments to allow to measure the characteristics of userexperience.So,UXevaluationcanbedifferenttotraditionalusabilityevaluation.Basedonthetypical game development phases, some authors describe UX evaluation isperformedinthegamesindustryincludingfocusgroups,playtesting,interviewsandObservation.



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SectionIIIUsability and user experience methodologiesusedbygamescompaniesinCatalonia RuthS.Contreras,EmilianoLabrador,EvaVillegas,IgnasiCollandJoseLuisEguia Theevolutionofgamedesignhasbeenhistoricallybasedonprocessesthatmadetheenduserpartofthedesigninveryfewstages.Inmorerecenthistorytherehas been a paradigm shift thanks to a confluence of various disciplines,characterisedbyaphilosophythatmakestheuserthecentralfocusofthedesignprocess. Thegamesindustryisgrowingglobally,andthisis linkedtoagrowthinplayerswhichhascomeaboutthankstofactorssuchasalargerplayeragerangeortheincorporationofafemaleaudienceonamassivescale.Thishascauseddemandsongamedesigntogrowbyneedingtosatisfyanaudiencewithvaryingtastesaswellasdifferingmotivationsortimeavailabletoplay.Traditionallytheuserhasbeenincorporatedaspartofthedesigninadvanceddevelopmentstages,eitheraspartof aplay testofotherevaluation techniques.However,useropinion ismoreandmoretakenintoaccountinearlierstagesofthedesignprocess,althoughUserCenteeredDesign(UCD)isstillnotbeingappliedwithanyrigour.Speakingtothe potential user from the outset of the development and evaluation theirperceptions is part of the design process (investigation/prerequisites, design,evaluation,productrevision,design,evaluationandsoon)whoseaimistoensureasatisfactoryuserexperience. The lack of professionals dedicated to incorporating UX into their companiesforcesotherprofilestotakeonthesefunctionswithoutbeingabletodedicatethenecessary time to it andwithout applying possiblymore appropriatemethodsthankstoalackofknowledgeortime.Themostcommonly-usedmethodusedinCatalonia is playtesting, used in almost all companies, and the second mostcommonly-usedmethodis‘observation’.Othertechniquesusedarefocusgroups,task-basedtestswithusers(insomecasesrecordedbythirdparties)orheuristicanalysislargelyfocussedonusability.Mostgamecompaniesmeasuresgamestowardstheendofthedevelopmentlifecycle,especiallysmallcompanies.Althoughthismaybesuitableforfixingsmallchanges on time, it is not sufficient for altering key game mechanics. If new



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techniquesaretobedesignedwhichcanevaluateagameduringitsdevelopmentcycleaswellas thefinalproduct, thenabetterunderstandingof thegame lifecycleneedstobeobtained. Companies based in Catalonia also make it clear that they take into accountvariousmethodologiesandapplythematvariousdevelopmentphases.However,itremainsclearthattheyaredoingsowithoutknowingfullwellthemethodorthedefinitionofallofthemandthedifferencestheremaybebetweenthem.Forexample,theymentioncarryingoutinterviewswithseveralgamerswheninfacttheyarereferringtousingfocusgroups.Wehavetorememberthat,farbeyondatrend,usabilityandUXmethodologiesarebasedonUCDandareperfectlydefinedISOstandards.Traininginthesemethodologieshasbeenincroporatedintodegreeandpostgraduatestudiesoverthelastfewyears,andassuchisadisciplinethathasbeen integraded into companies relatively recently in comparison tootherprofiles.A majority of professionals also tend to confuse the terms usability and userexperience.Definitionscanbedividedintotwogroups:thefirstoneseesusabilityinamoretraditionalwaywheretheaimistoevaluatetheinterface,controlsandothermethodsofgameinteraction.Thesecondgroupseesusabilityasabroaderconcept including game mechanics together with the interface and includesconcepts suchas ‘fun’, user experienceandemotions linked to the conceptofplayability. Anotherpointtonoteisthatthesetechniquesarecarriedoutbyprofilessuchastheeditor,designer,artistortheprogrammer,bothinthecreationandexecutionofthetest,datacollectionandanalysis.Mostgamecompaniesdoesnothaveaquality assurance (QA) group or someonewho are responsible for testing thegame,especially small companies. So, this isdoneonapersonalbasis and theinformationobtained isoften reducedandbiased.Themajorityof the reasonsmentioned by companies to not carry out activities related to usability or UXevaluationlargelyrefertoalackofexperienceorresources.However,themajorityof these companies are interested in applying various usability and UXmethodologiesinthefuture.Afterspeakingtothecompanies,andtalkingaboutthevariousmethodologiesthatexist,thereisalsoafeelingofagrowingsensitivitytothesetopicsandthemajoritycoincideinpositivelyevalutinguserinvolvementduringthedevelopmentprocess.Dataaspartofdesign DuringdevelopmentphasesthereisasetofusabilityandUXevaluationmethodsthatcanbeapplied.IngeneralinCatalonia,40companieslargelyfollowthesamegame production phases. These are as follows: Conception-Design-



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Implementation-Testing-Maintenance. Aswecansee, there isa specificphase(mentioned by the respondents) designed for testing where the user isinvolvement to a greater extent, but this involvement is starting to appear inpreviousprocesses.So,thegamecompaniesmeasuresgamestowardstheendofthedevelopmentlifecycle.Conception can be initiated either from the client, publisher, who providesfinance,orthedevelopmentstudio,whoareresponsiblefortheproductionofthegame(Conceptdesignphase). InPre-Production,followingdesignapproval,theteamentersanimportantphase,duringwhichtimefundamentalgamemechanicsareprovenandproblematicareasareidentified.Thepurposeofthisphaseistotryoutideasquicklywithoutgettingboggeddowninissuesoffinalpresentationquality,toidentifyrisksandprovetheimportantaspectsofthegameconcept.So,this is where a prototype comes into its own. Prototyping serves to providespecifications, examples of features (physics, menus and vehicle handling) orcouldbetechnicaldemosorothercomponentsofthegameorgraphicsengine.Different aspects of the game may be prototyped simultaneously orindependently(Designphase).During the production phase, the team will spend time producing levels,characters,frontendmenusandothercomponentsofthegame.Inadditiontothe core team (programmers, designers, artists, etc.), too include a qualityassurance (QA) group or someone who are responsible for testing the game,focusing on finding technical errors in the game code and ensuring smoothexecutionofthegameonatechnicallevel.Theyexpecttofoundtofunctionalbugsand identify playability issues which are discussed with the rest of thedevelopmentteam.Sometimes,theteamisworkingontheevaluationthroughtheobservationandanalysisofplayerscalledgamesuserresearch(GUR).Later, toward theendof production, the gameprogresses throughof statuseswhich indicatehowclosedevelopment istocompletion.Alphastatusshowsallcontentinthegame,butnotnecessarilywithafinalquality.Betastatusshowsallcontentandfeaturesfinished,withallbutfinalpolishingstilltotakeplace.AfterBetathedeveloperandpublisherconsiderthegametobeofashippablequality.Onceapprovalhasbeengiven, thepublisherplans tobeginmanufacturinganddistribution.InCatalonia,theuserhasnotyetbeeninvolvedintheinitaldesignprocesses,suchas product conception since this stage is influenced by other factors such asmarketstudies,technologicaladvancesordirectlyduetotheeditorimplementinghisowncriteria.Theinvolvementofusersintheseearlystagesishomeworktheindustryneedstoworkon.



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Gamedevelopmentlifecycle Anothersharedaspectfoundinthecompanieswastheircurrentbusinessmodel,either due to their business model or their adaptation to the new ways ofconsuminggames.Businessmodeltendstobedecisivieindesigningagame.Inthecaseof the ‘freemium’model, inwhichgamesareoffered free (formobileformats)orcheaperthanusual(inconsoleandonlinegames)andwheretheusermakessmallpaymentstoaccessmorelevels(DLC)orallkindsofaccessories. Thefreemiumgamenativeusesamodelof‘gamesasservice’.Examplesofthisaregames likeFarmvilleorCandyCrush.Thegame isdesignedasaconstantlyevolvingentertainmentservicethattakesgamedatafromitsusers,helpedbyadesignprocessthatcarriedonindefinitelyafterthegamehasbeenputonsale.Giventhatgamerspayastheyplayinsteadofbuyingthegameinadvance,thedesigner’staskistomaximizethiscashflow(monetization)andtime(retention)thatgamersspendonthegame.UXoptimizationtechniques,whoseoriginisUCD,have been used in order to refine these design decisions. Optimized UXmustpermitalargernumberofgamersandgametime,someaningalargernumberofgamerswillingtopaytoplay. Companiesareusingvariousmethods todoso.Someof thosementionedare:Playtesting,wherepotentialusersaremadetoplayandboththeirquantitativedata(timetakentocompleteatask,placeswheretheygetstuckorpassthroughtoo quickly, etc.) and qualitative data (emotional reactions, comments,engagement,etc.)areobserved.Heuristicevaluationsarealsocarriedoutwhenanexpertanalysesthegame’seaseofuse.Focusgroupsareusedwhenagroupofpotential usersdebateaspects that the companyneeds to knowabout firsthand.There is alsoA/B testing, inwhichdesignvariationsare launched to seewhichwhattheresultofbetterretentionandmonetizationwillbe.Someofthesegame companies employed usability tests. The companies began running testswithcompanystaff,buttheythenexpandedtorecruitotherpeoplewhoworked



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inthesamebuildingasthem.Finallythesubstantialtestsbeganwithmembersofthepublic,recruiteddirectlyfromthestreetsandlocaluniversities.Discussingthevalueofobservingplaytests,somecompaniesreflectonhoweasyitisforgamedeveloperstooverlookthesimplestofthingswhichcanimpedebeginnerplayersfromevenstartingtoplay. Assuch,trendsinuserinvolvementareappearingattimestheydidnotbefore.Ononehand,theusersarebeinginvolvedinearlierphasesofthedesignandtheyarebeingmadetotestbasicmechanicsorgeneralideaswheretheiropinioncanaffectthedevelopmentalpathofthegame.Techniquessuchasquestionnaires,interviews or focus groups are starting to be applied at earlier stages in somecompanies.Another trend indesign that integrates testinganduser isopenorclosedalphatesting.Thesearecurrentlypopularin‘indie’gamedesign.Gamersaccessanalpha-stageversionofthegame(playablebutnotfinished),sometimesafterpayingaless-than-marketprice,whichinturnhelpsthedevelopstofinancefinishingthegame,sometimesbyinviting‘stargamers’orinfluencerstoplay,thusensuringgoodpromotionforthegameiftheymanagetogetthemexcitedabouttheproduct. Anopenalphagamealsoactsasalivetestingplatform.Bywayofanexample,apartofMinecraft’ssuccesscanbeattributedtoadjustmentsmadetothedesignbasedoncommunityfeedbackduring itsopenalphaperiod.Makingtesting a more central part of the design process with underline this more‘handmade’approach.Ontheotherhand,adata-basedfocusongamedesignisnolongerlimitedtoasmallpartofthewiderindustry.Asonlinegamingbecomesthenorm,togetherwith ‘free-to-play’monetization, itamassesmoreweight inmoremarkets,genresandgameplatforms.Datathatcomesfromgamermetricsis being integrated into the design process, which then becomes a recurrentthemeonapermanentbasis. Wecanthereforeconcludethatevaluationmethodsaremoreandmorepresentingamedevelopment.Whathasmadethispossibleisanewparadigmthathasarisenoutofaconfluenceofdisciplinesandaphilosophythatmakestheuserthecentral focus of the design process. Today we have various tools andmethodologies that allow us to design games that will foreseeably offersatisfactoryuserexperiences.



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Methodology The research is divided into two methodologically separate phases: an initalexploratory and qualitative phase whose aim to to collect the opinions andpracticesofareducednumberofgamedevelopers(representativetypologically,ifnotnumerically)intermsoftheirwaysofconceivinganddesigningtheproduct,theusemadeofthevarioususabilityandUXmeasurementtools,aswellastherolegiventotheuserintheformer.Inthesecondphase,theunitofanalysisofthesurveydatawascompany.Therespondents,professionalswithdifferentrolesingamedevelopment,regardedthewaysofconceivinganddesigninggames.

ReferencesASOCIACIÓNESPAÑOLADEVIDEOJUEGOS(AEVI)(2015):AnuariodelaIndustriadel videojuego 2015 [Online].Madrid: Asociación Española de Distribuidores yEditoresdeSoftwaredeEntretenimiento.www.webcitation.org/6rMMhCw86DESARROLLO ESPAÑOL DE VIDEOJUEGOS (2016): Libro blanco del desarrolloespañol de videojuegos 2016 [Online]. Madrid: DEV.www.webcitation.org/6rMN49oVyFEDEROFFM.A. (2002):Heuristics andusability guidelines for the creation andevaluation of fun in videogames. Master’s thesis, Department ofTelecommunications,IndianaUniversity.HASSENZAHLM.(2003):ThethingandI:understandingtherelationshipbetweenuser and product. In: Blythe MA, Monk AF, Overbeeke K, Wright PC (eds).Funology:fromusabilitytoenjoyment,KluwerAcademicPublishers,Netherlands.INSTITUTCATALÀDELESEMPRESESCULTURALS(2016):EmpresesdevideojocsaCatalunya 2016 [Online]. Barcelona: ICEC.https://issuu.com/icec_generalitat/docs/160615_llibretvideojoc?e=5788537/364976LAITINEN S. (2006): Do usability expert evaluation and test provide novel andusefuldataforgamedevelopment?JUSJournalofUsabilityStudies2(1):64–75.PLATAFORMAPERLALLENGUA(2015):Situaciódelsvideojocsijocsd’ordinadoren català en el mercat [Online]. Barcelona: Plataforma per la Llengua.www.webcitation.org/6rMNErU3o



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SectionIVRelatedDocumentsThefollowingdocumentsarerelatedtotheworkoftheresearchteam:TheWhiteBookofCatalanVideoGameDevelopment2017Ourresearchcanbefoundin“LibroBlancodelaIndustriaCatalanadelVideojuego2016”,publishedbytheSpanishAssociationofEntertainmentSoftwareandVideoGame Development and Production Companies (DEV) with the sponsorship ofInstitutCatalàdelesEmpresesCulturales(ICEC).PublicationinSpanish.http://www.dev.org.es/llibreblancdev2016TheWhiteBookofSpanishVideoGameDevelopment2017Our research can be found in “The White Book of Spanish Video GameDevelopment 2017”, published by the Spanish Association of EntertainmentSoftwareandVideoGameDevelopmentandProductionCompanies (DEV)withthesponsorshipoftheDigitalArtandTechnologyUniversityCentre(U-tad)andthesupportofICEXEspañaExportacióneInversiones.PublicationinSpanish.Report"CommunicationinCatalonia"Ourresearchcanbefoundin“InformedelacomunicacióaCatalunya,2015-2016”,published by the Institute of Communication at the AutonomousUniversity ofBarcelona (InCom-UAB) with the sponsorship of Gas Natural Fenosa and thesupportoftheGovernmentofCatalonia.PublicationinCatalan.CatalanGameCompaniesMapOnthispageyoucanseethemapofGameCompaniesinCatalonia:https://es.batchgeo.com/map/34f3b17517e285b5fb7e156e7c1bea2aWebsiteOnthispageyoucanreadmoreinformation:http://incom-uab.net/ocve/es/2017/04/14/distribucion-territorial-empresas-de-videojuegos-asentadas-en-el-territorio-catalan/



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Usability and user experience methodologiesusedbygamescompanies ContactinformationandresearchteamRuthS.Contreras.ScientificLeaderUniversityofVic-CentralUniversityofCataloniaruth.contreras@uvic.catXavierRibes.ResearcherAutonomousUniversityofBarcelonaxavier.ribes@uab.catEmilianoLabrador.ResearcherUniversityLaSalle-RamonLlullUniversityeruiz@salleurl.eduEvaVillegas.ResearcherUniversityLaSalle-RamonLlullUniversityevillegas@salleurl.eduIgnasiColl.ResearcherUniversityofVic-CentralUniversityofCataloniaScientificLeaderignasi.coll@uvic.catJoseLuisEguia.ResearcherPolytechnicalUniversityofCataloniaeguia@ege.upc.eduAntonellaFrisiello.ProjectManagerinItalyIstitutoSuperioreMarioBoellafrisiello@ismb.it