User Testing

Throughout the semester we've discussed things like positive and negative feedback, progression and emergence, goals, rewards and obstacles and other aspects of designing game mechanics.

Now it's time to put these principles in action and collect information based on a user's experience of our games.

User testing is an essential aspect of game design.

Unlike other artistic disciplines, interaction is an essential component of game design, so we can't call our games finished until we test how people interact with them.

Games are meant to be played, so we need to understand what works and what doesn't to make sure our work is playable.

What to test for

Getting good feedback from users depends on asking good questions.

Bugs vs Playability

There is a difference between a game that is buggy and a game that works but is not playable.

Ideally, our games will be bug free so users can focus on playability.

Onboarding/guidance

Does the player understand the basic controls and movement?

Does the player understand basic goals and game mechanics?

Play time

How long does the player play? Do they make it to the end? Do they give up? Why?

It's good to have a goal in terms of the gameplay length. A casual game might have a short play time, while a complex RPG could be played for dozens of hours.

Does the player's play time match the expectation? Why or why not?

Principles of testing

Expect your users to have little or no familiarity with gaming.

Users have different levels of familiarity with gaming. Don't assume a user is bad at gaming or doesn't undrestand something -- it's the game designer's job to make things clear.

That doesn't mean the game has to be easy. It has to be clear.

Seek both qualitative and quantitative feedback.

Quantitative feedback

Quantitative feedback is anything that uses numbers or scales. This is useful to see if there is general agreement among testers.

This is good for aspects of the games that can be quantified or rated.

Ask users to rate aspects of the game on a scale.

Qualitative feedback

Qualitative feedback involves verbal or written resopnses that go beyond a number or scale.

This is useful to give users more space to describe their thoughts and capture reaction that the designer may not have considered.

Start by choosing the elements of the game that are most important to it's success. If the game relies heavily on narrative, ask the users to rate the narrative experience.

Choose a set of 5-10 things to ask questions about.

Frame your questions to get honest answers. Instead of saying, "What was your favorite level?", ask "Which level did you like the most?"

Include both specific and ambiguous questions to get a range of feedback, but avoid asking the user to invent a new game. You don't want to ask what they would change or add to the game, you want feedback on the game you created.

User Testing Lab

In the lab this week we'll learn how to make a survey and collect responses.