PinnedWhat Is Games ‘User Experience’ (UX) and How Does It Help?Nearly every major game development studio is pivoting toward a more player-centric development process and culture. New internal teams and staff embodying the ‘voice of the player’ are commonplace, including Community Management, Analytics, UX Design and Games User Research. For decades, ‘UX’ (or ‘user experience’) staff have been helping gamedev…UX19 min readUX19 min read
Aug 10, 2022Organising Playtest Sessions to Get Great Feedback from ChildrenChildren think about things differently. For us, as adults, it’s practically impossible to put ourselves in the ‘mindset of a child’, in order to experience their interpretation of our real world. The same is also true for virtual worlds. It’s impossible to put yourself in the head of a child…UX10 min readUX10 min read
Feb 17, 2021Getting More From Usability Testing Your GameUsability testing is the most powerful tool in the toolbox for game design improvement. Getting real players interacting with your prototypes early and regularly in development can be uncomfortable. Yet it ensures teams are never out-of-touch with where design implementation is falling short, or headed for a design dead-end. The…Games User Research10 min readGames User Research10 min read
Jan 14, 2021Games User Research Methodology Series: Concept TestsVideo game ‘Concept Testing’ is a research approach, specifically tailored for the games industry, to explore design direction very early in development. It’s a solution for teams wanting to reality-check their game ideas, and be more informed in making big decisions surrounding potential products. Each development and publishing house has…Concept Testing7 min readConcept Testing7 min read
Oct 23, 2020Junior vs. Senior Games User ResearchersHow can you recognise where you are on your career journey as a Games User Researcher? In the world of games ‘user experience’ (UX) there are a multitude of roles, including UX Researchers, UX Designers, UX/UI Designers, Insight Specialists, and Game Analysts… to name a few. Their day-to-day activities overlap…UX5 min readUX5 min read
Jul 21, 2020Member-onlyWhen Debug UI Ruins Game Design (and what to do about it)One of the quintessential hallmarks of a ‘work in progress’ game is debug text. Floating gibberish flickering in the foreground of gameplay, occasionally catching your eye with an <ERROR> or a ‘Missing_Texture’. Thinking about the design of debug UI seems like misspent time. It is, by its nature, only to…Game Design7 min readGame Design7 min read
Jun 18, 2020The Last Days of ControlFine-tuning Remedy’s Award-Winning Game Design In The Playtest Lab — Control’s final months of development in mid-2019 saw extended bursts of iteration and change. Behind closed doors in the playtest lab, Control was being played by the general public. And in the room next door, in a soundproof observation space, Researchers studied the players’ behaviour, carefully tracking all 12 playtesters…Game Design6 min readGame Design6 min read
Apr 29, 2020Member-onlyShould Players Buy Their Own UI?Animal Crossing: New Horizons drops players onto a near-deserted island, with empty pockets and dreams of a self-made paradise. For the first few hours, players are tasked with organising their new tropical home by crafting and using handy tools: spades, axes, fishing poles. Axes chop trees and yield wood; shovels…UX7 min readUX7 min read
Dec 17, 2019Games User Research Methodology Series: Usability Expert AnalysisA Usability Expert Analysis is one of many games user research methods we use at Player Research to provide actionable insight into a game’s usability and learnability. This article outlines when a Usability Expert Analysis might be needed, what it consists of, and how it can be utilised in game development. What is the Purpose of a Usability Expert Analysis? The objective of a Usability Expert Analysis is to identify aspects of a game that could contribute…UX4 min readUX4 min read
Published inGoogle Play Apps & Games·Mar 19, 2018UX game design insights from The Walking Dead: March to WarHow to improve your players’ experience before conducting playtests — Here at Player Research we’ve improved gameplay experiences for more than two hundred games globally by applying our knowledge of human-computer interaction, psychology, and neuroscience. Using user experience (UX) analysis and playtest labs, we’ve worked with games studios to help them develop a true understanding of their players and how…Mobile Games10 min readMobile Games10 min read
