1. @agatestudio
Research
(Games User)
Valen
Legion
Agate Studio

2. Games User Research
by : Valentinus RK

3. Definition
• Research that explore how the user functions
when dealing with the game
• It is NOT about testing the user

4. Why
• To validate, is the games actually fun?
• Easy to use
• Challenging
• Engaging experience
• etc
What is Fun

5. How To Measure Fun?
• Ask the users
• Basic Principles
• Use Some Methods
How Do We Ask?

6. Basic Principles
• Get the Right Players
• The game is being tested, NOT the user
• What do you want to know
• Test early and test often
• Listen to and act on problems, but not
necessarily the solutions
• Games user research is just another source of
data

7. Methods
• Focus Group
• Heuristic Evaluation
• Questionnaires & Surveys
• Interviews
• Observational Studies
• Think Out Loud Protocol
• Gameplay Metrics
• Biometrics

8. Focus Group
• Description
– Get a bunch of people to play your game then put
them in a room to talk about it.
• Pros
– More people can mean
more feedback
– Gets everyone together
in one place
– Allows for follow up
questions
– Can be useful when
discussing concepts
• Cons
– A good facilitator is required
– Strong voices may take over
and reduce feedback overall
– Too many solutions, not
enough issues
– What people say is not
always (or even often) what
they do

9. Heuristic Evaluation
• Description
– Where you get an expert(s) to play your game
and then they evaluate it on a set of criteria
(heuristics)
Sample of Heuristic List
• Are clear goals provided?
• Are the player rewards meaningful?
• Does the player feel in control?
• Is the game balanced?
• Is the first playthrough and first impression good?
• etc

10. Heuristic Evaluation
• Pros
– Smaller number of
people needed
– Relatively fast turn
around
– Experts are expert
• Cons
– Where do you find
experts?
– Did you find the right
one?
– Experts can be too
expert

11. Interviews
• Description
– Make a session with one person face to face and
asking some questions
• Pros
– Rich data source for
subjective impressions
– Can ask follow up
questions
• Cons
– Not easy to quantify
– Time consuming
– Not objective

12. Tips to Use Interviews
• The Setup
– It should be comfortable and as few distractions as
possible
– Only interview one or two
– Make an interview script
– Prepare the recording
• During the Interview
– Start with easy stuffs
– Give feedback like “mm-hmm”
– Try to be as neutral as possible
• After the Interview
– Make a transcript

13. Questionnaires & Surveys
• Description
– A set of printed or written questions with a choice
of answers.
• Pros
– Consistent
– Quantifiable
– Relatively quick to
administer
– Can be used on a large
scale
• Cons
– Can lack follow up
– Not objective
– Really at their best with
large sample sizes
– It can take a while to put
together a good
questionnaire

14. Tips to Use Questionnaires
• Work out what you want to know
• Design the content
– Start with easy stuffs
– Use clear language, everyday language, avoid
jargon
– Questions or statements?
• Put it Together
• Test it