CT

1. “Snow Way in Hell”
10 Heuristic Problems
Jeff Houchens, Dakota Daugherty,
Jonathan Capps, Kyle Devlin
Controller Trollers Assignment 1
Full Sail University

2. Game Summary
Snow Way In Hell is a side-scrolling,
action/adventure game that is targeting a
Teen+ audience. In the game, the player is
a giant snowball that can run, jump and
throw snowballs. The player’s goal is to
make it out of Hell before they melt.
There is no set time limit to make it
through each level. The player simply has
to manage their health by freezing and
running into enemies to replenish it.

3. Problem No notification that platform(s) are causing damage to player.
Rating Moderate
Description When the player is standing on surfaces that may be harmful, there are no warnings or
notification functions that the surface(s) are lowering the player’s health.
Solution The screen could either flash red, make a sound alarming the player, or the health bar
could be highlighted showing it is being reduced at an increased rate.
Reference Shot
Visibility of System Status

4. Match Between System and
the Real World
Problem Character enlarging has no obvious benefits.
Rating Minor
Description When the character gets larger there are no immediately noticeable benefits to the
player.
Solution Remove the enlargement mechanic.
Reference Shot

5. User Control and Freedom
Problem There are no options in the escape menu options to restart level or from previous checkpoint.
Rating Important
Description If (when) a player gets stuck or wants to reset the level/checkpoint, their only option is to wait
to die, but even that does not allow for a full level reset. The only death option is previous
checkpoint.
Solution Add a “Restart from last checkpoint” or “Restart Level” to the ESC menu.
Reference Shot

6. Consistency and Standards
Problem Inconsistent projectile distance.
Rating Moderate
Description The throwing snowball mechanic does not match standard side-scrolling game shooting
mechanics. Typically, the shooting mechanics travel in a straight line. In this game, the
shooting mechanic is based on the mouse position and avatar movement. The distance of
snowball travel was randomized somehow and was frustratingly inconsistent.
Solution(s) Make the shooting mechanic not randomized and make the mechanics more consistent with
other similar games in the genre.
Reference Shot

7. Error Prevention
Problem Avatar can fall through spaces in level and falling indefinitely.
Rating Critical
Description On the third level, after the player walks next to the second switch, the switch does not
active and the platform disappears to the right. When the player walks off the ledge to
where he started, the avatar falls through the floor into a black area, but does not die.
The player then has to wait until the health bar completely depletes before starting
over. When the player starts over, he’s at the top of the area instead of starting at the
beginning.
Solution There are several places in multiple levels where respawn zones aren’t working properly,
these need to be addressed before release.
Reference Shot

8. Recognition Rather Than Recall
Problem There are no way to see where the player has been within a level.
Rating Minor
Description When a player respawns, they have to remember if they’ve been. Most visuals within a level
look alike, which adds to confusion. There is no mapping system to show a player where they’
ve been.
Solution Add a minimap to track where the player is within the level space.
Reference Shot

9. Flexibility & Efficiency of Use
Problem No advanced user customization.
Rating Important
Description There are no options in any menu to increase or decrease difficulty levels. There are also no
ways to customize the UI to tailor to specific needs of players on different resolutions.
Solution Add “Level Difficulty”, “Resolution” and “Controller Options” to the “Options” menu on the
login screen.
Reference Shot

10. Aesthetic & Minimalist Design
Problem The clock timer is not visible in certain instances and may not be relevant to game play.
Rating Minor
Description At times the clock and other text UI can be difficult to read against the background. The timer
clock is not essential, as it has no bearing on completion, which makes it unnecessary clutter
to the UI.
Solution Place a UI Panel behind the Clock and/or Health Bar areas. Make the timer clock toggleable in
the options menu, so advanced(speedrun) players could use it if they desired.
Reference Shot

11. Help Users Recognize, Diagnose,
and Recover From errors
Problem There are no error or warning messages within the game.
Rating Critical
Description During the second level, the screen flickered briefly, then the camera switched to a
first-person camera view. There were no warnings or error messages that explained to
the player what had happened. The player is unable to diagnose the error. There
weren’t any indications from damage directions.
Solution Create an error log that explains the errors that are happening and how to fix them. In
this case, the player had to start the game over again so the error message could state
that the game has received a critical error and needs to be restarted.
Reference Shot

12. Help and Documentation
Problem There is no easily accessible game documentation.
Rating Critical
Description There is no supporting documentation for story, controls(tips), or objectives within the game.
The player has no way to know what the controls are without reading the GDD first. They are
also not informed anywhere in-game about the storyline or any objectives to complete.
Solution Add a “Help” feature to the in-game ESC menu. Add a “Controls & Tips” section to the main
menu on the title screen. Have an intro cinematic explaining the basics of the story to the
player, giving them a sense of purpose within the game itself.
Reference Shot

13. References
● Isbister, K., & Schaffer, N. (2008). 6, 7, 12. Game Usability: Advice from the
Experts for Advancing the Player Experience. Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann.
● Nielson, J. (1995). 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design. Retrieved
November 1, 2015.
● Nielson, J. (1995). Characteristics of Usability Problems Found by Heuristic
Evaluation. Retrieved November 1, 2015.
● Whildin, J., West, K., Patterson, L., Mangold, M., & Gill, T. (2012). Snow Way in
Hell Game Design Document Version 4.0 (p. 43). Full Sail University.