Terramind Usability

U.S. Department of Health & Human Services - 200 Independence Avenue, S.W. - Washington,D.C. 20201
Continuum Test
Steven-Felix Cho
Colin Duffy
Harlan Falkoff
Matthew Carey
Michael Acosta
01-30-2015

Table of Contents
Continuum Test
Table of Contents
Executive Summary
Methodology
Sessions
Test Subjects Demographics
Evaluation Tasks/Scenarios
Results
Task Completion Success Rate
Time on Task
Impression Questions
Exploratory Questions
Directive Questions
Issues
Analysis
Recommendations
Likes, Dislikes, Participant Recommendations
Liked Most
Liked Least
Recommendations for Improvement
Post Mortem
References

Executive Summary
The tests were conducted between the dates of January 28th to January 30th.
The sessions were conducted at various times of the day, adjusted to each
tester’s availability. These tests were performed in comfortable locations so the
testers did not feel additional pressure due to their testing environment. During
the test session, we monitored how the test subjects felt about the controls
they used to maneuver around Continuum. There were 10 participants that
were used throughout this usability test.
The tests were performed quickly and documented concisely by the test team.
Preliminary testing showed that the game has several issues regarding players
feeling lost as well as a low level of control. Many players could not finish the
test due to either time constraints or a physical feeling of nausea and or
dizziness due to the constant camera changes. Other less common issues were
pointed out by the testers and documented as well. After testing, the team
analyzed the collected data, came to several conclusions about the usability of
Continuum and documented their findings and recommendations.
This document contains the results and input from the testers, demographic
information about those testers, and the questionnaire all testers filled out. The
methodology section outlines how these tests were taken and the demographic
information about the testers, as well as provides details of the tasks the
testers attempted to complete during the test. This data has been analyzed by
the test team for accuracy, severity, and usability and is documented in the
results section along with the complete questionnaire. Lastly, there is a section
in this document for sharing recommendations from the team and testers.
Methodology
Sessions
The test participants were chosen based on their knowledge and gaming
experience. These testers had enough gaming knowledge that they didn’t need
to double check controls to play the game, and it didn’t adhere to the common
conventions. Testers answered questions set up from each facilitator in order to
get an interpretation of what they had experienced about the application. In
addition to the questions, we examined the testers’ play time in each section of
the game and entertainment levels throughout. To collect experience
information, we used a survey that asked about their personal experience, a
low amount of personal information, and a suggestion section. These will be
included in a spreadsheet at the end of these testings.

The length of test sessions for each participant was approximately two hours in
length. During these sessions the participants were asked some pre-test
questions about their age and game experience along with five questions before
starting the session about the game. Each participant then played through the
game to the best of their ability, and were asked to complete four different
tasks. At the end of the play session, they were then asked a series of follow-up
questions at the end of the session.
Tester and tester number:
Michael: P1 and P7
Harley: P2 and P5
Felix: P3 and P8
Colin: P4 and P9
Matthew: P6 and P10
Test Subjects Demographics
The tests were conducted between the dates of January 28th to January 30th.
The sessions were conducted at vs 28th and 29th, with one test being done on
the 30th.
The average age of testers was 27.4, with the age ranging from 14-54.
Majority of the testers were younger than 30. Game knowledge of testers
ranged from low to high, with the vast majority of the group having medium
game knowledge. The average number of hours per week testers spent in
playing video games was about 9.2 hours (for the ones with less than values,
the closest whole number was taken), with the hours per week ranging from
3 to 15 hours. Majority of testers play less than 10 hours of video games per
week.
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 Average
Age 14 24 23 19 29 25 16 54 43 27 27.4
Game
Knowledge
Med Med High Low Low Med Med Med Low Med -
Hr/Week of
gaming
15 <15 ≤10 5 <8 <10 10 7 3 12 ~9.2
Evaluation Tasks/Scenarios
Team TerraMind as a unit came up with each of the tasks listed.

● Task 1: The tester must learn to use the camera and movement
controls. These should be retained within 1-2 minutes. These
features are used throughout the entire game from start to finish
and are used in every stage of the game. The camera feature may
be awkward at first for players that are not used to first-person
mouse control. The movement feature may be awkward for players
that are not used to WASD movement.
● Task 2: The tester must learn the major features of the game,
including wall running and gravity shift. This should happen over
the course of stages 1 through 3. These features are used in every
stage thereafter and are key to completing the rest of the game.
● Task 3: The tester will be able to use the features of the game
easily and will start to realize what the player is actually capable of
doing. They will also learn that there are ways to do things
differently with the features the game has to offer. They should be
used to all of the game features by the end of level 9 where
everything will come together. By level 7 if electric death mechanic is
excluded from here.
● Task 4: The tester will complete the remainder of the game. These
levels will test the participants memory retention. This will be done
by reintroducing them to controls that they had learned in past
levels of the game.
Results
Task Completion Success Rate
Task 1 and 2 both had 100% completion rates, followed by Task 3 with a completion
rate of 70%. The task with the least completion rate was Task 4 with a completion
rate of 20%.
Task Completion Rates
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 Success Completion
Rate
Task 1 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 10 100%
Task 2 √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ √ 10 100%
Task 3 √ √ √ √ * √ √ √ * 7 70%
Task 4 √ √ * * 2 20%
* Spent time on these tasks, but didn’t finish them

Time on Task
The testing software recorded the time on task for each participant. Some
tasks were inherently more difficult to complete than others and is reflected
by the average time on task.
Task 1 requires participants to learn the movement and camera controls. T he
average completion time was 0.98 minutes, with completion time ranging
from 0.25 to 2 minutes with most times less than 1.5 minutes.
Task 2 requires participants to grasp the concepts of wall jumping and gravity
shift (level 1-3). The average completion time was 6.5 minutes, with
completion time ranging from 2 to 9 minutes with most times less than 8
minutes.
Task 3 requires participants to become accustomed to the game mechanics
presented in the game (level 4-9). The average completion time was 26.1
minutes, with completion time ranging from 9 to 80 minutes with most times
less than 30 minutes. Three testers did not finish task 3.
Task 4 requires participants to finish the remainder of the game (level 10-13),
utilizing everything they have learned up to this point. The average
completion time was 53 minutes, with completion time ranging from 36 to 70
minutes. Eight testers did not finish task 4.
Time on Task
P1 P2 P3 P4 P5 P6 P7 P8 P9 P10 Avg. TOT
Task 1 0.5 0.5 0.5 1 1 2 0.25 0.75 1.75 1.5 .98
Task 2 2 6 5 7 8 9 6 8 8 6 6.5
Task 3 13 21 15 - 25 * 9 80 20 * 26.1
Task 4 - 36 70 - - * * - - * 53
* Spent time on these tasks, but didn’t finish them
Impression Questions
● Without starting the game, (navigating the main menu), what is your
first impression of it?
○ P1:Not really impressed.
○ P2: Sciency, maybe a bit ‘puzzley’ [puzzle-like].
○ P3: Seems kind of bland.
○ P4: Very boring theme.
○ P5: Vast and cold.

○ P6: It looks like its a space game.
○ P7: An empty game
○ P8: Not very strong.
○ P9: Dull and not too fun.
○ P10: Has a Sci-Fi theme.
● What can you tell me about the game without starting it by exploring
and looking at the graphics within the menu?
○ P1:Well, it feels like it is placed in space.
○ P2: Looks like it will be either a long game based on the number of
levels or the levels will be very short.
○ P3: Looks like its set in space.
○ P4: It looks like it is a game made a while ago.
○ P5: Seems fast paced.
○ P6: Not sure, looks like it may have something to do with boxes.
○ P7: It feels like a space sort of game. Maybe Sci-Fi themed.
○ P8: Seems to be sci-fi related?
○ P9: Space-like theme.
○ P10: It looks like it could have boxes in it.
● What do you feel about the overall mechanics experience?
○ P1: They are somewhat confusing, especially since the game
progresses fast.
○ P2: It has potential, but it’s still clunky to control.
○ P3: With the way gravity control is like, it feels kind of inconsistent
because of how it seemingly changes with the way you face the
camera. I feel that other people would have problems with it, or will
get dizzy or a headache while playing it.
○ P4: The shifting was hard to get used to.
○ P5: Wall running is troublesome at best. It would fling me around
other directions for no clear reason. Shifting gravity needs to feel more
accurate.
○ P6: The gravity seems ok, but i couldn’t get used to the wall cling
because i used the gravity shift too much.
○ P7: They felt somewhat buggy. The wall run and the gravity shift
mechanic features doesn’t feel right.

○ P8: Movement and camera are easy to maneuver, but gravity shifting
gets confusing after a while of playing.
○ P9: The game made me dizzy from spinning so much.
○ P10: They take a while to get used to, after that the shifting seems
simple.
● What do you think about there being no game or intro music when
you are on the menu screen?
○ P1: Took me away from enjoying the game. It was boring.
○ P2: Makes it feel boring or apprehensive.
○ P3: You kind of just get thrown into the game when you click play and
wait after the load screen. The game is eerily silent except for sounds
of gravity shift and walking sounds.
○ P4: It makes the game very bland or boring.
○ P5: It wasn’t inviting but it wasn’t ominous either.
○ P6: I’m not sure what you’re asking, there was some music, but you
could hardly hear it.
○ P7: It felt bland.
○ P8: The intro music doesn’t really seem to fit a space theme to me. No
sound in-game makes it a bit boring.
○ P9: Doesn’t even feel like a game with no intro music.
○ P10: The music seems like it’s there, but it’s not enough to notice.
● Does the logo make you think of a particular kind of game?
○ P1: The logo was hard for me to make out anything from it.
○ P2: Puzzle game or maybe a strategy rpg.
○ P3: Cube Rush. It’s probably the shape of the letters, since the game
itself doesn’t really have anything to do with this one.
○ P4: No.
○ P5: Qbert.
○ P6: Not really.
○ P7: No.
○ P8: Not in particular. I don’t play a lot of games.
○ P9: Not that I can think of.
○ P10: No
Exploratory Questions

● What would your input be over the experience for manipulating the
environment to your advantages for solving puzzles?
○ P1: It was okay.
○ P2: I’m always interested in that kind of thing.
○ P3: Seems really intuitive.
○ P4: It was hard to get used to.
○ P5: It wasn’t bad at first but later on it made me nauseous.
○ P6: Its ok, but it made me a bit dizzy.
○ P7: It was interesting, to say the least.
○ P8: It’s definitely a lot different than the games that I am used to
playing.
○ P9: It was cool that you can change gravity but got me dizzy after a
while.
○ P10: I thought that it was pretty neat how they did it, but at times you
would get dizzy from doing it for too long.
● Is there a similar situation in another game where manipulating the
environment is key to get past levels? Can you tell me more about it?
○ P1: Minecraft. When you have to manipulate the land to at least grow
crops and survive each day. I think that each day is a level worth.
○ P2: Every moment of Portal.
○ P3: Crazy Gadget in Sonic Adventure Battle 2. You play as Sonic on
this level and at end of it, the last puzzle you have to solve is a gravity
shift puzzle where you pull levers to adjust the gravity.
○ P4: I have never played any game like this.
○ P5: I played this one flash game once where you shifted from floor to
ceiling to get past obstacles. This is like that but 3D.
○ P6: Not that i can think of no.
○ P7: Does Super Mario World count? When you have to hit blocks to
manipulate certain stuff to reach other levels? If so, then yeah.
○ P8: In the types of games I play, there is no instance of something
similar to this happening.
○ P9: I don’t play any type of game like this and never will again most
likely.
○ P10: Not the environment, but I have played one where you can
manipulate how you traverse the environment. In the game Kirby you
can flatten yourself, inflate, or even change the different actions you
do by consuming enemies.

● Does this game perhaps get players extremely dizzy while playing, to
the point where they need to stop for a little while?
○ P1: I had to stop because I got dizzy.
○ P2: I could see someone having that issue but I didn’t.
○ P3: As I stated earlier, with the way gravity control is like, it feels kind
of inconsistent because of how it seemingly changes with the way you
face the camera. I feel that other people would have problems with it ,
or will get dizzy or a headache while playing it.
○ P4: It is a little bit dizzy but not to the point where I couldn’t play the
game.
○ P5: Yes. That is why I didn’t finish the game.
○ P6: Yes, especially when you are using the shift and moving your
camera to another location.
○ P7: Yes, I can definitely see this as an issue.
○ P8: For sure. I couldn’t handle the game anymore after 9 because of
the camera controls and graphics.
○ P9: This is the most dizziest game I have ever played. There was way
too much spinning.
○ P10: Yes, after you shift to another position, if you move the camera
somewhere else it can make you nauseous.
● Do the controls for changing gravity feel intuitive to you? Be specific.
○ P1: It didn’t seem much as a gravity shift, but more as a rotation
mechanic. And not really. It felt confusing when changing the room in
different moments/sections in the game.
○ P2: It works but it’s clunky. Sometimes it seems to pick a random
direction to shift, rather than the one I meant to.
○ P3: It’s intuitive, but it could definitely use a bit more work to make
shifting more consistent. I don’t think you’ll be able to get rid of the
disorientation feeling someone may get when first playing, however.
○ P4: The controls were easy to use.
○ P5: Not really, it seemed to have issues switching how I wanted it if I
wasn’t staring straight at a wall.
○ P6: I’m not sure what you’re asking.
○ P7: I didn’t seem to have much issues with it so maybe it is intuitive.

○ P8: I would think so yes. This is the first game that I have played that
uses this sort of mechanic.
○ P9: It took me a couple minutes to get used to the controls but then
they came naturally.
○ P10: Not sure what you mean, the controls seem easy to use if that’s
what you’re asking.
● There are wall run and wall jump mechanics used in this game. Can
you think of similar games that utilize this function? How is it the
same? How is it different?
○ P1: Mirror’s Edge is the only game that goes through my mind. It felt
somewhat different, but it is probably because of the flow while
running in the walls and the stiff jumps.
○ P2: Mirrors Edge had a lot of that but it felt much better in that game.
I think it was because it was based on the player’s momentum, rather
than just a cling with free movement.
○ P3: Prince of Persia. This one is in first person view, and Prince of
Persia is in third person view.
○ P4: I have never played any type of game like this.
○ P5: I don’t play a lot of adventure games like this so not really. Does
Mario count?
○ P6: None that i have played, but I have seen some games that you
have played that is kind of similar. It’s the same because you are
latching onto a wall, but it is different because in this game you can
only move across and in games that I seen you play such as that
Assassin’s Creed you can also go up walls.
○ P7: Titanfall has these features. But I guess that they are pretty
different because of the atmosphere and the different feelings of
controller and mechanics between the two games.
○ P8: Super Mario 64 uses wall jump but not wall run. I don’t think I can
think of one that does off the top of my head since the genres I play
don’t have these types of puzzles in them.
○ P9: No, this is the first time I played a game anything like this.
○ P10: None that I can think of no.
● In this game there was a first person camera angle used. Can you
think of similar games that utilize this function? How are they the
same? How are they different?

○ P1: The only game that comes to mind is Call of Duty, but you don’t
really shoot in this game.
○ P2: Portal is also in first person but I think it was using a different kind
of engine. This one feels less polished.
○ P3: The Halo franchise uses first person. They’re different in the way
that the camera angles are utilized for the same purpose, but for
different genres.
○ P4: I watched my brother play games like that but I never have.
○ P5: Halo? I don’t play a lot of first person games.
○ P6: I can’t think of any that i have seen or played that use it.
○ P7: Titanfall has First Person view, but this game is passive compared
to Titanfall where it is aggressive and fast.
○ P8: There’s a lot of games that use first person mode, but out of the
ones I’ve played, there aren’t any that I can recall.
○ P9: No, I don’t play video games.
○ P10: No
● Did the controller schematics/mechanics/layout make the game
experience easier or harder? Explain.
○ P1: It was somewhat easier, considering I could use both my hands for
different features.
○ P2: Easier. WASD is a familiar control scheme and the clicking let me
choose (some of the time) what direction to switch in.
○ P3: WASD for movement, mouse for camera, and mouse click and
mouse wheel for gravity shift, with E key for interaction is usually what
you see in other games, minus the controls for the gravity shift. E key
for interaction I’ve seen quite a bit, and clicking is usually part of these
types of games I would think.
○ P4: The controls were easy to use so I guess it didn’t make a
difference.
○ P5: There were so many directions to switch to that I had trouble with
it. Wall running was terrible because I couldn’t move and hold shift at
the same time very well.
○ P6: It made them easy because you could see a representation of
what the control did.
○ P7: It was easier because I’ve played other PC games that used the
buttons WASD and the mouse to look around. I guess familiarity
helped.

○ P8: It was different than the types of games I am used to playing so it
felt a bit weird adjusting at first.
○ P9: I don’t play any games but I don’t think these controls were too
hard to adjust to.
○ P10: The controls made it easy, but that is bec ause they were simple
to use.
● Is it easy to understand what entity is what in the game? Example:
Does a switch visually inform you that it is a switch?
○ P1: Switches were easy to understand what they were since Level 1.
Outside of that, I thought that the holes with the space background
were windows. I never tried going through there.
○ P2: At first I thought the buttons were dangerous because they were
red. The electric walls only look dangerous because of the electric
animation, the maze section felt weird without the electricity
animations.
○ P3: To an extent yes. One of the platforms in level 7 is the same color
of a pressed switch, so that initially threw me off.
○ P4: It is easy to tell that you need to hit the switch considering it is the
only item to interact with.
○ P5: I couldn’t tell what walls I could and couldn’t wall run on and
sometimes I could when it looked like I couldn’t.
○ P6: I guess so yeah because the switch informs you when it is on or
off.
○ P7: Everything was easy to understand what entity was what and how
it functions after the tutorial levels.
○ P8: Yes.
○ P9: It was confusing at first but I realized that is what I needed to do.
○ P10: Yes, especially the switches because they were indicated with a
screen to inform you if it was on or off. There was a level where some
of the moving platforms were different colors so it made it unclear at
times what they were.
● How did the block puzzles affect your experience?
○ P1: They weren’t boring, but not my cup of tea (doesn’t enjoy those
kind of puzzles).
○ P2: They were the most entertaining part for me.

○ P3: They’re fun but some of them take a bit more thinking to get
through.
○ P4: I thought they were interesting, they made the experience a tad
bit more fun.
○ P5: I liked them. I wish there were more of them.
○ P6: It was difficult for me to figure out some of the levels that had the
blocks in them. Especially the one in level 8 because I couldn’t figure
out how to put the block inside the invisible box that had the button,
some others were easy to figure out.
○ P7: It was pretty okay. Although, I didn’t play for long when I reached
that part.
○ P8: They make you think about how gravity works really well.
○ P9: The block puzzles were fun, I like solving puzzles.
○ P10: The only time they affected me was in level 8, I just couldn’t
figure out how you were supposed to get the block to the button by
getting them on the platforms.
● Does the game glitch out or make mistakes while maneuvering the
walls and changing up the gravity? Is it accurate?
○ P1: I guess that since I’m not too used to PC games, it kind of messed
me up a little, getting the hang of the controller and features. Always
made a mistake to change the gravity in the wrong way from time to
time.
○ P2: When I changed gravity it would often make me fall in a seemingly
random direction. Especially when I had to look around a whole room
to see what I could switch to. Rooms like the block maze where there
was no moving to do I didn’t have problems in. Walls were very glitchy
I think.
○ P3: Other than the fact I get enjoyment in breaking games from
finding glitches and stuff, there were a few things that came to mind.
First is gravity shifting. It’s inconsistent if it isn’t done at 90 degree
angles, and can sometimes send you off in a different direction that
what your input was in this case. The second is that the game does
not lock controls during cutscenes, and that you can still change the
gravity during them, thus saving time or skipping sections entirely.
The third would be that if two walls are too close to each other while
wall running, you can actually switch to the other wall. I don’t know if
that is intended or not, but I was able to completely bypass the timed
puzzle on level 6 because of this. The fourth would be how you could

get launched randomly by bouncing off surfaces, but I assume that’s
something code related that hasn’t been fixed yet.
○ P4: Sometimes it made me go the wrong way but it may have been an
error on my part pressing the wrong buttons.
○ P5: Wall running and jumping was very glitchy. I would be flung in
other directions when jumping off the walls. It completely ignored my
movements and threw me away from any sensible location. When
hanging under a wall or platform, it wouldn’t let me climb up anywhere
reliably either.
○ P6: It does when you shift to a wall because sometimes you either go
through it when it’s moving or you connect with it and instead of
moving with it you stay in one place and slide off.
○ P7: At times, it kind of got confusing and made me make mistakes in
earlier stages. Got frustrated too.
○ P8: Gravity shifting seems inconsistent if it isn’t done at 90 degree
angles.
○ P9: I can’t really tell because it switches so fast.
○ P10: Some areas yes it would say that you were wall clinging when
you weren’t.
Directive Questions
● What do you think of the decals in level 1, 2, and 6? Did the style of
them help in completing that level? how?
○ P1: It made entities easier to identify, yes.
○ P2: I don’t think I remember any decals. If they were apparent, I
probably didn’t recognize what they were for.
○ P3: I honestly didn’t even pay attention to them and played through
the level.
○ P4: I didn’t even notice the decals.
○ P5: The orange walls made it clear I shouldn’t go that way.
○ P6: The decals were clear to read.
○ P7: They were pretty clear.
○ P8: I didn’t notice them at first.
○ P9: I didn’t pay attention to decals.
○ P10: I thought the decals looked nice, and they were clear enough to
read and understand.
● Was there any point in time during gameplay when you felt lost or
confused by the gravity shift mechanics? When and why?

○ P1: At the beginning of the game. It took some time to get somewhat
adjusted to the gravity shift mechanics but eventually got around it.
○ P2: When shifting, it would often go in what seemed like a random
direction and this always threw me off. It was like going into a car that
just did 3 flips, and now you’re told to point to the north. I couldn’t
find where I was or what I was doing if it ever shifted wrong. A quick
way to reset would have made that kind of thing easier.
○ P3: It’s inconsistent if it isn’t done at 90 degree angles, and can
sometimes send you off in a different direction that what your input
was in this case.
○ P4: I felt lost almost from the start of the game, it just got more and
more confusing as it went on. The gravity was hard to use.
○ P5: Any time I shifted and it didn’t go the direction I expected, it threw
me off because I wasn’t ready to view the area at that angle.
○ P6: I had gotten confused on level 8. You knew where the box had to
go, but couldn’t get it in there because it was more in the center of the
wall. It seemed as if you could get it from the ceiling, but there was a
gap. Also, the maze got confusing because some of the colored panels
couldn’t be followed in a pattern.
○ P7: They were somewhat confusing and tedious to use, considering
that the shift was slow like if it had some sort of cooldown effect. But
they weren’t that confusing to get too lost in the game.
○ P8: Gravity shifting seems inconsistent if it isn’t done at 90 degree
angles. Also, I tended to get disoriented after a gravity shift and it
took a few seconds to readjust myself to get my bearings.
○ P9: I got the hang of the gravity after a while but it just made me feel
sick after so many times.
○ P10: There wasn’t anything about the gravity shift that was confusing,
but there were some levels that some of the features got confusing.
The maze was one because some of the patterns wouldn’t match up
with the color you thought it was. Also, one of the levels had different
colored movable platforms that made it unclear as to if they were
buttons or if they would do different things.
Issues
P1 - (QA) The camera speed could be toned down a bit to look around slowly,
or at least be able to modify this in the settings, which is locked.
P2 -(QA) Fell through thin platforms when falling at higher speeds.
P3 - (Controls) Gravity shifting was inconsistent if done at an angle that
wasn’t 90 degrees.
P4 - (Design) The game was very confusing at times and was hard to figure
out where to go.
P5 - (Controls) Couldn’t consistently switch gravity in the way they intended.
P6 -(QA) Glitchy wall controls made movement impossible.

P7 - (Design) The levels could use more life. It is practically using dead space.
P8 - (Controls) Gravity shifting every time was disorienting and took a few
moments to readjust to surroundings.
P9 - (Design) The way the gravity shifted caused much dizziness.
P10 -(QA) Had to restart level after not respawning from space after a certain
amount of time.
Analysis
Help and Documentation - There’s no way for the player to go back and
review the controller schematics after the tutorial levels. The “Settings”
section is locked. Every time a player wanted to remember a button for a
mechanic, they would pause the game and look for the settings button to
review the controller schematics. This was locked out due to future
implementation said by the devs of the game.
Recommendations
Likes, Dislikes, Participant Recommendations
Liked Most
The following comments capture what the participants liked most:
● P1: I guess the feel of the controls were pretty good.
● P2: The puzzles that used the boxes and the lateral thinking of gravity
shifting.
● P3: Movement and camera controls simulate similar games, making it
easy to pick up.
● P4: I thought changing gravity was cool.
● P5: I like the idea of the gravity shifting.
● P6: The ease of some of the controls.
● P7: Keeping some common controls which made the game easy to pick
up on was good.
● P8: Puzzles were difficult and made you think.
● P9: I liked the puzzles in the game.
● P10: Easy controls and complex puzzles.
Liked Least
The following comments capture what the participants liked the least:
● P1: The camera view. But then again, not really used to first person
games.
● P2: Clunky controls in regards to shifting.

● P3: A lot of things in this game were easily able to get around/break.
It was fun, but really easy to break apart and get around things, so my
fun didn’t last as much as I would’ve hoped.
● P4: The game got very confusing and I didn’t know what to do at
times.
● P5: Wall running.
● P6: The sound from gravity shifting.
● P7: The Gravity Shift mechanic. It is a good idea, but I didn’t feel
pretty comfortable with it in the game.
● P8: Disorientation after gravity shifting.
● P9: The game made me very dizzy.
● P10: Movement of the camera after gravity shift.
RecommendationsforImprovement
Change Justification Severity
1. Tone down difficulty of later
levels (past 9).
2. Provide a ceiling in level 10’s
maze section.
3. Adjust so the fuse box on
level 7 is farther away from
the door.
4. Bug fix
5. Bug fix
6. Bug fix
7. Bug fix
8. Bug fix
9. Adjust how far a player can
cling/wall run on certain
walls so that players don’t
randomly launch themselves
if they clip a corner. (Ex:
disable back half of a wall so
that a player can only go as
far).
10. Bug fix
1. Some of the later puzzles can be
extremely hard to decipher/complete as
a casual gamer. Lightening the load of
these later levels can be beneficial if you
are creating a game that would include
casual gamers in its audience.
2. Players can get aggravated from having
to do the puzzle over again when they
made a wrong move that catapulted
them into space.
3. With how it is currently set up, if a player
times it correctly, he can take the fuse
out of the fuse box and run through the
door to finish the level, and take the fuse
into future levels. By doing this, the
player can completely bypass having to
get the fuse on level 9.
4. Players can gravity shift during a death
animation. This gravity shift will
transition over after respawn. If a player
dies to electric death on level 9 while
doing this, movement controls get locked
up and the player must exit the game in
order to fix it.
5. The player can gravity shift, jump, and
‘move’ during the load screen (one-three
of these can be achieved depending on
the level being loaded). When the game
fully loads, the controls are locked up
and the player must exit the game in
order to fix it.
6. If the player ‘alt tabs’ during a load
screen, controls are locked up and the
player must exit the game in order to fix
it.
1. Moderate
2. Moderate
3. Low
4. High
5. High
6. Low
7. Moderate
8. Moderate
9. Low
10. Moderate

7. Falling at high speeds allows a player to
clip through thin platforms.
8. The entire back wall at the start of level
10 (the one with the purple door on it)
does not trigger electric death at all, no
matter where you walk on it.
9. If a player managed to clip a corner while
wall running and performed a jump, the
player would launch in a direction that
was unintended.
10. Level 9: If you die after putting the fuse
in the fuse box, the fuse box will still be
turned ‘on’, but the fusebox is still there.
Same goes for the checkpoint system
here: your progress isn’t updated when
you come back with the fuse to the
beginning if you die after you get there.
In addition to the problem mentioned in
the previous point, you can hit the E key
while holding a fuse box to 'enable
gravity shift' and drop the fuse box. You
can pick up a fusebox again by walking
onto the blue platform. However, Gravity
shift is permanently disabled for this
level if you died before finishing the level
after putting the fuse in the fuse box. If
this happens, the player cannot complete
the level because they cannot make the
jump that requires a gravity shift to get
over the gap.

Post Mortem
Terramind, if nothing else knows how to work hard and under pressure. Our
team is full of enthusiastic and capable people who know when to put distractions
aside and look at the task at hand. We’ve managed to fill out an enormous amount of
information in the very short time we were able to perform tests. Our tests weren’t
complete until partway through the 30th due to the fact that we did not obtain a
viable testing build until Wednesday, effectively cutting our time to organize our
findings by approximately 60%. Terramind has proven itself a capable workforce by
completing all that it has in such an extremely short time.
Terramind faced some logistics issues this week. We were unable to recieve a
viable test build until late in the testing period. This resulted in a hefty rush to
complete all the necessary requirements. In the future, this could be mitigated by
testing on the previous builds since, in the case of usability in an alpha state, even a
slightly out of date build can be used to procure viable test results. Though the team
was able to complete all the required tasks within the strict time limit, it is agreed
throughout the team that this kind of work rush is to be avoided at all costs in future
prospects.

References:
Nielsen, J. (1995, January 1). 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design.
Retrieved January 31, 2015, from http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-
heuristics/

Terramind Usability

Recommended

Recommended

More Related Content

Similar to Terramind Usability

Similar to Terramind Usability (20)

Recently uploaded

Recently uploaded (20)

Terramind Usability