Usability Breakdown of Snow Way in Hell

1. Usability Breakdown of
Snow Way in Hell
(Using Jakob Nielson’s 10 Heuristics)
Daniel Cox, Sebastian Elmes, Nate Gurian, Brandon Hackett, and Thomas
Hoffman
Assignment 1
Full Sail University

2. Abstract
This presentation will cover the usability of the game Snow
Way in Hell. Jakob Neilson’s 10 Heuristics will be used to
identify usability problems within the game. Descriptions of
the problems, solutions, ratings, and screenshots for
reference will be offered to further explain the issues of
Snow Way in Hell.

3. Game Summary
Snow Way in Hell is a side-scrolling platformer where the player controls
an enchanted snowball trying to escape from the depths of hell. The player will
need to traverse various environmental obstacles like fire, spike pits, wide
gaps, and lava in order to progress through the game. The player will also need
to fight off Satan and his minions with his trusty snowballs in order to escape.
Life will deplete over time, causing the player to race to checkpoints or find
other ways to get more time giving a more intense theme of struggling to
escape and survival while still not effecting it’s humorous look. Snow Way in
Hell also incorporates puzzles involving size changing, throwing snowballs at
fire pits, buttons, and much more to further challenge the players in each of its
9 levels. The game’s intense yet humorous theme has been set in order to target
the teenage gamers of today.

4. Problem No visible status change.
Rating High
Description No information is provided to inform the player what is occurring. The player is
unaware if they have just died, if the game is paused, or if a glitch occurred.
Solution A solution would be to add text in the top center of the screen that would display what
status the game is when whether the game paused, loading, the player is dead, player
reached a checkpoint, etc…
Reference Shot
Visibility of System Status

5. Problem Steam being used as an elevator.
Rating Medium
Description Snow Way in Hell’s premise seems set up specifically to avoid questions involving this
heuristic, through absurdity. Still, it hampers use when the player might not see the
logic behind steam causing a powerful upward draft, and therefore neglect to try
activating the fire with snowballs.
Solution Researching what things could realistically interact with snow or water to create an
upward force would provide a better idea for what to make these platforms. As it
stands, unless the player is lucky and catches onto this by mistake, they aren’t going to
progress.
Reference Shot
Match Between System and Real
World

6. Problem User can not access the options menu while playing the game.
Rating High
Description The player is limited to resuming the game, and exiting to the main menu when
paused. The player should be able to have freedom to adjust options to affect gameplay
and settings.
Solution The solution for this problem is to add an options section in the pause menu. This will
give the player more control and freedom, allowing them to have their optimal settings
for a more enjoyable experience when playing Snow Way in Hell.
Reference Shot
User Control and Freedom

7. Problem Player can control token with Up and Down arrows.
Rating Low
Description The up and down arrow buttons move the character forward and backward. This may
cause some players to become confused with the movement functionality in the game.
Solution Setting up the character movement to be consistent with the arrows. Left arrow button
moves the character to the left, and Right arrow button moves the character to the right.
Reference Shot
Consistency and Standards

8. Problem There is not extra confirmation when trying to quit the game.
Rating Medium
Description When quitting the game, there’s no warning about losing all progress. This could cause
the player to unintentionally quit the game.
Solution There should be a question that pops up asking “Are you sure you want to quit?”
Reference Shot
Error Prevention

9. Problem No information is provided to inform the player what needs to be accomplished in
game.
Rating Medium
Description There is no description as to how to proceed through the level. The player is left in the
dark as to what they are supposed to accomplish throughout the level.
Solution A simple solution to this problem is to add an “Objective Tab” in the GUI and place it
in the top right hand corner opposite of the “Frozenness Meter”. The “Objective Tab”
would assist the player by giving them information on what they are currently needing
to accomplish in order to minimize confusion, while also being an effective reminder.
Reference Shot
Recognition Rather than Recall

10. Problem Options section is limited to audio.
Rating Low
Description Player is not given the ability to customize the layout of the action buttons.
Solution There could be a menu that allows the player to customize button layout to better fit
their play style and comfortability.
Reference Shot
Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

11. Problem Low Contrast Text
Rating Medium
Description It’s difficult to read the 2 buttons available in the pause menu due to their low contrast.
It is also difficult to sometimes read the label and timer as well due to their low
contrast.
Solution To solve this problem, the designer could would have to make one simple change.
There could be a background box behind the text that would stop the text from
disappearing into the background.
Reference Shots
Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

12. Problem No indication as to what is attacking or killing the player.
Rating Medium
Description When the flame bats approach the player, there is nothing which indicates the bats are
harming the player, and that the player should avoid them.
Solution When the player is being attacked by an enemy, a display could warn the player. Also
if the player dies in the game, the box could display what has killed them.
Reference Shot
Help Users Recognize, Diagnose, and
Recover Errors

13. Problem No explanation of how to play the game.
Rating High
Description The game doesn’t have any means of informing the player what is going on and how to
play the game, leaving the player clueless.
Solution Adding a tutorial at the beginning of the first level of the game would be most
beneficial to the player.
Reference Shot
Help and Documentation

14. References
Isbister, K. & Schaffer, N. (2008). Game Usability: Advice from the Experts for Advancing the Player Experience.
Burlington, MA: Morgan Kaufmann Publishers.
Nielsen, J. (1995, January 1). 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design. Retrieved from:
http://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
Whildin, J., West, K., Patterson, L., Mangold, M., & Gill, T. (2012, May 6). Game Design Document: Snow Way in Hell.
Winter Park, FL: Full Sail University.