23
Jul

Is my social game good?

As a games user researcher, the ultimate question we are trying to answer is usually “is my game good?” This is a very difficult topic – there are many facets that go into making a good game, and although we can help with some of them, there are many more that are difficult to influence. This post looks at how social & party games throw up unique challenges in assessing quality, and what we can do to help answer the question “is it good?”

Click to read more…

23
Jun

How to save games!

The need for good usability when saving games is obvious – players want to know that their data is safe. Unlike the actual gameplay, which requires user experience evaluation, saving a game is a short, goal focused task. However it is still a fundamental aspect of gaming, and can have a huge impact on a player’s perception of a game.

This lends itself to some best practises, derived from reviewing current games, which can be applied to almost any genre of game. In this post I’ve created some saved games rules, and given examples of games where breaking these rules has ruined my day!

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6
Jun

What is Games User Research?

I recently wrote a short introduction to Games User Research for PaulOlyslager.com.

The article covers topics including why user research is important to games, what are the differences between games and traditional UX research and some common techniques used in games user research.

It also includes some links to more information about games user research.

Read the full article here!

25
Apr

How to break into Games User Research – The Expert Opinions (Updated!)

Recently I posted my thoughts on what’s required to get started in games user research . I’ve also reached out to some members of the game UX community, and asked them “what would be the one piece of advice you’d give to people wanting to break into games user research?”

Read on for their top advice on how to get started as a games user researcher:
Click to read more…

25
Mar

How to break into Games User Research

I’ve been working as a full time games user researcher since last year, and have often been asked “how did you get your job?”  Games user research is a relatively niche, yet emerging, field, and there are still plenty of opportunities to get involved without having years of experience in the games industry.  In this post, I discuss how I broke into the field. Please note that this post reflects my own experience, so your mileage may vary! Click to read more…