{"id":905,"date":"2010-06-15T09:22:43","date_gmt":"2010-06-15T08:22:43","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/?p=905"},"modified":"2019-11-06T17:45:02","modified_gmt":"2019-11-06T16:45:02","slug":"user-experience-or-player-experience","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/15\/user-experience-or-player-experience\/","title":{"rendered":"User Experience or Player Experience?"},"content":{"rendered":"

The common job title for the role of understanding, and optimising how people feel when playing games or using software is \u2018User Experience Designer\u2019. Although factually accurate, I believe that this term is neither appropriate, nor flattering for designing experiences, particularly for games. \u00a0Instead, I prefer the term \u2018player experience\u2019.
\nRead on to discover why! (\u2026and read even further on to find the comments section, and tell me why I\u2019m wrong)<\/p>\n

Why \u2018User Experience\u2019<\/h4>\n

\u2018Experience\u2019 is simple enough \u2013 the object is to design how the person who uses your product feels when they use it \u2013 essentially, how they experience it. Simples.<\/p>\n

\n
\"Hendrix\"

My kind of experience<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

The aspect of the title that I feel isn\u2019t accurate, is \u2018User\u2019. The \u2018User\u2019 in User Experience is rooted in traditional computing terminology, derived from authentication requirements, like a log-in, to access directories and applications. The computer\u2019s ability to have multiple people access the same system, and hence create a multi-user environment solidified the term, and the effects of the internet, and hence a worldwide network of authentication has made the term common place.<\/p>\n

As such, you can see why the generic term to call someone who uses a computer has become \u2018user\u2019. And, even when playing games, this term is still currently used. But maybe it shouldn\u2019t\u2026<\/p>\n

Why not?<\/h4>\n

Why don\u2019t I like the term \u2018user experience\u2019 for games? More so than with the web, or applications, gaming suffers from the association with the other main connotation of \u2018user\u2019 \u2013 drug use, and addiction.<\/p>\n

Unfairly, computer games have often been compared to addictions and drug use (and not the nice drugs either!). \u00a0The press often cover stories such as \u201cGaming as addictive as cocaine\u201d<\/a>, \u201cAddicted to Xbox\u201d<\/a>, or Gaming Addiction Clinics<\/a>.<\/p>\n

\n
\"computer

I hated family holidays...<\/p><\/div>\n<\/div>\n

And everyone\u2019s heard about the people who live in World of Warcraft, ordering food through its pizza delivery service, and eternally grinding, letting their \u2018real\u2019 life fall to pieces. Social games in particular, through excessive positive reinforcement and social competition, aim to get player\u2019s \u2018hooked\u2019, and keep on playing. So, you can see why gaming comes off unfairly when compared to drug use, through the term \u2018user\u2019.<\/p>\n

I say unfairly as, like most things, gaming is psychologically addictive. In that, if you like doing it, you\u2019ll do it again. But then, so are all the fun things you enjoy, like petting the cat, or reading a book. Addiction is doing these things to excess, and it\u2019s the excess that\u2019s bad, not the activity. Hard drugs on the other hand are chemically addictive. Which is completely different and creates dependence.<\/p>\n

Instead\u2026<\/h4>\n

So, to avoid these comparisons with the other types of users, I prefer the term \u2018Player Experience\u2019. Not only does this remove the unsightly comparison, but it\u2019s more accurate than the term user for playing games.<\/p>\n

Computer Gaming has little to do with authentication, and exists independent from the platform \u2013 as an activity it is closer to games than computing. The designer is crafting the game to change the player\u2019s experience, rather than crafting the computer, and hence the term should reflect gaming\u2019s prominence in this relationship.<\/p>\n

Hence I believe that \u2018Player Experience\u2019 is a more accurate, and nice, term for describing what is being designed within games.<\/p>\n

(I also have a vested interest in the term as I\u2019m on the first page of Google for \u2018player experience\u2019, and miles down the list for \u2018User Experience\u2019 \u2013 that said, more people come to this blog having searched for User Experience.)<\/p>\n

However, for the web, and applications, I\u2019m not so sure. Obviously \u2018Player Experience\u2019 doesn\u2019t fit. And does computing in general suffer from the negative public image with regards to addiction that gaming does? If not, maybe the term shouldn\u2019t be changed.<\/p>\n

Other alternatives, for software, could be \u2018Customer Experience\u2019 \u2013 however this is rather corporate, and not universally applicable, or simply using \u2018Experience Design\u2019, and dropping the user. I would be interested in hearing your thoughts, or alternative terms, or if you prefer \u2018User Experience\u2019 as a term. Comment, or add me on Twitter<\/a>, and let me know what you think!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The common job title for the role of understanding, and optimising how people feel when playing games or using software is \u2018User Experience Designer\u2019. Although factually accurate, I believe that this term is neither appropriate, nor flattering for designing experiences, particularly for games. \u00a0Instead, I prefer the term \u2018player experience\u2019. Read on to discover why! […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[117],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-905","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-games-user-research","grve-entry-item","grve-blog-item"],"yoast_head":"\nUser Experience or Player Experience? - Steve Bromley - User Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.stevebromley.com\/blog\/2010\/06\/15\/user-experience-or-player-experience\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"User Experience or Player Experience? - Steve Bromley - User Research\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The common job title for the role of understanding, and optimising how people feel when playing games or using software is \u2018User Experience Designer\u2019. 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