User-centered methods for small game development studios

Abstract

This thesis takes a look at how to adapt user-centered methods for user testing with small game developer studios. Reviewing earlier work reveals that little effort has been put into developing user-centered methods for these developers. Three methods based on earlier work have been used for testing games. This is done to analyze how well the methods perform. These methods have also met specific criteria. These criteria state that the methods must be usable with little preparation. They must be fast and easy to conduct. They can be used with small sample sizes. The selected methods are a heuristic evaluation, playtesting (a type of observation study), and interviews. Four games are tested with the selected methods in the study. The results from the tests show that the methods are usable for testing the selected games. It is shown that there are differences in their effectiveness depending on the complexity of the game. Two of the games produce large amounts of usable data. These two games are more complex than the other two which are more conceptual in nature. These two games still produced valuable information that helps to guide the development. A case study where Suttung Digital is interviewed some weeks after their game has been tested reveals that there is a need for these methods. The issues found during the testing of their game are substantial enough for them to need a few months to implement. The case study shows that the methods are understandable to an audience with little knowledge of usability testing and that a framework for how to conduct these tests is wanted.