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Journal

Video Game Usability

June 29, 2005 | Video Games

Usability is an integral part of software development and has been so for the past 20 years. For one reason or another, usability has not gained similar popularity in game development. This, however, is about to change.

There is an article on Gamasutra about usability in video games. A lot of the things mentioned are similar to the topics people have been talking about in the web design community for a while now, and I think it’s great that game developers are starting to put more emphasis on the user experience, by that I don’t just mean the gameplay experience but the game as a whole (menus, control, interface etc). That’s not to say every developer ignores it’s users but with more and more formulaic games being released (*cough* colour matching games … *cough*) more effort should be put into the user experience. This is one area that indie developers can excel in since all it costs is a bit of time and patience (and effort).

an image of Bubble Game showing a couple of the new features in action

Usability testing…

With my latest game (it still needs a name - I’ll refer to it as Bubble Game) I have actually attempted some simple user testing which is something I haven’t tried before.

My target audience with Bubble Game is people who wouldn’t normally play games. Those with young children, or people at work who want something to do in their lunch break. ‘Hardcore gamers’ aren’t going to be interested in another colour matching game so improving the usability for my audience is almost essential.

Since it is such a simple game to play, and they fit the audience I’m aiming for, I thought I would ask my parents, who don’t normally play computer games, if they fancied having a go. My Mum now plays it every night, and my Dad was overjoyed when I included his suggestion of an undo button. However, when they first started playing, I noticed they stumbled on a couple of ’simple’ things that gamers, such as myself, tend to take for granted.

After watching them play for a while I made a list of small changes that would make things easier to understand and, hopefully, make the game more enjoyable for my potential audience.

One of my favourite new usability influenced features is a context sensitive mouse. Before testing the game the mouse was always a blue & white colour arrow, now it changes depending upon the situation. If you mouse over a button the mouse turns to a finger pointer, this is to mirror real life experiences with the internet. In game if you can make a move, clear the bubbles, the mouse turns green. Also if you are left with only bombs, a potentially game ending situation, the mouse turns red and the bomb count starts flashing. It’s all very simple but gives the user extra feedback about their options in the game.

One of the points in the Gamasutra article is that there is a lot of competition in games, so if the user has problems with your game they can quickly drop it and move onto the next one. This is particularly important in shareware games where you can download a free demo before buying the full version. Making the game, the demo in particular, as easy to play as possible is essential. If people don’t buy Bubble Game I want it to be because they didn’t enjoy it, not because it was impossible to understand!

Comments »

  1. 1. danni
    June 15, 2006

    How about bubblebreaker?

  2. 2. Ben
    June 15, 2006

    Hi Danny

    Thanks for that. Unfortunately you are about 12 months late, since the game has already been released into the wild as Bubble Blitz.

  3. 3. eelke
    June 21, 2006

    hi I developed a set of interaction design patterns for games, its still work in progress but I’ve received much positive feedback. Its just a list of patterns which may improve game usability. You could heuristically evaluate a game for this list to identify the support for usability. That rocketboard game looks cool by the way reminds me of this cool skateboard in back to the future!

  4. 4. Sonaya
    July 5, 2007

    How about BUBBLE WRAP

  5. 5. Ben
    July 5, 2007

    Erm - as said above the game has been out for a while now. It’s named Bubble Blitz. Thanks anyway :)

  6. 6. kerry marie
    August 22, 2007

    im thinking bubble mania, bubble factory, bubble it away or bubble baby

  7. 7. Eddie
    April 6, 2008

    Not sure about BUBBLE WRAP but have definitely played bubble blitz. I like your game though Danny, good fun and has kept me busy at lunch ;-)

  8. 8. Ben
    April 6, 2008

    Eddie - Glad you like the game :) Not sure who Danny is though :S

  9. 9. Eddie
    April 7, 2008

    Ooops, soz getting my names all jumbled up again. Saw the salutation at the top of the comments and presumed wrong, my bad! Goog game though :-)

  10. 10. Ben
    April 7, 2008

    Eddie - ha ha :) no worries. I wondered if it was something like that.

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