delivering successful games - a player-centred process
DESCRIPTION
Methods and best practices for improving the player experience throughout development. Graham McAllister Graham is the founder of Player Research, an award-winning user research and playtesting studio which provides insights into players and gameplay. Player Research work with video game studios at all stages of game development, from concept through to release, helping to provide evidence to support design decisions and deliver the best possible player experience. Their clients include NaturalMotion Games, EA, Sony, Capcom, Splash Damage and the BBC among many others. Graham also writes the column on user research for Edge http://www.edge-online.com/author/gmcallister/TRANSCRIPT
Delivering Successful Games A Player-centred Process
!
Graham McAllister !
@grmcall @playerresearch
Player Research have an unparalleled track record of successful games across all platforms:
GAMES
of our
100%
iOS games featured
20+
FRONT PAGEon the Apple App Store
User Research
What metrics can we get from the player?
!
Behaviour - what the player did
Rationale - why they did it
Perception - what did the player think happened
Experience - how the player felt
Pure - level 1 !coded
Video
HOW?
CHALLENGE
ASSUMPTIONS
You may not know where your barriers to monetisation reside until it’s too late
FEEDBACK IN GAME DEVELOPMENT
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Key Question: How early do you get objective player feedback?
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ProductionDesignConcept Soft-launch Launch
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• Assumption: The player is going to reach the monetisation point
MONETISATION IS NOT ENOUGH
MONETISATION!
Players justify spending on the game, given circumstances in which they appreciate the benefit to their experience.
PLAYER EXPERIENCE!
Players reliably follow the game’s designed experience, without unwanted hinderance.
USABILITY!
The menu and UI design is usable, allowing players to complete tasks and goals from ‘understanding’ the game.
UNDERSTANDING!
The tutorials and feedback provided support the player’s understanding both reliably and sufficiently.
• Evidence-based - hundreds of interviews with players
• The Swiss Cheese model of accident causation
A PLAYER PSYCHOLOGY PERSPECTIVE
Problems
Understanding
Usability
Player Experience
Monetisation
Weaknesses
Player Path
UNDERSTANDING PLAYERS
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Key Question: How well do you understand your players?
ProductionDesignConcept Soft-launch Launch
• Monetisation is significantly impacted by player experience
• How can we deliver a better player experience?
PROCESS FOR USER FEEDBACK
ProductionDesignConcept Soft-launch Launch
Usab
ility E
xper
t Eva
luatio
n
Colla
bora
tive
UI D
esign
UI E
xper
t Eva
luatio
n
Com
petit
or A
nalys
is
Itera
tive
Playte
sting
Enga
gem
ent D
iary
Inter
actio
n Ana
lysis
Soft-
launc
h Pla
ytesti
ng
Conc
ept T
estin
g
Analy
tics +
use
r res
earc
h
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
MONETISATION!
PLAYER EXPERIENCE!
USABILITY!
UNDERSTANDING!
ProductionDesignConcept Soft-launch Launch
Usab
ility E
xper
t Eva
luatio
n
Colla
bora
tive
UI D
esign
UI E
xper
t Eva
luatio
n
Com
petit
or A
nalys
is
Itera
tive
Playte
sting
Enga
gem
ent D
iary
Inter
actio
n Ana
lysis
Soft-
launc
h Pla
ytesti
ng
Conc
ept T
estin
g
Analy
tics +
use
r res
earc
h
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
PROCESS FOR SUCCESSFUL GAMES
Concept Testing
Competitor Analysis
Interaction Analysis
Collaborative UI Design
UI Expert Evaluation
Usability Expert Evaluation
Playtesting
Engagement Diary
Soft Launch Playtesting
Ongoing Analytics + User Research
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
MULTIPLE LENSES
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
MONETISATION
PLAYER EXPERIENCE
USABILITY
UNDERSTANDING
Playtesting A Player-centred Process
How many opportunities to understand and
polish the player experience have you put in place?
SUCCESSFUL GAMES
How soon in the process was there any uncertainty?
@grmcall @playerresearch