Video Game Development and User Experience

Abstract

The first step in understanding the user experience needs of the video games industry is to ascertain current practice. The following chapter gives an overview of the game development process and provides background on the time frame and roles involved. We present case studies from three world-class development studios and show how the user experience is currently addressed during a game's creation. The first case study with Disney's Black Rock Studio details the development of their most recent racing game, Pure, and describes the usability testing which the developer believes improved the game's Metacritic score by 10%. The second case study with Zoe Mode refers to several of their recent releases, Rock Revolution, You're in the Movies, and games in the Eye Toy series. Special consideration is given to understanding and addressing players in a language appropriate to their background as garners. The third case study with Relentless Software concentrates on the studio's use of focus group testing and attention to the casual gamer demographic. In addition to showing real-world examples of current practice, this chapter identifies the contribution that HCI can make for user experience methodologies in the games industry. Recommendations are made for generally applying usability techniques earlier in development, and user experience testing later once a playable vertical slice is available. We conclude with some discussion of innovative methodologies and pose the need for a formalised framework for user experience in video game development.