Skip to main content
Springer Nature Link
Log in

Analyzing and Prioritizing Usability Issues in Games

  • Conference paper
  • First Online:
HCI in Games: Experience Design and Game Mechanics (HCII 2021)

Part of the book series: Lecture Notes in Computer Science ((LNISA,volume 12789))

Included in the following conference series:

Abstract

Identifying and addressing usability issues is a vital part of improving player experiences in games. This paper delves into different methods that can be applied to shortlist usability issues in games. We specifically discuss observational studies, think-aloud protocols, questionnaires, surveys, user interviews, focus groups, and heuristic evaluations. The paper also discusses approaches to prioritize usability issues in games through severity ratings. Severity ratings allow researchers to prioritize issues in terms of their impact on player experience and other factors, including business goals, cost of redesigns, etc. We also discuss how the player’s usability data can be analyzed using different approaches. Next, we discuss sources of biases in usability studies, ways of determining optimal sample size and approaches to reducing evaluator effect. Finally, we describe approaches to ideating design solutions to address usability concerns in games.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this chapter

Log in via an institution

Subscribe and save

Springer+ Basic
€34.99 /Month
  • Get 10 units per month
  • Download Article/Chapter or eBook
  • 1 Unit = 1 Article or 1 Chapter
  • Cancel anytime
Subscribe now

Buy Now

Chapter
EUR 29.95
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
eBook
EUR 74.89
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Available as EPUB and PDF
  • Read on any device
  • Instant download
  • Own it forever
Softcover Book
EUR 96.29
Price includes VAT (Germany)
  • Compact, lightweight edition
  • Dispatched in 3 to 5 business days
  • Free shipping worldwide - see info

Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout

Purchases are for personal use only

') var buybox = document.querySelector("[data-id=id_"+ timestamp +"]").parentNode var buyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option") ;[].slice.call(buyingOptions).forEach(initCollapsibles) var buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth = 480 function initCollapsibles(subscription, index) { var toggle = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-price") subscription.classList.remove("expanded") var form = subscription.querySelector(".buying-option-form") var priceInfo = subscription.querySelector(".price-info") var buyingOption = toggle.parentElement if (toggle && form && priceInfo) { toggle.setAttribute("role", "button") toggle.setAttribute("tabindex", "0") toggle.addEventListener("click", function (event) { var expandedBuyingOptions = buybox.querySelectorAll(".buying-option.expanded") var buyboxWidth = buybox.offsetWidth ;[].slice.call(expandedBuyingOptions).forEach(function(option) { if (buyboxWidth buyboxMaxSingleColumnWidth) { toggle.click() } else { if (index === 0) { toggle.click() } else { toggle.setAttribute("aria-expanded", "false") form.hidden = "hidden" priceInfo.hidden = "hidden" } } }) } initialStateOpen() if (window.buyboxInitialised) return window.buyboxInitialised = true initKeyControls() })()

Institutional subscriptions

Similar content being viewed by others

References

  1. Bevana, N., Kirakowskib, J., Maissela, J.: What is usability. In: Proceedings of the 4th International Conference on HCI. Citeseer (1991)

    Google Scholar 

  2. Bevan, N.: Usability issues in web site design. In: HCI, no. 2. pp. 803–806 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  3. Olsen, T., Procci, K., Bowers, C.: Serious games usability testing: How to ensure proper usability, playability, and effectiveness. In: Marcus, A. (ed.) DUXU 2011. LNCS, vol. 6770, pp. 625–634. Springer, Heidelberg (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-21708-1_70

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  4. Alshamari, M., Mayhew, P.: Technical review: current issues of usability testing. IETE Tech. Rev. 26, 402–406 (2009)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  5. Dumas, J.S., Dumas, J.S., Redish, J.: A Practical Guide to Usability Testing. Intellect books, Bristol (1999)

    Google Scholar 

  6. Baker, L.: Observation: a complex research method. Libr. Trends. 55, 171–189 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  7. Eveland, W.P., Jr., Dunwoody, S.: Examining information processing on the World Wide Web using think aloud protocols. Media Psychol. 2, 219–244 (2000)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  8. Olmsted-Hawala, E.L., Murphy, E.D., Hawala, S., Ashenfelter, K.T.: Think-aloud protocols: a comparison of three think-aloud protocols for use in testing data-dissemination web sites for usability. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 2381–2390 (2010)

    Google Scholar 

  9. Van Den Haak, M., De Jong, M., Jan Schellens, P.: Retrospective vs. concurrent think-aloud protocols: testing the usability of an online library catalogue. Behav. Inf. Technol. 22, 339–351 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Kuniavsky, M.: Observing the User Experience: A Practitioner’s Guide to User Research. Elsevier, Amsterdam (2003)

    Google Scholar 

  11. Moizer, J., et al.: An approach to evaluating the user experience of serious games. Comput. Educ. 136, 141–151 (2019)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Brühlmann, F., Mekler, E.D.: Surveys in games user research. Games User Res., 141–162 (2018).

    Google Scholar 

  13. Gibbs, A.: Focus groups. Soc. Res. Update 19, 1–8 (1997)

    Google Scholar 

  14. Langford, J.: Focus Groups: Supporting Effective Product Development. CRC Press, Boca Raton (2002)

    Book  Google Scholar 

  15. Pinelle, D., Wong, N., Stach, T.: Heuristic evaluation for games: usability principles for video game design. In: Proceedings of the SIGCHI Conference on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1453–1462 (2008)

    Google Scholar 

  16. Federoff, M.A.: Heuristics and usability guidelines for the creation and evaluation of fun in video games (2002)

    Google Scholar 

  17. Desurvire, H., Wiberg, C.: Game usability heuristics (PLAY) for evaluating and designing better games: The next iteration. In: Ant Ozok, A., Zaphiris, P. (eds.) OCSC 2009. LNCS, vol. 5621, pp. 557–566. Springer, Heidelberg (2009). https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-02774-1_60

    Chapter  Google Scholar 

  18. Korhonen, H., Koivisto, E.M.: Playability heuristics for mobile games. In: Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Human-Computer Interaction with Mobile Devices and Services, pp. 9–16 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  19. Pinelle, D., Wong, N., Stach, T., Gutwin, C.: Usability heuristics for networked multiplayer games. In: Proceedings of the ACM 2009 International Conference on Supporting Group Work, pp. 169–178 (2009)

    Google Scholar 

  20. Hertzum, M.: Problem prioritization in usability evaluation: from severity assessments toward impact on design. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 21, 125–146 (2006)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  21. Desurvire, H., Caplan, M., Toth, J.A.: Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games. In: CHI’04 extended abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1509–1512 (2004)

    Google Scholar 

  22. Albert, W., Tullis, T.: Measuring the User Experience: Collecting, Analyzing, and Presenting Usability Metrics. Newnes (2013)

    Google Scholar 

  23. Jacobsen, N.E., Hertzum, M., John, B.E.: The evaluator effect in usability tests. In: CHI 98 Conference Summary on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 255–256 (1998)

    Google Scholar 

  24. Natesan, D., Walker, M., Clark, S.: Cognitive bias in usability testing. In: Proceedings of the International Symposium on Human Factors and Ergonomics in Health Care, pp. 86–88. SAGE Publications, Los Angeles (2016.

    Google Scholar 

  25. Faulkner, L.: Beyond the five-user assumption: benefits of increased sample sizes in usability testing. Behav. Res. Methods Instrum. Comput. 35, 379–383 (2003)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  26. Turner, C.W., Lewis, J.R., Nielsen, J.: Determining usability test sample size. Int. Encycl. Ergon. Hum. Factors. 3, 3084–3088 (2006)

    Google Scholar 

  27. Lewis, J.R.: Sample sizes for usability studies: additional considerations. Hum. Factors. 36, 368–378 (1994)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Hertzum, M., Jacobsen, N.E.: The evaluator effect: a chilling fact about usability evaluation methods. Int. J. Hum.-Comput. Interact. 13, 421–443 (2001)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  29. White, G.R., Mirza-Babaei, P., McAllister, G., Good, J.: Weak inter-rater reliability in heuristic evaluation of video games. In: CHI’11 Extended Abstracts on Human Factors in Computing Systems, pp. 1441–1446 (2011)

    Google Scholar 

  30. Dell’Era, C., Magistretti, S., Cautela, C., Verganti, R., Zurlo, F.: Four kinds of design thinking: from ideating to making, engaging, and criticizing. Creat. Innov. Manag. 29, 324–344 (2020)

    Article  Google Scholar 

  31. Boyan, A., Sherry, J.L.: The challenge in creating games for education: aligning mental models with game models. Child Dev. Perspect. 5, 82–87 (2011)

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. User Experience Design, Wilfrid Laurier University, Brantford, ON, Canada

    Umair Rehman

  2. Faculty of Management Sciences, Shaheed Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto Institute of Science and Technology (SZABIST), Islamabad, Pakistan

    Amir Zaib Abbasi

  3. Management Sciences, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Muhammad Umair Shah

  4. Systems Design Engineering, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Amna Idrees

  5. Department of Psychology, University of Waterloo, Waterloo, ON, Canada

    Hassan Ilahi

  6. Research Group Entertainment Computing, University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria

    Helmut Hlavacs

Authors
  1. Umair Rehman
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Amir Zaib Abbasi
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Muhammad Umair Shah
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Amna Idrees
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Hassan Ilahi
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Helmut Hlavacs
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Umair Rehman .

Editor information

Editors and Affiliations

  1. DePaul University, Chicago, IL, USA

    Xiaowen Fang

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

Copyright information

© 2021 Springer Nature Switzerland AG

About this paper

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this paper

Rehman, U., Abbasi, A.Z., Shah, M.U., Idrees, A., Ilahi, H., Hlavacs, H. (2021). Analyzing and Prioritizing Usability Issues in Games. In: Fang, X. (eds) HCI in Games: Experience Design and Game Mechanics. HCII 2021. Lecture Notes in Computer Science(), vol 12789. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77277-2_9

Download citation

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-77277-2_9

  • Published:

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Cham

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-030-77276-5

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-030-77277-2

  • eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)

Publish with us

Policies and ethics