Article 3: Game Usability Heuristics (PLAY) for Evaluating and Designing Better Games: The Next Iteration

by Heather Desurvire and Charlotte Wiberg

Authors of the “Game Usability Heuristics (PLAY) for Evaluating and Designing Better Games: The Next Iteration” describes their research finding of how game developers applying human-computer interaction (HCI) principles in design. They have adapted a set of Heuristics for productivity software to games. They presented the result at CHI 2004, Heuristics to Evaluate Playability (HEP). Their follow-up study was focused on follow-up study focused on the refined list, Heuristics of Playability (PLAY), that can be applied earlier in game development as well as aiding developers between formal usability/playability researches during the development cycle.

Based on the research from the game research community, they gathered set of heuristics. They categorizes HEP Heuristics into four areas: Game Play, Game Usability, Game Mechanics and Game Story. They created there sets of questionnaires, one to correspond to each of the three different dame genres (Action Adventure, FPS and RTS)  also included questionnaires for high rank and low rank games. From their analysis was able to identify a number of principles that helped to differentiate between good and bad games.

I. Category 1: Game play

A.     Heuristic: Enduring Play

B.     Heuristic: Challenge, Strategy and Pace

C.     Heuristic: Consistency in Game World

D.     Heuristic: Goals

E.      Heuristic: Variety of Players and Game Styles

F.      Heuristic: Players Perception of Control

II. Category 2: Coolness/Entertainment/Humor/Emotional Immersion

A.     Heuristic: Emotional Connection

B.     Heuristic: Coolness/Entertainment

C.     Heuristic: Humor

D.     Heuristic: Immersion

III Category 3: Usability & Game Mechanics

A.      Heuristic: Documentation/Tutorial

B.      Heuristic: Status and Score

C.      Heuristic: Game Provides Feedback

D.      Heuristic: Terminology

E.       Heuristic: Burden On Player

F.       Heuristic: Screen Layout

G.      Heuristic: Navigation

H.      Heuristic: Error Prevention

I.         Heuristic: Game Story Immersion