Evaluating User Experience in Games: Concepts and Methods - Lirmm

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212 M. Brown et al. was also happening in the arcade machine arena, i.e., the use of dedicated controllers for flying games, racing games, etc. In recent years, an increasing number of games have added support for new and innovative controllers in their games. Incorporating support for innovative controllers in games offers opportunities for a game to distinguish itself in the market place (Kane 2005, Marshall et al. 2006). Custom controllers, designed to operate with specific games, offer possibilities to enhance the user experience in games by enabling interaction styles that are not possible using standard controllers, as described above. While designing and implementing a custom controller offers opportunities to greatly enhance a game, it also introduces significant additional work, more project schedule risk, and probably an increased retail price for the game-plus-controller bundle. However, apart from platform-specific checklists, the advice available to guide designers and developers considering new or innovative controllers is very limited. Support for innovative controllers must be carefully planned and designed, and their performance evaluated. Problems associated with developing and implementing support for custom controllers have been listed in the postmortem reports which are published on a monthly basis in Game Developer magazine (Game Developer Magazine 2008). For example, Guitar Hero in February 2006 edition, Metal Gear Solid in May 2006 edition, and Tony Hawk in January 2007 edition. 12.3 Evaluating Game Controllers: Experience, Usability, and Functionality As with all technology, the interaction between humans and game controllers is multifaceted and complex. This section describes McNamara and Kirakowski’s (2006) theoretical framework for understanding interactions with technology and discusses the implications of applying this model to game controllers. 12.3.1 Introduction to the Components of Human–Computer Interaction Recent developments in HCI have highlighted the importance of focusing on user experience in the design of technology. This need for high-quality user experience is especially important for computer games, as their primary function is to entertain. This revelation has led to some theoretical difficulties, as the concept of user experience does not easily fit into the traditional HCI fields of usability and ergonomics. In order to fully understand interactions with technology, we must understand the various components of the interactions and how these components impact on each other. McNamara and Kirakowski (2006) propose a three-factor model for understanding the interactions between humans and technology, represented in Fig. 12.1.
12 Beyond the Gamepad 213 Fig. 12.1 Components of technology usage from McNamara and Kirakowski (2006) This theoretical framework presents three separate but codependent components of human–computer interaction. “Functionality” describes the technology side of the interaction, focusing on the technological possibilities of the interaction. Conversely, “experience” describes the purely human side of the interaction. This factor looks at how the interaction impacts on the person involved by asking questions such as “Do they enjoy the interaction?” and “Does it make them happy?”. Finally, “usability” looks at the dynamics of the interaction itself, is it efficient, effective, and satisfying? They propose that in order to fully understand an interaction we must study each of these three components. 12.3.2 Functionality and Game Controllers This aspect describes the purely technology-based part of the interaction. Key questions in this area are “Does it work?” and “What does it do?” This is the one aspect of the interaction that is relatively independent of both environment and user. Looking at game controllers, it becomes clear that the primary function is to facilitate user interaction with computer game software. Traditionally, controllers only supported a one-way interaction from the user to the game, with audio visual devices providing feedback from the game to the user. However, the recent development of in-controller feedback means that the interaction with game controllers is now bidirectional. For example, haptic gamepads, steering wheels, and speakers integrated in the WiiMote. These developments mean that when considering game controller functionality, we must consider the range of input and feedback that a given control method can provide. In some cases, controllers may not have the required number of controls to allow the player to invoke all the game commands. For example, flight simulator games typically support a larger number of game commands (often more than 30) than there are physical controls on a low-end joystick. In this case, the player must select a subset of the game commands to be assigned to their joystick controls, and the remaining commands can be invoked via the keyboard (or perhaps not used at all by the player).
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Human-Computer Interaction Series E
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Regina Bernhaupt Editor Evaluating
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For Philippe
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viii Foreword Chapter 3, Presence I
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x Foreword personality which evolve
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Contents Part I Introduction to Eva
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Contributors Regina Bernhaupt IRIT,
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Contributors xvii Manfred Tscheligi
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xx About the Authors Emily Brown is
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xxiv About the Authors Christina Ko
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xxvi About the Authors MIT Media La
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Chapter 1 User Experience Evaluatio
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1 User Experience Evaluation in Ent
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1 User Experience Evaluation in Ent
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Chapter 2 Enabling Social Play: A F
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