Making a successful video game is hard. Even games that are
well-received at launch may fail to engage players in the long term due
to issues with the user experience (UX) that they are delivering. That's
why makers of successful video games like Fortnite and Assassin's
Creed invest both time and money perfecting their UX strategy. These
top video game creators know that a bad user experience can ruin the
prospects for any game, regardless of its budget, scope, or ambition.
The game UX accounts for the whole experience players have with a video
game, from first hearing about it to navigating menus and progressing in
the game. UX as a discipline offers guidelines to assist developers in
creating the optimal experience they want to deliver, including shipping
higher quality games (whether indie, triple-A or "serious" games) and
meeting business goals -- all while staying true to design vision and
artistic intent.
At its core, UX is about understanding the gamer's brain: understanding
human capabilities and limitations to anticipate how a game will be
perceived, the emotions it will elicit, how players will interact with
it, and how engaging the experience will be. This book is designed to
equip readers of all levels, from student to professional, with
cognitive science knowledge and user experience guidelines and
methodologies. These insights will help readers identify the ingredients
for successful and engaging video games, empowering them to develop
their own unique game recipe more efficiently, while providing a better
experience for their audience.
"The Gamer's Brain: How Neuroscience and UX Can Impact Video Game
Design"
Is written by Celia Hodent -- a UX expert with a PhD in psychology who
has been working in the entertainment industry for over 10 years,
including at prominent companies such as Epic Games (Fortnite), Ubisoft,
and LucasArts.
Major themes explored in this book:
- Provides an overview of how the brain learns and processes information
by distilling research findings from cognitive science and psychology
research in a very accessible way. Topics covered include:
"neuromyths", perception, memory, attention, motivation, emotion, and
learning.
- Includes numerous examples from released games of how scientific
knowledge translates into game design, and how to use a UX framework
in game development.
- Describes how UX can guide developers to improve the usability and the
level of engagement a game provides to its target audience by using
cognitive psychology knowledge, implementing human-computer
interaction principles, and applying the scientific method (user
research).
- Provides a practical definition of UX specifically applied to games,
with a unique framework. Defines the most relevant pillars for good
usability (ease of use) and good "engage-ability" (the ability of the
game to be fun and engaging), translated into a practical checklist.
- Covers design thinking, game user research, game analytics, and UX
strategy at both a project and studio level.
- This book is a practical tool that any professional game developer or
student can use right away and includes the most complete overview of
UX in games existing today.
