Forum Info&Rules

[Cain]

Disclaimer :

 

We should mention that the developers are not obliged to read this forum or follow our feedback to the letter and we can’t guarantee that it will be found at a later date in EAW or that it will affect or help EAW in any way.

Also the developers can’t officially solicit feedback so this is made at our fan initiative. Developers may already have all our feedback suggestions in the game and we cannot guarantee, that what we say here will not exist already in the game at the date we post them. You must feedback here only if you consider your feedback to be impersonal and with no connection made to your real person. Also no new ideas unrelated to LEC or Petroglyph are accepted here, just feedback on know issues from the videos and official materials already released.

 

 

I. Our first goal is to create high quality topics with high quality feedback. Anyone knows what feedback means ... so I will only post some info about the next level of feedbacking : "Usability". This term is kind of new to gamers and we will probably not get to do it here nor we will get to post about it. But we will damn try to make our feedback better than even the experts can.

 

II. I don't think you need any other rules but remember that I will delete or move all the topics and replys that is not clear feedback.

 

 

 

Better Game Through Usability Evaluation and Testing

 

No one wants to play games that are either frustrating or difficult for the wrong reasons. The best way to make sure that unintended problems do not hinder enjoying the game is to take usability into account in game development. This article presents how this can be done and what kind of results to expect.

 

Usability is an integral part of software development and has been so for the past 20 years. For one reason or another, usability has not gained similar popularity in game development. This, however, is about to change. Ease of use and optimal user experience are already important in games and will become even more so in the future.

 

What is Usability?

 

Usability is about maximizing effectiveness, efficiency and satisfaction. This definition originates from the traditional software industry, but it translates well to game development. In games, usability is about delivering a better and deeper experience with less unnecessary interruptions or challenges that have not been designed by the developers.

 

Why is Usability Important?

 

There are many reasons why usability is important in games. For one, playing games is voluntary. If the player has to struggle with problems that make playing less fun than doing something else, then there is nothing to stop the player from switching off the console. This is a serious risk as the user experience is very sensitive to usability problems. Even the smallest glitch or hiccup in the user interface may render an otherwise good game into a rather annoying experience. For example, if managing the inventory in a role playing game is not fluent enough or restarting a race in a driving game is tedious the player is not likely to enjoy playing the game.

 

Another reason why usability is important in games is the competition. Competition in the market is fierce. The gamers can choose which game to buy from a wide variety of titles; if the controls are not fluent in one soccer game, there are five more titles left from which to choose. Usability is one of the key factors that make the game stand out of the crowd.

 

The delicacy of the user experience and heavy competition actually make usability more important in games than it is in other software. There are not too many word processors to choose from, and having fun at work is not usually a top priority.

 

There are also other reasons why ease of use is important. One of them is that modern games are large and complex programs. In even the most focused games there are tons of menus and ways to interact within the game, not to mention games like the Grand Theft Auto series. Usability is important when making a game as easy and intuitive to play as possible. Good examples of complex games made easy are World of Warcraft and Xbox Live games. Both have succeeded in making traditionally difficult multiplayer gaming easy.

 

Usability is also important for the future of gaming. For gaming to continue to increase its popularity, the ease of setting up games and a fluent gaming experience are of the essence. This is because newcomers are not familiar with the conventions and common pitfalls of gaming. For them, learning the peculiarities that old gamers are already familiar with can be too much.