User Testing for Environmental Objects
This round of user testing was conducted consistently and effectively to provide a better user experience of the game feature throughout the game development process. Targeted users are aged from 18 - 25 university students that are unfamiliar with programming which are less likely to take development considerations and limitations into consideration to avoid biased or constrained answers.
During this round of testing, users were asked to provide feedback for the initial infrastructure artwork & designs to help us improve the overall aesthetics in order to cooperate better with the style of the game.
Throughout the user testing process, there are a few important goals that we want to achieve:
- Determine if the artwork that was designed is immediately recognisable to players without any explicit instruction to the design
- Determine if the initial artwork suits the style of the whole game style and how can it be improved
- Feedback from the testers and see which design is liked more by potential players considering context of the game
The user testing for the design aspect of the infrastructure/environmental objects was conducted through a questionnaire/survey format. The google form that was given to the users to complete can be seen in link provided below
- https://forms.gle/WqsE4nuN74CMw4698 The overall responses and feedback from 17 users can also be seen in the following pie charts:
In this round of testing, we will test the aesthetics of our updated designs against initial designs and correlate these with a user’s prospective of Atlantis. We have conducted research on design inspirations of Atlantis and have designed our images based on this research and the user testing we conducted about the previous sprint designs.
The testing will be conducted with people who meet two criteria: people who play online video games and also enjoy viewing or designing art. Firstly, using people with experience with video games means that we are gaining feedback from the type of people who would most likely use the Atlantis Sinks game. Also, people with art expertise can give valuable criticism on whether our designs are consistent and appealing.
The testing will be an interview where designs are compared from the old designs to the new iterations. The results from this testing session will be used to confirm our designs and ensure our designs are achieving the Atlantis dynamic.
A minimum of three users are to be tested for the Interview. This will be conducted online via Microsoft Teams and a Google Form. This was decided as it was easier to get more testers as they could do the user testing from the comfort of their homes.
The team followed the following procedure:
- Setting up the testing environment
- Give the user a run down of our concept and game
- Interview
- Sum up of testing session and give thanks to user
The users will require their own laptop for the testing and no other equipment is required. We recommend that users have Microsoft Teams installed on their devices before testing commences.
Interview Questions
As a way to quicken the testing process for users, we will ask them to write down their answers first then discuss them after, so that a transcript can be efficiently created simultaneously during the testing sessions. The interview will compare the following design sprite sheets:
The interview is to go through the following questions:
| Interview Questions | Why ask this question? |
|---|---|
| Please write your name and background | To document users name and relevant background to firstly, make sure they check the criteria and secondly, so that if any follow up questions are needed, it is easy to find the person. |
| Do you play or have knowledge of many pixelated video games? If so, please elaborate. | This question sees if the user has any knowledge in our game design area. If they do, then that means their feedback is especially desired as they would have knowledge of currently implemented pixelated games. |
| When you think of Atlantis, what sort of environmental features do you think of? | Getting different opinions of what the typical user would think Atlantis would look like. The game appearance has to be obvious that it is Atlantis, so the answers from this question can be used to see if our current designs match the user’s perspective. |
| Here are two iterations of our structures. Tell us which you prefer and why? | Comparison of the old verse new designs to get statistics on which designs the user finds more appealing and fits the Atlantis theme. |
| Here are two iterations of our traps. Tell us which you prefer and why? | Comparison of the old verse new designs to get statistics on which designs the user finds more appealing and fits the Atlantis theme. |
| Here are two iterations of our walls. Tell us which you prefer and why? | Comparison of the old verse new designs to get statistics on which designs the user finds more appealing and fits the Atlantis theme. |
| Overall, how appealing do you find the new designs? | A one to five scale asking users to rate the overall aesthetics of the designs. The percentage of users that select four and above will be used to determine the success of the testing session. |
| Do you have any feedback on what we could do differently in the future? | Trying to see whether the user has any last-minute feedback towards designs that they might have thought of during the interview. |
Please view the link below to see the google form given to users to complete: https://forms.gle/vE24xbFa4EiHuKwt5
Below are the screenshots of the interview answers from three users:
Overall, 100% of test users scored the new design aesthetics a score of 4 and above. 66.7% scored a five while 33.3% scored a four. This figure can be used to say the testing session was a success and the new designs are more appealing for users.
Majority of the new designs were found to be more tuned and follow the design guidelines of what Atlantis would look like. A few comments were made about how version four of the old design walls felt more like Atlantis culture. Otherwise, all other new designs were preferred.
There were some takeaways from the interviews that could be undertaken in future such as finding traps that fit the Atlantis genre and making buildings that are actually useable. This feedback what further iterate our designs to fit the Atlantis theme and more defined.