2. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
Commander, what is at stake today ?
3. Stakes
• “Turn-based combat means there’s no rush, allowing
you to ponder your next move at your leisure, and
giving you ample time to unleash your inner tactical
genius” said Game Director Richard Jolly, CCO of
WarChest
• “WarChest aims to demonstrate a profound
commitment to customer service and attract a huge,
loyal, and highly engaged fan base.”
• Accessibility support from « SpecialEffect »
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
4. Stakes
• Porting tactile game to desktop
• Free to play implies conversion
o Convert players into engaged fans
o Convert users into buyers
• Experience : reveal each player’s inner genius
• Accessibility
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
5. Results of usability review
Number of issues found by severity rating
• 6 low
• 14 medium
• 3 serious
• 0 critical
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
6. What works great
• Optimized for mobile / On the go play
o Session length
o Touch interaction / target sizes
o Varied feedback channels
• Error prevention / management
• Learning curve, immediate play
• Game optimized for accessibility
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
7. Serious issues
• Energy consumption for movements is
displayed out of the viewport
• Tutorial doesn’t explain all basics of
core features (camera controls and
energy cost)
• Sign-up call-to-action can be optimized
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
8. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
Commander, our Energy consumption
for movement is displayed out of the
viewport
9. N°1 : Movement cost is not visible
• Path target energy
consumption
displayed out of the
viewport area some
fall out of the viewport
(movement cost)
• The player may not
even notice he is
missing information at
first, because he may
not know how to use
the camera
immediately
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
10
10. Why is this important
Reveal the player’s « inner genius strategist »
• It’s a core gameplay mechanic
• Trial and error (undo feature) isn’t rewarding
genius in a strategy game
• Anticipation makes the player feel in control of
their actions and choices
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
11. Place the information inside the viewport
10
10
10
10
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
12. Zoom out more, teach camera controls
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
In the current tutorial, camera controls aren’t explained, and they are
deactivated. Teaching the user how to use them will help them overcome
this on their own faster
13. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
Commander, our rookies lack some
training about camera controls and
strategic information
Let’s peek inside the player’s head...
14. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
-Drag and drop doesn’t move the camera in the tutorials, it’s automatic,
the player hopes automatic movements will be as efficient in the game as
in the tutorial…
N°2 Tutorials are incomplete
15. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
- The icons in the dialog can be considered as titles and the player may not
make the link with the in game feature, if he sees them at all
- Players already learnt they need to click twice to move a character, and
are likely to double click before seeing the cover indication when they are
asked to “move”
16. During the first real game session…
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
Where is the
ennemy ?
How can I
move further
than what I see
?
Will I still be
able to shoot
when I get in
range ?
How do I know
if this is a good
cover ?
Can I move the
camera around
?
I wish I
could zoom
out
What does this
shield mean ?
Probably cover,
but can I still
shoot then? …
17. Tutorials are incomplete : overview
• Camera controls
• Energy cost, damage estimation before
moving
• Links between in game content and
tutorial explanation are unclear
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
18. Include missing elements in the tutorial
Add a couple of steps to the existing tutorial
learn to move (click once)
+ cost of a movement is displayed above the
target once selected
confirm movement (click again)
actions cost energy, here is remaining energy
+ select your character and read energy cost &
damage before attack
attack (click once)
read enemy remaining health
end turn (click twice)
enemy is in cover (still shoot, does less damage)
return fire (enemy shoots back)...
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
Content of current
tutorial in black
Suggestions in
blue
19. Include missing elements in the tutorial
+ zoom out to view your target movement (instead
of automatic camera focus)
move closer to the enemy
select special ability
+ move camera towards enemy (instead of
automatic camera focus)
click this square to throw the grenade
+ look at this shield when you select the target
area
take cover
you can't shoot through the fountain
+ read damage and energy cost above the target
undo actions (to try out different moves)
+ read damage above the target (its higher)
shoot again
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
Content of current
tutorial in black
Suggestions in
blue
20. Emphasize elements the players
should look at
Call to action : hand icon
• Call to attention :
o Take two steps in the tutorial, to prevent the
player from double clicking and missing the
information
o Arrow pointing at what should be looked at (it is
there most of the time, but not always)
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
21. Other suggestions
• Leave the camera controls active during the tutorial, without explaining
them. These are generally known gestures on mobile devices. That’s not
true when the player is expected to combine actions like ctrl + drag
• Add pop up information on the first game after the tutorial to explain
camera controls can help without needing to edit the whole tutorial
• For pc gamers / on chrome, add rollover information (tooltips) to help
users understand features that weren’t explained yet or that the player
may have forgotten about (for example, add tooltips on shields, on team
icons, on buttons in the menus, on team set up before a match, on quick
game to clarify the action it will trigger)…
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
22. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
Commander, we could optimize our
sign up procedure
23. N°3 : Account creation dialog is
intrusive
• Account creation form is shown
repeatedly while the player is trying to
perform other actions
• Makes it more difficult to understand what
does what in a regular game
• User feels out of control, annoyed,
harassed, manipulated
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
24. Affects other elements in the game
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
Menu inconsistency
Can not be
anticipated by user
Quick game
is not quick
25. Why is this important
• Step one for engagement and conversion
• Access the core of the game experience
(online gaming with friends)
• Mandatory to sustain the business model
(free to play)
• It is mandatory to find a good balance
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
26. A word about conversion in e-
commerce
• Intrusive prompts do increase conversion rates
from visitors to engaged users / buyers but...
• They work better when users are prompted in
a meaningful context, when they show early
signs of engagement
• They might also retain users that are about to
leave, with nothing to lose anyway
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
27. Suggestions : when to show the sign-
up dialog
• When the user clicks on online game
• After completing a « try out this character » session, tell users they can get
him if they play online (ask if they want to sign up, or if they want to play
on)
• After losing x offline games, tell them they can get new characters and
improve their team thanks to x, y and z online features and offline will be
achievable then
• When the player has finished all offline games, completed a city
• When starting a random game, start by default an offline one, suggest
online if the player has completed all offline ones
• When the player quits the game, make the last call « Hey, you didn’t try
out online yet! It’s way fun ;) »
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
STAKES
RESULTS
ISSUE 1
ISSUE 2
ISSUE 3
MEDIUM
MINOR
THANKS
29. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
What heuristics didn’t cover : how
players bend the game and how their
behaviour impacts their experience
Fore more efficient fixes : user testing
30. How to find more severe issues
• Discuss study goals with stakeholders
o Optimise existing features (game balancing, usability,
user experience, monetisation) ?
o Focus on new content, features, characters ?
o Port to other platforms ?
o Collaborate closely with community managers
o Take in account milestones? Budget?
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
31. Study design
• Open and systematic observation + Interview
• Test with players :
o Play strategy games / games like UFO AI
o Would-be gamers / ex-gamers (people who used to or like to play,
but don’t have a lot of time for it)
• Control
o Age, gender, CPS
o Have played RAD Soldiers before or not on mobile
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
32. How to test
• Good time for biometrics
• Also interesting, depending upon
developer concerns :
o Eyetracking for the tutorial
o A/B Testing / Tracking
o Engagement diary
Cornelia Laros – Usability review
33. Cornelia Laros – Usability review
There’s more, but we’ve seen what
matters. Thank you for your attention.
Do you have any questions ?
Notas do Editor
you can’t build a strategy if you can’t anticipate your action’s effects
Camera controls aren’t taught in the tutorial
Camera controls are disabled in the tutorial, so if a player tries to move the viewport, he will ‘learn’ that he can’t and is less likely to find out before his second play session, when he sees the recall on the title screen.
The tutorial doesn’t draw attention to the action’s cost display alhough it’s mandatory to define a strategy instead of playing throught trial and error
Icons in the tutorial text fields are likely to be visually ignored, which creates confusion because the player can’t link the tutorial to an in game element, and has to guess the fonctionality later during play.
User lacks a little information to be autonomous during his first game session, feels out of control, unsetling
If you need help making an optimized storyboard, we can do that for you
If you need help making an optimized storyboard, we can do that for you
Consider A/B testing to further increase conversion rates
For more critical and serious issues, consider play-testing
Participants who played the UFO AI series or other similar games, strategy genre + more social/casual profiles
Control whether they played other versions of RAD Soldiers
Open observation + interview afterwards for usability and interaction issues based on player strategies
Depending upon budget :
Systematical observations + interview to understand source of complaints and verify if fix needed/how to fix (ie. Collaborate with community managers)
Good time for biometrics (finished game, galvanic skin response to measure arousal, correlate with in game events)
Eyetracking for the tutorial
In game tracking and or A/B testing for conversion rates, items in shop, signup dialog efficiency…
More exploratory methods for new content : focus group
Player research proposes engagement diaries, sounds interesting, curious about how that works.
For more critical and serious issues, consider play-testing