Game Design & Analysis - Player Centered Design and Playtesting

It can be difficult to design games for someone that is not you. Even if you like the same kind of games, you might still have very different playing styles and content preferences. Thankfully, through player-centered design and playtesting, you can make sure that your game will appeal to your target audience. Bob explains all about it in this video. CONTENT 0:29 The history of Player-Centered Design and connection to HCI 1:24 Defining usability and the introduction of enjoyment to it 3:39 Introducing Blast From The Past 6:50 Intergenerational Knowledge Transfer as a Design Challenge 7:40 The 4 Tenants of the P-III Framework 9:30 Concept Design: User and Task Analysis 10:40 Concept Design: Participatory Design 11:55 Concept Design: Concept Definition 12:48 Game Design: Storyboarding and Focus Groups 13:32 Game Design: Paper Prototyping and Playtests 15:22 Game Design: Design Document 15:52 Game Development 16:44 Playtesting Example Video 18:45 Takeaway 1: Natural Setting 19:13 Takeaway 2: Playtesting Parts 19:35 Takeaway 3: Using a Script 20:03 Asking the right questions 20:15 Using scientific method 20:49 Think Aloud Example Video 21:41 Takeaway 4: Test your test 22:04 Takeaway 5: Be critical 23:13 Playtesting is hard 23:55 Wrap-up Time with Reggie FURTHER WATCHING AND READING De Schutter, B. (2021) "Game Design and Analysis - MDA and Player Motivation". [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_vSeaFYEmI&t=5s Delventhal, W. (2019). What Cats can teach you about empathic design. GDC2019. [Video]. Youtube. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=seyH_fX0vr0 Fullerton, T. (2008) "Game Design Workshop: A Playcentric Approach to Creating Innovative Games." Elsevier Morgan Kaufmann. Available here: https://www.amazon.com/Game-Design-Workshop-Playcentric-Innovative/dp/1138098779/ Vanden Abeele et al. (2011). "P-III: A Player-Centered, Iterative, Interdisciplinary and Integrated Framework for Serious Game Design and Development". Communications in Computer and Information Science, vol. 1, no. 280, pp. 82–86. Retrieved from https://link.springer.com/chapter/10.1007/978-3-642-33814-4_14 SUGGESTED TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION What other scientific methods can you use to improve your game design? What are the qualities you are looking for in a good participant for a playtest? What would be a difficult game to playtest and how do you overcome these issues?