Abstract
Designing and developing video games is typically a long and demanding process. The overall aim of developing a game that is enjoyable and rewarding to play for everyone is a complex one due to the diversity of players who may potentially interact with the game. Understanding how players interact and behave during gameplay is of vital importance to developers. An accurate understanding of the gameplay experience during development can help identify and resolve any potential problem areas before release, leading to a better player experience and arguably, greater game review scores and sales. There are two main sources from which potentially useful data can be extracted: the video game (game metrics), and the player (player metrics).
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Graham McAllister is the Director of Player Research, a user research and playtesting studio which provides insights into players and gameplay. Before founding Player Research, he was an academic in the area of Human-Computer Interaction, with interests in designing practical video game user research methods. Graham also writes the column on user research for Edge Online.
Pejman Mirza-Babaei is a Ph.D. candidate at the University of Sussex (UK). His research focuses on developing mixed-methods for a better understanding of user experience in engaging entertainment systems. In particular, he is interested in using physiological measurements in combination with other Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) methods to evaluate the user experience of underdevelopment titles.
After doing a degree in Civil Engineering and starting a short career in engineering consultancy, Jason Avent joined Microprose as a Level Designer in 1996. Since then, he has worked at Entertainment Online, ATD, Electronic Arts, Climax (Solent and Brighton) and now Disney’s Black Rock Studio. He has also worked in design and production and is currently a Game Director at Black Rock Studio in Brighton.
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McAllister, G., Mirza-Babaei, P., Avent, J. (2013). Improving Gameplay with Game Metrics and Player Metrics. In: Seif El-Nasr, M., Drachen, A., Canossa, A. (eds) Game Analytics. Springer, London. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4471-4769-5_27
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