Hunt: Showdown - Redesign

A summative heuristic evaluation was carried out on the graphical user interface of the video game Hunt: Showdown to identify potential usability problems.

REDESIGN

HEURISTIC EVALUATION

Pre-Evaluative

Training

Introduction to the application domain & usability inspection method

Inspection

Inspection of the UI / GUI based on heuristics and listing of usability problems with references

to the used heuristics

Evaluation

Description & classification of usability problems in an evaluation sheet

Aggregation

Merging usability problems into an overlap-free usability report

Debriefing

Debriefing & elaboration of solutions

1990: The publication of the Heuristic Evaluation by Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich

Due the lack of time, usability methods with little time and financial expenditure are needed during the development of a game.

Jakob Nielsen and Rolf Molich introduced the "Heuristic Evaluation"in 1990.

The Heuristic Evaluation is a discount usability inspection method and an alternative to Uster Testings.

The Heuristic Evaluation is particularly suitable for the gaming industry due to the low cost and time requirements.

The need for inexpensive and time-effective usability inspection methods in the gaming industry

The development cycles in the gaming industry are usually fast and tightly scheduled.

Furthermore the time pressure in game companies leads to a poor implementation of usability methods.

As a result, usability problems often remain in video games even after their release.

The lack of usability inspection methods during game development

Despite the publication of time-saving usability inspection methods the majority of small gaming studios do not perform any usability inspection method.

43% of usability problems are not found without the use of usability inspection methods during or after the game development process.

Consequently poor usability leads to a negative user experience, which in turn can lead to the rejection of a product.

RESULTS

A total of 478 usability violations of the heuristics used, were identified.

With a few exceptions, the identified usability problems violate several heuristics.

According to the identified usability problems, the GUI of Hunt: Showdown was redesigned.

Four examples are illustrated in the following:

Trough the Heuristic Evaluation 151 usability problems were identified in the GUI of Hunt: Showdown.