Heuristic Evaluation

Previously, we talked about certain rules of thumb that help us identify problems with an interface; the technical term of these is heuristics. Hence, a heuristic evaluation aims to look at certain well-established design principles and whether they are followed in the product.

This method has been worked and reworked in various ways but the heuristics are generally divided into 10:

• Status: keep users informed about the status of the game appropriately and promptly. So for example, if the bow runs out of arrows, let the user know why they cannot shoot more arrows by either a pop-up of sorts or sound cues.
• Understandable Information: show information to the user in a way that they understand from the real world, and in a language they understand. So for example, if the user has run out of arrows, make sure that the bow appears empty.
• Control: give users control to undo their errors relatively easily. For example, enabling the user to save mid-game can give them the ability to undo their mistakes.
• Consistency: make sure that you have a clear design language; e.g. don’t use one icon for two different things, and avoid confusing the user about what a word means in the context of the game.
• Error prevention: create a system that avoids conditions where an error arises, or keep the user informed that they are about to make a decision that will have a critical consequence on the game. For example by asking them if they are sure they want to do X. Do not over do this.
• Guidance and Visibility: try to show the user what their options are in a certain context and avoid making them rely on their memory. For example, if they can interact with an elevator in game, make sure to prompt them with what key they ought to press to use the elevator.
• Flexibility: avoid forcing every user through one and the same path to achieve a goal; some users are more experienced than others so make sure that there is a way to achieve a goal faster. For example, forcing all users to go through the tutorial is an awful design decision as it can make your players rage-quit before they even start the actual game; skip buttons are there for a reason.
• Less is more: show only relevant and current information, there is no reason for your users to see all the quests they have ever taken on- on their screen. Keep it clean and as minimalistic as possible.
• Use clear language: avoid using unclear language in describing an error or mistake. Unfortunately, many tools that we may use in developing games may have problems of this sort and you should try to avoid having that spill over to your users. For example, if they are using the wrong key to open a door, tell them that clearly instead of showing a prompt saying “error”.
• Documentations: make sure that the features of the game are explained and documented. This is achieved by implementing some kind of manual that explains how different mechanics work - this manual should be accessible at any point during the game.

These heuristics are generally utilized in user experience design - and originate from there too - I would say that they almost always apply to games that we are making as well, but depending on the game, there may be exceptions. For example, in the case of communicating the status of the game, sometimes we may want to hide that from the users fully, or partially. Remember, these are principles and there are always exceptions to principles.