Humans are the eventual consumers of computer games. Data from user experience during gameplay provides valuable insight into the level of satisfaction that computer games can offer. Information gathered from such data can also be used to design games that are more involving and thus commercially more profitable.
Games are essentially based on interactive multimodal media which involve visual, auditory, and (sometimes) tactile aspects. While there exist many different quantitative strategies to evaluate individual modalities in isolation, interaction between different modalities as well as being in an interactive setting makes it harder to apply such strategies for evaluating user experience with games. Instead, more qualitative approaches are used for such assessments.
The course aims to teach the current trends and approaches to game evaluation. The contents of the course will cover several different aspects of game metrics. A general introduction to the assessment of games will be covered first, together with Hawthorne effect which indicates behavioral modifications of “observed” subjects. Then, the statistical tools necessary to evaluate subjective results will be discussed. The implications of game metrics in the design and development of games will then be discussed. Networked, multiplayer games present another level of complexity as social interaction also takes place. Concepts of presence, involvement, and their use for evaluating games will be discussed. Some games are less approachable because of bad design. Methods that will allow games with better approachability will be discussed. Post-game experience can also be useful in determining what aspects of the game to revise and what aspects to keep. Game controllers are evolving to allow exertive games as well as augmented reality with gestural interfaces. These topics will be covered. As the median age of gamers become higher, games are being adopted by a greater segment of the society and games which used to be the domain of youngsters is now played by toddlers for education, handicapped people for therapy, and elderly people for exercise and coordination. The aspects of games with such segments of the society will also be covered. The course also has a hands-on project for the evaluation of games using the concepts learned in the course. The students will present the results of their own evaluations on off-the-shelf games during the final two weeks of the course.