Elina M. I. Koivisto

Playability heuristics for mobile games

Expert evaluation is a widely used method for evaluating the usability of software products. When evaluating games, traditional usability heuristics lack comprehension and cannot be directly applied. In this paper, we introduce playability heuristics that are specifically designed for evaluating mobile games. Heuristics form a core model that can be used in any mobile game evaluation. The model consists of three modules: Game Usability, Mobility, and Gameplay. The mobile context has some unique characteristics, which require special attention during the evaluation. These characteristics are described in mobility heuristics. Mobile devices also set some of their own requirements for general usability and these issues are described along with game usability heuristics. These heuristics have been developed by using an iterative design process of a mobile game. In addition, we have validated the heuristics and evaluated five mobile games by using them with the expert evaluation method. The results indicate that playability problems, which violate game usability or mobility heuristics, are quite easy to identify. Gameplay problems are harder to find, but gameplay heuristics help in evaluation and focus on different aspects of the gameplay.

Playability heuristics for mobile multi-player games

Multi-player games are engaging because of social interaction and competing with real players. Currently, many digital games are multi-player or have multi-player features. When evaluating the playability of multi-player games, we need to consider player-to-player interaction. In this paper, we introduce and describe playability heuristics for mobile multi-player games that complement the playability heuristic model that we have presented earlier. Multi-player heuristics have been developed by identifying playability problems in game evaluations and comparing these findings to game design guidelines and other studies found in the literature. The results indicate that the presented multi-player heuristics correspond to issues that are addressed to be important in multi-player games.

Using prototypes in early pervasive game development

In this paper, we discuss using various prototyping methods in early game development. We have playtested pervasive game prototypes using agile software prototype development methods and guided paper prototyping methods. We give examples of four pervasive games where both paper-prototyping and software-prototyping methods are used. We also compare results that have been achieved by testing games with the potential end users of the game and with colleagues or other experts. The benefits and disadvantages of the methods are discussed and their use in the game development process is described, i.e. when the methods should be used and what should be considered when using them.