A Usability Primer

Encouraging the player back to a game isn’t just about hoping that they enjoy the game and want to experience more, in many cases usability factors can directly encourage further play.

Here are some examples of meta-gameplay issues you should want to check for in a usability playtest:

• Communicating a clear sense of progress. Communicating progress to the player is a clear reminder that their effort invested is meaningful, and they are steadily working towards their goals.
• Communication of mid and long-term goals. Showing how close the player is to their next goal can be an effective way to motivate them to return.
• Social factors. In many games playing with a group of other people is a strong reason to return. However in some games it can be overly difficult or confusing to connect with others due to unnecessary friction in the process, or in some cases a lack of awareness that social features exist.

In more complex games, a particular issue some players have is that if they haven’t played in a while then they may forget where they were in the game (objectives), the narrative (why they were doing it), and even the controls of the game (how do I do it).

Many games still don’t make it easy for lapsed players to return after a period time, creating a significant barrier to return. Some games do a great job of this by allowing the player to replay the tutorial at any time, and some even provide a summary of ‘The story so far’ so you can be reminded of where you left off. Players are not likely to finish a game in one continuous block, so we should consider how to lower barriers to re-entry, welcoming lapsed players.

Key takeaway

Get players excited about the next session by clearly communicating their sense of progress in this session, and how they could reach a goal in the next session.

Next: 11. Usability in Purchasing