A Usability Primer

We’ve mentioned that usability issues can add friction to a game, and the example we first showed was of a game menu. Now let’s see how usability can impact all areas of a game.

Although there is no template for how a game should be designed or structured, the majority of games can be thought of as being made up of the following sections:

• Onboarding - this is typically the game’s tutorial where the player is introduced to the rules and systems in the game.
• Core gameplay - this is often thought as what the player is doing second-by-second, or minute-by-minute when playing the game, e.g. exploring, building, racing. This is usually the answer you would give if someone asks ‘What do you do in your game?’.
• Meta-gameplay - this typically considers the longer-term player motivations of the game, for example, why would the player return to play the game each day, each month, or even each year?
• Purchasing - many games have the option of being able to purchase items and/or further content from within the game. The usability of these parts of the game can range from making it very easy for the player, to incredibly awkward.

It is useful for us to consider these as distinct sections as each has usability factors which will be particularly crucial to it. Next, let’s see how usability can impact each of these four key areas.

Key takeaway

Usability issues can be present at all points in the player experience - onboarding, core gameplay, meta-gameplay, and in-game purchasing.

Next: 8. Usability in Onboarding