Concept
Observed experience
You might say: what actually happened
Observed experience is what target players actually perceive, do, explain and feel during a test, including surprises and failure modes.
- What it does
- Shows where the internal model and the designer's intent disagree.
- Ask
- What did players believe, attempt and feel without prompting?
Parts
- Playtest observation: An observation measure records a player behaviour, outcome, delay, error, explanation or feeling against a test question so results can be compared across sessions.
Sources
- Michael Sellers, Advanced Game Design: A Systems Approach, ch. 7, p. 232
This feedback demonstrates the difference between the designer’s intent and the player’s experience. The designer then changes the design to (hopefully) reduce this difference, and the loop begins again.
- Tracy Fullerton, Playcentric Design (ACM interactions, 2008), Playcentric Design, pp. 42–47: dialogue with players and feedback
Called ‘playcentric’ design, it involves setting interesting player-experience goals, building a rough paper or digital prototype that attempts to achieve those goals, testing the prototype with players, evaluating the results and integrating feedback, and then doing it again.
- Celia Hodent, Developing UX Practices at Epic Games, slides 3, 31, 36 and 43–45: user mental models, tests and evidence
UX specialists who verify that the experience designed will be and is the one experienced by the target audience.
- Anders Drachen, Pejman Mirza-Babaei and Lennart E. Nacke, Games User Research, ch. 1 pp. 1–8; ch. 2 pp. 24–29
In Chapter 11, Mirweis Sangin talks about the player experience. It discusses methods applied in observing player behaviour to uncover usability problems.
- Celia Hodent, How We Introduced UX to Epic Games’ Production Pipeline (GDC16), Definition of UX; Prod34–40 process
UX tests are conducted and the team observes the participants in real time.
- Steve Swink, Game Feel: The Secret Ingredient, Context: testing terrain and observing interaction; Rules: watch people play
the feel of a game -- the thing the player will spend the most time experiencing
- Ian Schreiber, Game Design Concepts, Level 5: Mechanics and Dynamics, The Process of Play; Homeplay: compare predicted and actual dynamics
This is why playtesting is so important. It is the most effective way to gauge the effects of rules changes when you are uncertain.
- Tynan Sylvester, The Simulation Dream, Player Model Principle; Eclipse Colony design case study: playtest observations and unexpected effects
the mental model in the player’s mind, which the player constructs while playing the game.
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