Xbox Games UXR: 

The client, a subsidiary of Xbox Games Studios, wanted to understand whether users were able to utilize in-game UI whilst playing an unreleased Obsidian Entertainment title. The study aimed to understand how players played through the map and utilized the UI for different tasks. The main objective was to understand whether users were able to navigate the in-game setting and complete tasks to progress in the story. The study aimed to enhance user experience by observing players and asking them a set of questions based on the moderation guide.

Obsidian Entertainment plans to release a new title in 2024 and wanted to gain key insights into their targeted users. How they navigated in-game features, their behaviors, habits and possible limitations with the current iteration of the game.  Another focus of the client was to understand user engagement with the game story line.

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The research team was tasked to discover UI elements that worked well for players as well as user frustrations with certain obstacles or tasks provided. The study aimed to understand how players would react to the world, the weapons, the NPC, and different elements of the UI such as the in-game map. The study also wanted to understand whether users would utilize the in-game map to complete tasks and progress in their story campaigns. 

I assisted with creating a moderator guide based on developer suggestions. I met with developers, researchers, moderators, tech support on meetings to ensure study quality on launch date. Highlighted target demographics for this game, which player specifics we needed for the study (game genre, system requirements, and diversity splits). 

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The study ran for a week in which 8 participants were selected to join the study. The study took place on our on-site facilities. The research method utilized for this study was a usability. 

Preliminary Steps

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The development team at Obsidian Entertainment  requests study assistance from Xbox. We set up meetings in which we discuss research objectives and goals. 

A Usability was selected to understand how users interacted with the game. It allowed us to understand user behavior and find any pain points that players may come across.  We wanted to understand what challenges players may be facing in the game. We also wanted to understand how users utilized the UI to progress in their personals campaigns. We also wanted to understand general sentiment about the weapons, NPCs and the world that was created for this game. 
 

Conducted 8 usability sessions over a period of a week to understand how players interacted with the game. How players progressed throughout the campaign and understand how users would utilize in-game features. 

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Participant Recruitment

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Recruitment was done through our online database. 

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A discussion guide was written and went through a few iterations after a pilot test. When participants were being recruited, they were scheduled within a few hours of initial contact and were sent reminders a day before session. 

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Participants

• 8 participants in total, the sessions were conducted on-site.

• Players who played specific genres related to unreleased title.

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Execution of Study

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Upon completing initial discussion with dev team and support team, sessions were approved and recruitment began. Once eligible participants were recruited, sessions were conducted and data was gathered. After each session, I analyzed my notes and rewatched recordings to ensure quality of data.  Transcripts were read to ensure data was translated correctly and to find any possible patterns or themes. Recommendations were then created based on research findings.

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The collected data was then presented to our client. The data was utilized to take corrective measures to help improve user experience within the game. 

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As the research concluded, the team met to discuss limitations, gain points and ways to improve future research projects.

When discussing certain aspects of the in-game features, participants were unsure how to proceed. Some players neglected to use in-game features that were intended to be helpful tool tips for users. The study highlighted the need to provide more assistance to users of the game.

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The usability was created to help understand how players progressed through the main storyline. What features stood out to participants and what features were most useful to them in their gameplay. Whether players were able to navigate the game's UI and to understand any pain points that users may come across. 

Participants played through a portion of the game, in which, they were prompted to complete a few tasks that were given to them via in-game missions. The players were asked to complete the task and were asked questions based on in-game experiences. They were also asked on certain aspects of the game's in-game UI features. 

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• Provided insight on in-game features and how players utilized them.

• Uncovered highlights as well as lowlights with the game's early build. Providing data on things that worked really well and things that could be improved upon. 

• In-game UI seemed to be an issue with players as they were often confused or neglected to utilize certain aspects, thus the research highlighted the need to improve certain aspects. 

• Data collected was written in a story-driven method so that information could be shared and discussed the development team.