People who play video games are often wary of buying new games \u2013 they don\u2019t know whether they\u2019ll actually be fun to play. So they read reviews and try out games in stores or at friends’ houses before deciding on a purchase.<\/p>\n
Game designers have a similar problem \u2013 how to create the next great breakthrough game that would attract millions of fans, and make millions.<\/p>\n
So they conduct what is called \u201cplaytesting,\u201d bringing in gamers to try out games that are still under construction, and having them give feedback on their attitudes and preferences about the new game.<\/p>\n
Some of the questions designers have are simple: Is the game\u2019s interface easy to understand and operate?<\/p>\n
Others are more sophisticated, dealing with artistic taste: Did you enjoy the game\u2019s graphics? The deepest level of questioning relates to the experience of playing the game: Did you become so engaged in the game that you lost track of time or where you were?<\/p>\n
But it can be hard to understand the exact meaning of testers’ answers, and even more difficult to figure out how to take multiple players’ divergent suggestions into account.<\/p>\n
What questions are the best ones for developers to ask testers, in order to best understand players\u2019 reactions to a particular game?<\/p>\n
Is there a way to objectively measure players’ subjective enjoyment of any given video game?<\/p>\n