Enhancing Game Usability: A Framework for Small-to-Medium-Sized Game Development Businesses

Sayeda Akthar, Muhammad Islam, Nabila Islam, Farzana Sadia, Mahady Hasan

2023

Abstract

The field of Human-Computer Interaction (HCI) research has developed numerous procedures and techniques to ensure high usability when developing software. Usability in video games is also considered to be important, so it is crucial to ensure that game systems comply with usability standards. However, research has overlooked software development, specifically the stage of game development. Additionally, large gaming firms and game developers tend to keep their procedures and techniques secret. Professional reports have revealed the "ugly face" of the gaming industry. Bangladesh’s slowly expanding game development sector comprises a significant number of small-to-medium-sized businesses and start-ups. These businesses require practical, developer-centric solutions to guarantee usability as they may lack the funds to engage usability specialists to oversee it. This article discusses the concept of game usability, including current research on usability techniques for game production. The study involved conducting polls, heuristic scoring studies, and speaking with several game developers. Twelve usability heuristics were created based on the Nielsen usability technique and the stages of game software development, which help in preventing typical usability problems in games. A preliminary analysis of the heuristics indicates that they can assist in identifying game-specific usability problems that may otherwise go unnoticed.

Paper Citation

in Harvard Style

Akthar S., Islam M., Islam N., Sadia F. and Hasan M. (2023). Enhancing Game Usability: A Framework for Small-to-Medium-Sized Game Development Businesses. In Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT; ISBN 978-989-758-665-1, SciTePress, pages 385-392. DOI: 10.5220/0012086500003538

in Bibtex Style

@conference{icsoft23,
author={Sayeda Akthar and Muhammad Islam and Nabila Islam and Farzana Sadia and Mahady Hasan},
title={Enhancing Game Usability: A Framework for Small-to-Medium-Sized Game Development Businesses},
booktitle={Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT},
year={2023},
pages={385-392},
publisher={SciTePress},
organization={INSTICC},
doi={10.5220/0012086500003538},
isbn={978-989-758-665-1},
}

in EndNote Style

TY - CONF

JO - Proceedings of the 18th International Conference on Software Technologies - Volume 1: ICSOFT
TI - Enhancing Game Usability: A Framework for Small-to-Medium-Sized Game Development Businesses
SN - 978-989-758-665-1
AU - Akthar S.
AU - Islam M.
AU - Islam N.
AU - Sadia F.
AU - Hasan M.
PY - 2023
SP - 385
EP - 392
DO - 10.5220/0012086500003538
PB - SciTePress