Andreia Gonçalves (Senior UX Designer, Electronic Arts)
Pass Type:
All Access Pass, Summits Pass
Topic:
Design
Format:
Lecture
Vault Recording: TBD
Audience Level: Intermediate
Most game development teams regularly playtest the game with the team. Some see it as the designer's first line of "defense." Although it's important to test with end-players whenever possible, that is not always available. Regular team playtests can provide developers with a source of constant feedback—but that feedback can often be personal and opinion-based if guidance isn't provided.
In this session, Andreia Gonçalves, a Senior UX Designer at Full Circle Electronic Arts, will walk attendees through the framework the Skate development team has applied to their internal testing. This framework, which can be applied to the existing process of team playtesting, has empowered anyone on the team to step into the player's shoes, to ask for and receive more relevant feedback, as well as increase empathy to rally the team around player pain points.
Takeaway
Attendees will walk-away with a practical framework to plan and run more user-centered team playtests that gain team buy-in to solve player pain points—as well as examples of it in practice, and an understanding of the value this approach provides.
Intended Audience
This is for UX practitioners who are looking for ways to introduce or improve UX practices in their team, especially in early/mid stages of UX maturity. It is also useful for any game developers that would like to learn how to get more user-centered feedback on a design from people who are not the target players, when those are not available.