Browsing by Author "Livingston, Ian J."

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    Critic-proofing: how using critic reviews and game genres can refine heuristic evaluations
    (ACM, 2010) Livingston, Ian J.; Mandryk, Regan L.; Stanley, Kevin G.
    Heuristic evaluation -- a technique where experts inspect software and determine where the application violates predetermined policies for good usability - is an effective technique for evaluating productivity software. The technique has recently been applied to video games, examining playability and usability for both single and multiplayer games. However, the severity ratings assigned to usability problems and used as a coarse categorization method for triage are still subjectively and somewhat arbitrarily assigned by evaluators, offering limited organizational value. In addition, they fail to account for the diversity found between games and game genres. In this paper we present a modified heuristic evaluation technique, which produces a prioritized list of heuristic violations based on the problem's frequency, impact, persistence, the heuristic it violates, and the game's genre. We evaluate our technique in a case study and show that the technique provides substantial value with little additional effort.
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    Gemini: A Pervasive Accumulated Context Exergame
    (Springer, 2011) Stanley, Kevin G.; Livingston, Ian J.; Bandurka, Alan; Hashemian, Mohammad; Mandryl, Regan L.
    Exergames encourage physical activity, but generally require specialized hardware and prescribed activities; whereas pervasive accumulated context exergames (PACEs) allow players to choose their type of exercise, but have limited depth of play. For mass commercialization of PACEs, facilitating long-term behavioural change, we propose two requirements: that PACEs support large-scale and flexible deployment; and that the design of PACEs support staying power through long-term playability. From these requirements, we motivate six PACE design principles and use these principles to develop a multiplayer roleplaying PACE. Results from a week-long study of our game showed that by satisfying the six design principles, we can create a PACE with scalability and staying power. Our results are the first step toward creating PACEs that promotes long-term game engagement, which is needed for activity-related behaviour change.
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    Influencing Experience: The Effects of Reading Game Reviews on Player Experience
    (Springer, 2011) Livingston, Ian J.; Nacke, Lennart E.; Mandryk, Regan L.
    Game reviews are used by game developers for making business decisions and measuring the success of a title, and have been shown to affect player perception of game quality. We conducted a study where players read positive or negative reviews of a game before playing, and show that the valence of review text affected game ratings and that these differences could not be explained by mediating changes in mood. Although we show predictable changes in player experience over the course of the study (measured objectively through physiological sensors), there were no objective differences in experience depending on review valence. Our results suggest that reading reviews does not directly affect play experience, but rather is a post-play cognitive rationalization of the experience with the content of the review. Our results are important for understanding player experience and to the game industry where reviews and user forums affect a game’s commercial success.