October 2005
October 7, 2005
How cultural contexts affect the design of web sites
Mun Ga Choi
Wellington
Friday 7th October
12.00 PM
http://communication.massey.ac.nz/seminar_series.html
Department of Communication and Journalism
Doctoral Research Seminar Series, Wellington.
Venue: Massey University, Wellington, Wallace Street, 6C01. map
Contact Details: Nicky McInnes
Tel: (04) 801 2794 x6931
October 11, 2005
UPA Auckland - Games User Research with Tracey Sellar
GripShift : A Case Study
* How do game developers know if they are making the right design decisions prior to shipping a title?
* What parts of a game frustrate players instead of challenge them?
* How can developers answer the fundamental question: will gamers think our game is good?
Games user research provides developers with valuable feedback on how a target audience will perceive and interact with their game before it gets to market. It helps to take some of the guesswork out of designing enjoyable game experiences.
In this talk, Tracey will present a user research case study on GripShift, a recently released game developed by Sidhe Interactive for the new PlayStation Portable (PSP) handheld game console. Tracey will describe how the design of GripShift changed as a result of iterative user testing, and how those changes impacted on the game user experience. She will also discuss some of the benefits and challenges of games user research.
Speaker Bio:
Tracey Sellar is a games user research consultant and is currently Director of the User Experience (UX) Lab in Auckland. In her spare time, Tracey is exploring new research strategies and methods for evaluating game user experience as part of her PhD.
Tracey has been involved with the New Zealand games industry for several years as a user research advocate and consultant. Recent game projects she has worked on include Rugby League 2, Melbourne Cup Challenge and GripShift for New Zealand's largest game development company, Sidhe Interactive. In addition to games, she has conducted user research on a range of products including websites, software, videoconferencing systems, and large interactive display technologies.
Tracey has recently accepted a User Research Engineer position with the Games User Research team at Microsoft Game Studios, and will be relocating to the U.S. at the end of October.
Register at auckland@upa.org.nz by Monday 10th October please.
$10 cash at the door. Location details below.
Location: Bank of New Zealand, 3rd floor, 125 Queen Street
Map showing location of building (but we are on the 3rd floor)
Time: 6 pm for drinks and nibbles, 6.30pm talk starts, finishes approx 8pm.
Call Mark McLay on 029 222 00 16 if you have difficulty getting in or arrive after 6.30pm