The goal of this online course is to teach participants how to use user experience (UX) methods in game design. There are three separate parts to the course plan: UX design for games, games user research, and game analytics.

The course materials are from our book "Games User Research," which Oxford University Press published in 2018. An important part of this course is learning about the rules and methods of user experience (UX) design and research as they apply to making games. This is a critical skill, and one of the key competencies is learning how to find, analyze, and understand player feedback. This gives participants the knowledge they need to make good decisions in game creation.

The course includes interactive exercises, and participants will learn the information and skills they need to figure out the factors that affect a player's experience in a game. This includes foundational skills such as how to effectively incorporate insights into the design process and ways to get information from players through direct observation, interviews, and surveys.

Benefits

Participants will learn about interaction design and UX research for games. Specifically, we aim for participants to take away the following skills from this course:

• Understanding interaction design approaches to video games.
• Learning how to conduct games user research. An overview of the most common approaches
• Getting detailed insights into game analytics
• Identifying & addressing user pain points in game design.
• Gaining holistic understanding of UX design process for games from research to implementation.
• Communicating design recommendations and justifying decisions based on user data.
• Incorporating user feedback and data analysis into game design.
• Conducting user testing and research for games, including method selection, analysis, and interpretation.

The main goal of this course is to give participants a basic understanding of UX design and research in video games. They will learn about how to use UX design methods in their own game design and research projects. Additionally, people can become familiar with a number of methodologies, such as data-driven decision-making, user testing, and usability analysis. They will learn more about current trends and the best ways to plan and conduct UX research in video games. On the design side, they will learn about design guidelines that can make the game experience better for players. These skills are in high demand by game research labs and development studios.

Intended Audience(s)

This course is ideal for individuals who are new to UX design and research careers, as well as students interested in the field. It offers a comprehensive overview of user experience design and research for video games. Topics covered include identifying user requirements, creating effective designs based on player feedback, conducting usability testing, and analyzing data from play tests. The course also explores game analytics, prototyping tools, and other methods for enhancing game experiences. Participants will gain insights into the workings of the games industry, enabling them to make informed decisions about UX design and research in their own projects or collaborations. The course is designed to be accessible to individuals without any prior experience or technical skills. All that is required is an interest in learning about user experience design and research in games.