Contents

Brief ................................................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Research ............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 2
What Is UX? ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 2
Possible Genres? .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 2
Potential Audiences? ................................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Example Teaching Methods ......................................................................................................................................................................... 3
Target audience and goals................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Personas ................................................................................................................................................................................................. 4
Final Persona .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 5
Example user stories I wish to include options for. ...................................................................................................................................... 5
Design Process................................................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Conceptualisation (Idea 1) ........................................................................................................................................................................... 6
Goal............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Conceptualisation (Idea 2) ......................................................................................................................................................................... 10
Goal............................................................................................................................................................................................................ 10
Conceptualisation (Idea 3) - Not going anywhere .................................................................................................................................... 11
Prototyping ..................................................................................................................................................................................................... 11
Chosen idea – Idea 1 .................................................................................................................................................................................. 11
Paper prototype of origami system ........................................................................................................................................................... 12
Pen and paper combat system prototype .................................................................................................................................................. 12
Testing ....................................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Self-testing combat system v0.1 ................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Testing notes ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 13
Patch Notes .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 13
Self-testing combat system v0.2 ................................................................................................................................................................ 14
Testing Notes:....................................................................................................................................................................................... 14
Patch Notes: ......................................................................................................................................................................................... 15
Self-Testing V0.3 ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Testing notes ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 15
Patch notes ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 16
Self-Testing V0.4 ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Testing notes ........................................................................................................................................................................................ 16
Patch Notes .......................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
Final Self-Test V0.5 ............................................................................................................................................................................... 17
External Testing V1.0 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 17
Patch notes ........................................................................................................................................................................................... 17
External Testing V1.1 ................................................................................................................................................................................. 18
First Interactions for The Player ................................................................................................................................................................. 19
Reflection ................................................................................................................................................................................................... 20
References: ................................................................................................................................................................................................ 20
Brief
I am designing a game to be played by first time players of a genre, researching what a good user
experience includes, who my audience is in greater detail, the genre and how I will effectively teach
the mechanics. I am only designing the first 15 minutes, so I need to make sure the mechanics are
taught effectively and quickly as well as having a good enough hook to keep the player interested.

For researching my audience, I need to investigate possible Personas to create a baseline for the
audience I am designing the game for. I will also need to think of user stories and how different
people will interact with game and certain features.

When looking at the design process loop, I need to split it into 3 sections, Conceptualisation,
Prototyping and testing. These will be how I document the process of coming up with an idea and
expanding on what the gameplay and user experience will include, creating paper prototypes if the
idea sticks to see if it has any footing and finally testing the prototype on other users for their
opinions and feedback.

Research

What Is UX?

In the context of games, it is ensuring the player is experiencing a game as designed and making sure
that design is fun for the player.

Little things from changing the button pressed to activate an action, Changing the mixing on certain
sounds, Story progression can all affect the user experience. This means its not just up to the
designers, but everyone can make a difference. Due to this a clear vision must made for the game
else some department may negatively impact the UX, but they also might positively impact it so
room for change must always be available.

Taking principles such as Don Normans Human Centred Design (HCD) we see that when designing a
user experience we need to think about what the player wants, this is taken from market research
like looking at current trends or reviews of past releases. Taking this information and looking at ‘The
needs the design is intended to meet’ we can a create a user experience which meets the
expectations and the needs of the players.

Testing the user experience is also important as developers need to ensure the game is still fun and
not missing anything, but this can become difficult later when the developers are attached and start
to notice bad experiences less and less. Bringing in new people to test then becomes priority as they
will see things the developers don’t as well as provide feedback on UX so can changes can be made
before shipping.

Possible Genres?

Edutainment games – Doesn’t fit with my goal of providing an exciting experience

Educational games
Normal Genres:

Puzzle

Shooter

Text Adventure – Would be difficult to grab people’s attention in 15 minutes as well as I’m not
confident in my ability to give it an interesting twist.

Rogue Like/Lite – Difficult to get the right balance for the first 15 mins as you want the player to
enjoy their time as well kill them off to introduce the rouge like elements.

Platformer

MetroidVania – Difficult to grab attention in 15 minutes as well as paper prototyping and balancing
the map could prove too difficult.

Action

Adventure

Sport – Not in my interests to do as well as I’m not well informed of sport rules and so I would not be
able to provide a satisfying experience alone.

Simulation – Not knowledgeable enough to provide to a meaningful simulator and don’t believe joke
simulator games provide the best of user experiences.

Management – Hard to hook someone into a management game in 15 mins due to the amount of
mechanics or stats that need to be taught in that time.

Potential Audiences?

Age Ratings: 3,7,12,16,18-year olds

Genders: male or female

Older Generations

Disabled Players

Professions: Teachers, Doctors, RAF, Navy – Doesn’t fit with my chosen genres and my goal.

Example Teaching Methods

Valve Method – Showing mechanics in a nonstress environment then making use of it in stressful
situations or in more difficult situations, Portal 1 summoning the portals on their own to show the
player they can be walked through and placed, Half-life 2 the bird flying into the barnacle to show
how the barnacles work without player involvement.

Otherwise – Throwing the player straight in with pop ups on the fly to teach mechanics (Hades,
Transistor, FFX, Bayonetta) Tutorial environments before starting the main game (Vanquish, League
of Legends, Code Vein), Not teaching anything and relying on the player to learn themselves
sometimes explained later (Resident evil 1, Dark Souls, Nioh)
Target audience and goals

Personas
Using Quantic Foundry, I can use some example survey results to form profiles of potential personas
who I can aim my game towards.

Chloe (16 Years Old) Female Mid Core gamer

Likes: Counter Strike: Global Offensive, League of Legends, Street Fighter

Dislikes: XCOM, Fire Emblem, Destiny

Justin (22 Years Old) Male Hardcore Gamer

Likes: Smash Bros. Melee, Crusader Kings 2, Fallout

Dislikes: RuneScape, Final Fantasy, Animal Crossing

William (24 Years Old) Male Casual Gamer

Likes: Call of Duty, Doom, Halo

Dislikes: Assassins Creed, Elder Scrolls series, Animal Crossing

Carla (48 Years Old) Female Mid Core Gamer

Likes: Destiny, World of Warcraft, Sims series

Dislikes: FIFA, League of Legends

Esther (35 Years Old) Female Casual Gamer

Likes: Call of Duty, Grand Theft Auto 5, Borderlands

Dislikes: Resident Evil, Civilization, Fire Emblem

Henry (43 Years Old) Hardcore Gamer

Likes: Dota, StarCraft, Counter Strike: Global Offensive

Dislikes: Elder Scrolls, Guild Wars 2, Minecraft

From this we can see a common behaviour of

• enjoying exciting games which require learning and mastery.

• Enjoying multiplayer games

• Enjoy gaining power and feeling powerful through stats and items.

• Prefer to pick up and put down games

• First person views commonly used.

• Survival and building games commonly disliked

• Slow paced games commonly disliked

Final Persona

John (28) has been working in his office job for 5 years and has settled in well with his co workers
who he goes out with after work hours as well as playing games when at home. He prefers
multiplayer games so he can play with friends from work but dabbles in single player from time to
time.

John due to his work hours and social life prefers games that are quick to start but still also looks for
a game that test his skill and mastery as he continues to play. When he picks up a game, he wants it
to be exciting from the start which is why he has fond memories of Counterstrike, Smash Bro. and
Doom from his childhood.

John would like a new game that he can easily pick up and put down meanwhile feeling the
excitement from beginning to end of the session while learning how to master the gameplay
effectively.

Example user stories

• As a child I want bright colours and varied gameplay so that I can stay interested in the experience.
Make use of broad art styles so I can have the freedom to use bright colours and attractive visuals

• As an amputee I want options to play with 1 hand or use of custom controllers so that I can play
the game as intended. Provide full support for 1 armed play through settings and intuitive control
schemes to allow anyone a chance.

• As an elderly player I want accessibility options to account for low reaction speed, issues with
memory or issues with finger movements so that I can play the game as intended
• As a completionist I want lots of collectables, optional tasks and replay ability so that I can keep
coming back and feel worthwhile to 100% Provide achievements, collectables and secrets in the
form of Easter eggs or secret encounters to give hunters and completionists a meaningful
experience.

• As a colour blinded player, I want colour blind options so that I can play the game as intended.

• As an action game player, I want a good core experience with challenge and fast paced gameplay
so that I can have fun with the game while it still accommodates to others.

• As a casual player I want different difficulty modes and an intricate story so that I can have fun
with the game while I learn the game mechanics or enjoy the story.

From this my Goal is to create an action game with the accessibility options to allow as many as
possible to play keeping in mind colour blindness, Inability to use arms, the elderly with slower
reaction times or inability to do fast inputs. Including options to cater to these problems is the main
idea as I want as many people as possible to enjoy the action genre without needing to worry about
problems that could hinder that enjoyment. Options include one handed play and custom controller
support, colour blind options, intricate options which can change attack speed, dodging or parry
windows, auto combos which I have seen in similar games, always present combo list, bullet speeds,
movement speeds. options like these will make balance testing a lot trickier but it will better suit the
goal and create a more accessible game and allow all an enjoyable user experience.

With the aesthetics chosen the game will be easily marketable to wide audience and with the genres
chosen it will be easy to port to all devices allowing it to be sold in stores for all to pick up and enjoy
with the need of upgrades or new consoles. With the user stories in mind everyone can find some
part of it they enjoy enticing them to pick up a copy when they are not use to that genre

Design Process

For creating concepts, I am making use of morphological analysis to create rapid ideas and to quickly
see if those ideas have any footing. First I place some basic components in a table with some
examples that I would like to use and roll a dice, the number on the dice corresponding to a row in
the table I do that each time for each component. I then make use of each selected option to form
into a game Idea.

Conceptualisation (Idea 1)

Mechanic Aesthetic Playstyle Camera Style

Shooting Paper Craft Combo Based First Person
Slashing Comic Book Cover Based Third Person
Party Based Cel Shader Stealth Isometric
Minimalistic Hack and Slash 2D
Turn Based
Two buttons to attack (light and heavy attacks) to create more advanced combos. Going through
levels and entering fight zones where all enemies must be defeated to move on. Bonus currency
multiplier for keeping an attack combo going.

Paper craft aesthetic, Enemies made of paper and cut up with scissors as the weapon to appeal to all
audiences. The enemies will fit with the colour scheme and design of the area for example water,
jungle, volcano.

Different styles of fighting unlocked as the game progresses providing new ways of fighting and
chaining up new attacks similar to Yakuza 0 and 1. (Slow but hard hitting stance, fast focusing on
dodges and counters, a balanced stance as well as a defensive stance for tanking damage but no
attacks.) Stances indicated by origami animals; Fast stance is a bird for example defensive is a turtle
etc. This helps distinguish the stances when quickly selecting as well as identifying which stance you
have equipped by an icon on the UI and how your weapon has changed. Turtle stance gives you a
shell as a shield for example.

Skill system works with origami, as you progress you obtain different stances in the form of origami
animals. To level up and change these stances body parts with stat boosts and abilities can be
collected off drops from bosses as well as built using scraps which drop from enemies. The body
parts are then attached to the origami stance by cutting off old pieces and replacing them with the
new parts for boosts. This would create new colours and looks for the animal and would play into
the papercraft aesthetic.

Puzzles could be designed with the use of a paper creation system like Okami’s paint brush
mechanic. Certain pieces of paper in the game world can be cut by zooming out into a bird’s eye
view of the puzzle. The paper can the be cut into shapes to form bridges, cut holes to allow
entrances as well as provide environmental kills for enemies if the paper was used as a supporting
beam for other objects.

Can be played with half of a controller for one handed play or custom controllers, swapping between
movement mode and attack mode to make use of one joystick as an option. Timing difficulty can be
altered in settings to allow for all skill levels. Clear indication as to what to do next in combat with a
visible combo list or combo assist modes as well as hint options when exploring or puzzle solving.
Colour blind options available and readability in mind when creating enemy types, different
weapons and character designs.

Strategy Scope Structure

Introducing Mechanics Light Attack Non stress environment
Heavy Attack Button prompts
Dodging Allowing experimentation
before moving on
Creating Combos Tutorial Windows when
introducing UI and menu
elements
Jumping Options to skip
Moving
Special Moves / Execution
Moves
Stances
Editing Stances
Introducing enemy types Weak enemies See the enemies in the distance
or in a non-stress environment
first
Tank enemies Weak enemies introduced first
to get player used to controls
Supporting enemies New enemies on their own or
surrounded by weak enemies in
the lower difficulties so player
can learn new mechanics
Ranged enemies Lower difficulties display
prompts explaining the enemy,
normal and above do not
display prompts by default but
can be changed
Enemies with weaknesses Lower difficulty showing
prompts for enemy weaknesses,
Normal and above don’t show
prompts by default but can be
changed
Mini bosses Higher difficulty modes
unlocked assume player has
played and met bosses before
so does not show prompts and
ignores other structures
Bosses

Introducing puzzles Buttons Highlight first button to press to

show player what to look for
Cutting out environment Clearly highlight what the
button does so player learns
what pressing the button will
achieve
Destructibles First cutting out puzzle will
require a prompt to explain
controls and how it works
Highlight destructible objects so
player knows how to identify
those objects in future with
ease

Combat Light attack Light attack deals least damage

on its own but has quick
animations
Heavy attack Heavy attack deals more than
light but slower animations
Forming combos Chaining light and heavy attacks
in a certain order will pull off
different moves depending on
the next button pressed will
dictate how quickly that part of
 the move will go and how much
it will deal, once the move is
finished it will knock back
enemies and deal a large chunk
of damage
Stances Stances change what moves are
pulled off during combos as well
as changing player stats.
Quick stance – Faster attacks
with focus on dodging and
speed boosts, increased
damage taken but increased
damage
Balanced – Starting stance with
mix of quick and slow attacks
and mid-range damage, health
and speed.
Heavy stance – Slow attacks and
dodge but balanced damage,
Increased health and decreased
damage taken.

Finishers When an enemy is low enough

a visual prompt will show the
player and allow them to press
a button a perform an animated
finisher incorporating the
scissor and paper theme.
Cutting Puzzle Identification For the player to identify what
paper can be cut it will have a
dashed outline around the
paper or hatched entirely for
more clarity
Purpose Pieces of paper can be cut into
shapes designed by the player
to be placed in the environment
to create bridges or objects
such as boxes to hold buttons /
climb on
Control When a button is pressed while
looking at the sheet camera will
jump to birds’ eye and player
can control scissors using
joystick to cut out shapes with
outlines for creating origami
shapes available from a
selection menu for help with
remembering options available.
Goal
Aiming for the player to feel excitement/ ecstasy like how similar games in the genre make
you feel when playing with the combat system as well as the sense of achievement when
completing puzzles and levels.
Do this with satisfying attacks, many opportunities for the player to use the combat system,
fitting soundtrack, over the top visual effects and a good balance of simple and complex
puzzles

Conceptualisation (Idea 2)

Mechanic Aesthetic Playstyle Camera Style

Shooting Paper Craft Combo Based First Person
Slashing Comic Book Cover Based Third Person
Party Based Cel Shader Stealth Isometric
Minimalistic Hack and Slash 2D
Turn Based

Cast of characters all with different fighting styles and weapons swapping between them to
attack enemies?
Looking at a war table in first person and selecting characters in the battle taking control
and attacking while still looking at the table almost combining first person and isometric.
Goal is to complete different objectives like eliminate the army, siege the structure, defend
against attacks.
Can deselect the table and walk about to other stations to complete other tasks or provide
support drops.
When controlling a character one button attacks with different timings for variety of moves.
Each character has their own unique style and weapon to allow strategic choices in fights.
Focus on parrying rather than dodging to keep the skill ceiling high despite the simple one
attack button. This allows the player to still feel challenge as well joy when they get the
timing just right.
The Cel shader aesthetic will appeal to a wider audience and will also allow for fantastical
elements and not feel out of place.

Goal

Aiming for the player to feel a sense of achievement when their battle tactics work out as
well as putting them on their toes and having to think quickly.
This can be done with building the fights up substantially each time including more and
more enemies and more characters to create more things for the player to focus on.

Strategy Scope Structure

Introducing Mechanics Interacting with the table Text pop ups to point the player
in the right direction
Interacting with other objects Text or voice over explaining
around the player each station
Selecting a fighter Allowing room for
experimentation
Changing fighter 1 v 1 dummy scenario on the
table to teach combat
mechanics.
Attack button
Parrying
Moving

Conceptualisation (Idea 3) - Not going anywhere ☹

Mechanic Aesthetic Playstyle Camera Style

Shooting Paper Craft Combo Based First Person
Slashing Comic Book Cover Based Third Person
Party Based Cel Shader Stealth Isometric
Minimalistic Hack and Slash 2D
Turn Based

Futuristic cover shooter going through chapters clearing enemies and interacting with the
environment. Big focus on lighting effects to stand out against the minimalistic art style.

Prototyping
Chosen idea – Idea 1
This concept had the most footing to me even though it was the first after exploring other options it
seemed like the papercraft aesthetic could really work in an action genre allowing for unique and
thematic gameplay opportunities.
Paper prototype of origami system

Origami is built and unfolded in game for ease of the player.

Pen and paper combat system prototype

3 enemies presented at the start. Each player turns given 6 action points and options
include light attack (1 action point) heavy attack (2 action points) and saving points to
attempt dodges when enemies attack. Light attacks hit only 1 enemy for 5 damage and
heavy attacks hit 2 enemies for 10 damage.
Enemies you last attacked count as on screen so only they attack during the enemy turns.
When an enemy attack the player if they have an action point, they can attempt a dodge to
negate the damage. Player has 20 health.
Each attack landed adds 1 to the multiplier which resets when hit by an enemy. Repeating
the same attacks 3 times lowers the multiplier. Repeating the same combo of cards also
resets the multiplier. The ranking for the fight it determined by how many rounds it took to
beat.
Eg.
12 rounds – D
8 Rounds – C
6 rounds – B
4 rounds - A
2 rounds - S
This should emulate the early combat of the game making the best of the restrictions the
paper prototype has when it comes to this genre.
Testing

When conducting testing I test the idea myself first so I can pick up any obvious problems in the
functionality of the mechanic I am testing as well as if I can make an honest judgement if the
mechanic works or not. When I’m happy with the functionality and believe the idea could work, I
pass the prototype to another person considering any feedback on functionality as well as noting
down their user experience with the prototype.

Self-testing combat system v0.1

Testing notes

Damage values not high enough for fast action

2 light and 2 heavies in different combos allow for not being hit ever

Dodging has no challenge

Patch Notes

Light attack – 5 10 damage

Heavy attack – 10 20 damage

Enemies you attack at all count as on screen instead of last hit

Dodging now uses reaction timer test if ms is higher than 220 or too early then dodge is failed.
Self-testing combat system v0.2

Testing Notes:
220 ms seems to low to be fair

Reaction timer increases challenge to dodging

Not to easy not to difficult, balancing of numbers seems good

Finished encounter with a multiplier of 5 and finished in 6 rounds so B ranking

Need to incorporate multiplier into ranking

Patch Notes:

Reaction speed required - < 220 ms < 230 ms

Patch Notes:
Reaction speed required - < 220 ms < 230 ms

Enemy Health – 100 50

New ranking system – Multiplier – No. Rounds = Final Score

<= 1 = D

2-4 = C

5–6=B

7–8=A

>10 = S

Self-Testing V0.3

Testing notes
Final Score = multiplier 0 & 3 rounds

D rank
Dodging feels real kind of, it requires a learning curve or getting use to the system which will
translate so much better in game

Health seems a bit low Not enough action points as focus is too much on dodging

Patch notes

Enemy health 50 75

Action points 6 8

Self-Testing V0.4

Testing notes

New Health works but always leaving 5 which can be frustrating for players

Rounds = 3

Final score was Multiplier = 6 – 3

C Rank which shows clear improvement which will translate well into the players experience when
playing the game
Patch Notes
Enemy health 75 70

Final Self-Test V0.5

Damage values seem fair Combat does not seem dragged out against what it meant to be weak
enemies

Good balance for dodge timing Ranking is fair and accurate

Combat is fun not as engaging as If it were programmed but can be enjoyed with new enemies, new
moves which will be added to the main game.

External Testing V1.0

Played with friend over discord using Tabletop sim as the base.

Explaining was quick which will translate into gameplay well

Player getting into it quickly

Found a good strategy quickly ending in 2 rounds but with 3 multipliers “Engaging combat style,
made me think but different attack styles would be nice”

Patch notes

Added different colour tokens symbolizing attack stance

Blue balanced –
Heavy Attack 2 AP – 20 DMG

Light Attack 1 AP – 10 DMG

Dodging 1 AP

Purple Quick –

Heavy Attack 1 AP – 10 DMG

Light Attack 1 AP – 10 DMG

Dodging is Free

Yellow Slow –

Heavy Attack 3 AP – 30 DMG

Light Attack 2 AP – 20 DMG

Takes half damage

Dodging 2 AP

Change stance – 1 AP

Changing stance does not give multiplier

External Testing V1.1

User made use of changes easily

Yellow was favourite which seemed a bit broken

Swapping to fast at last point for free dodges seemed broken but user enjoyed being able to
“outplay” the mechanics, so I kept it for the sake of a good user experience

Found game much more engaging due to more options available

Patch notes
Yellow Heavy attack – 3 AP 4 AP

From this I can conclude that the combat is engaging for someone who has never touched an action
game as after showing them examples of games like what I was going for they said they could see
where I was coming from and that I’m close. The inclusion of tougher enemies, a real combo system
and new moves will I believe make the experience even better but as a base I believe it has sold the
idea well for a good user experience.

First Interactions for The Player

When loading up the game it is taken directly to the main menu here buttons will be pressed
including:

New Game – Opens up the save slots menu which 3 will be available for the player to create a new
game.

Load Game – Allows the user to open a desired used save slot a will load back where they last saved

Options – Will include graphics options depending on the user’s device e.g. PC containing more
detailed options while consoles limiting to brightness and TV size etc. Will also include the language
options, the accessibility options laid out earlier, sound options which will include subtitles and
finally controls which will be able to be edited no matter the device.

As the user is playing for the first time, they will create a new game from the new game section
giving a name to allow easy identification in future and begin loading into the game.

Once loaded a quick cutscene will play introducing basic story elements lasting no more than 2 or 3
minutes as to not bore the user. Once the cutscene ends it transitions into gameplay showing a
papercraft forest / Island vista drawing in younger and older audiences as well as giving the tutorial
island aesthetic. The user is presented with a movement prompt giving them a space to test it out. A
basic enemy can then be seen in the distance performing attacks on a dummy or destructible object.
This is an attempt to show the player how they work and move. The user heads towards the enemy
being blocked by a simple obstacle being prompt to jump over. After the user reaches the enemy
they are introduced to the combat.

The combat tutorial starts with 1 enemy present and the user being presented with a light attack
prompt using the enemy as a dummy the player can test how it works. After testing a few hits, the
prompt changes to heavy attack again giving the user time to experiment and learn how it works
showing a prompt to combine the 2 in case the user had not tried. After a few combos and hits the
enemy will attack showing prompts to dodge. After 2 successful dodges a prompt is given to then
use everything to kill the enemy. Once killed 3 more show up introducing the user to standard fights
and give them more time to get used to the controls and dodge timing. At the last enemy, the game
prompts the user to perform a finisher completing the tutorial. A small cutscene plays allowing more
story information to play and the level ends. The player is then ranked based on the combat scenario
this gives the user a sense of achievement enticing them to keep playing, after which taking them to
the level select screen with level 2 selected to keep the flow of the game moving.

This should take up the first 15 minutes of the player first experience with the game. It provides
many opportunities to learn the core loop of the combat which will be the main centre of the game
as well as providing a hook to the aesthetic and the story so the player will want to keep going. With
accessibility at the front and centre of the experience the player needs to know quickly if they will
need to adjust anything so including all of that content in such a small span was important so the
player doesn’t feel cheated or frustrated in the event they weren’t able to experience the game in
full.

Throughout the rest of the game the player will collect different stances and upgrades through
bosses and exploration to provide a sense of achievement as well trying to prevent player fatigue.

Reflection

From creating this user experience, I have learnt a lot about what goes into creating a good user
experience as well as how to pick up on techniques used by developers which I can hopefully
incorporate into my work and make my own.

When researching it was difficult to just tick off certain genres as they were all viable and provided
some of my favourite user experiences but it was taking into account my abilities and what works
best in the brief that got me through it in the end.

When looking at target users finding a way to incorporate what they enjoy and what a good user
experience was for them was difficult, trying to make a game interesting for younger audiences as
well as adults caused issues as they are interested in different ideas. Finding the balance of an art
style and gameplay that can appeal to both is what I’m happy with as its not perfect but allows for
children to enjoy the bright colours and simplistic nature meanwhile adults can enjoy the interesting
shapes of the origami and distant vistas. The combat catering to children with the scissor against
paper I am most proud of because I can see children enjoying that as well as myself, so I feel it works
quite well catering to most audiences.

I could have made more use of the persona as well because as the design started coming through it
became an afterthought in the process. After looking over the persona at the end of the design I do
believe I still created a game that suits the needs of the created persona so still keeping to the aim.

When designing I maybe could have included more ideas, but I got attached to the first very quickly.
After taking into account that the first isn’t always the best I made the effort to try and come up with
other ideas but I always just came back to the first so I just stuck with it which may have missed the
point of creating ideas.

Testing was a tricky one due the genre I chose but I feel I did a good job at incorporating the basics
into a working prototype which when tested and changed over and over became a fun combat
system which I actually wanted to get good at.

Overall, I believe I met the brief of the document and provided a good user experience for the first-
time players of the action hack and slash genre.

References:
Gamberini, L., Alcaniz, M., Barresi, G., Fabregat, M., Prontu, L. and Seraglia, B., 2008. Playing for a
real bonus: Videogames to empower elderly people. Journal of CyberTherapy & Rehabilitation, 1(1),
pp.37-48.

Kuniavsky, M., 2010. Smart things: ubiquitous computing user experience design. Elsevier.
Gruen, D., Rauch, T., Redpath, S. and Ruettinger, S., 2002. The use of stories in user experience
design. International Journal of Human-Computer Interaction, 14(3-4), pp.503-534.

Norman, Don. The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition. Basic Books, 2013.