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 ABSTRACT
This study examines the usability challenges faced by new players of massively multiplayer online role-playing games (MMORPGs), one of the fastest-growing segments of the video game industry. Played in completely online worlds, these games allow players to communicate with one another, form groups and communities, and compete in a variety of fantasy environments.Nineteen subjects participated in an exploratory usability study of four games, three MMORPGs and a similar single-player game used for comparison. Results reveal that many people not usually considered as potential players of these games may be interested in them, but a wide variety of usability issues present serious problems for players inexperienced with the genre. Based on an analysis of the usability data and player feedback, specific recommendations are made to improve the experience of these games for new players. These results further demonstrate the applicability and importance of usability testing to video games.
REFERENCES
Note: OCR errors may be found in this Reference List extracted from the full text article. ACM has opted to expose the complete List rather than only correct and linked references.
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CITED BY 7
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Nicolas Ducheneaut , Nicholas Yee , Eric Nickell , Robert J. Moore, "Alone together?": exploring the social dynamics of massively multiplayer online games, Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on Human Factors in computing systems, April 22-27, 2006, Montréal, Québec, Canada
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David Pinelle , Nelson Wong , Tadeusz Stach , Carl Gutwin, Usability heuristics for networked multiplayer games, Proceedings of the ACM 2009 international conference on Supporting group work, May 10-13, 2009, Sanibel Island, Florida, USA
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INDEX TERMS
Primary Classification:
H.
Information Systems
H.5
INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
H.5.2
User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
Subjects:
User-centered design
Additional Classification:
H.
Information Systems
H.5
INFORMATION INTERFACES AND PRESENTATION (I.7)
H.5.1
Multimedia Information Systems
Subjects:
Artificial, augmented, and virtual realities;
Evaluation/methodology
H.5.2
User Interfaces (D.2.2, H.1.2, I.3.6)
Subjects:
Evaluation/methodology
K.
Computing Milieux
K.8
PERSONAL COMPUTING
K.8.0
General
Subjects:
Games
General Terms:
Design,
Experimentation
Keywords:
MMORPG,
RPG,
game usability,
massively-multiplayer,
online game,
roleplaying game
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