background

brief

SpaceGPS is a game developed for the Atmo game console. The goal was to improve its tutorial so that players could learn the rules on their own without the need of an animator.

challenge

Evaluate the current tutorial and understand why it doesn’t work. Make changes based on the findings and iterate fast.

Additional complexity is that players have to understand the novel interaction system (physical dice) of the console beyond the tutorial.

role

I was responsible for the research, conceptual design and development of the tutorial. I worked together with a UI designer.

Atmo: game console with projected AR and physical game pieces

process

what

We conducted 12 user tests with groups of 2 and 4 players to evaluate 3 significant iterations of the tutorial. The method we used was a combination of usability testing, observation and interviewing.

• players were asked to think aloud
• they got a short scenario then we let them discover the game
• we observed them and asked questions if they seemed stuck or unsure of something

You’re in a bar and decided to try this new game you just noticed blinking in the corner.

why

We wanted to recreate the original context of using the system as much as possible. That is, players find the game without any background knowledge, discover its controls and rules and start playing.

design steps and key findings

v1 design

The tutorial is part of the game, so players can learn while playing. Since the game is very simple we decided to show all the information required to play in one step.

findings

• Short texts were scattered all over the table. It was too much and disconnected. Players didn’t know what parts to focus on.

screenshot of the v1 tutorial

v2 design

Each player has an own interactive tutorial in their own corner. These are divided into 4 steps in order to show the right information at the right time. New steps appear as players follow the instructions.

findings

• Players' attention was divided between their gameplay actions and the tutorial instructions. This resulted in players missing important steps.
• Sooner or later all the player groups started to cooperate to figure out the rules regardless of the tutorial version.

screenshot of the v2 tutorial - 1st step of the orange player and 2nd step of the green player

v3 design

The game is separated from the tutorial. As a result we could unify the tutorial for all the players to support co-discovery and better focus. Steps are visualized in the center with instructions and short animations. Players can control the steps back and forth at their own pace together.

findings

• Due to the tutorial's unification for all players and separation from the game, it achieved significantly stronger player focus.
• We still found some misleading issues in the animations and the wording of the instructions.

slideshow of the steps of the v3 tutorial

slideshow of the steps of the v3 tutorial