Usability testing backed by industry expert

Dr Graham McAllister has told Develop that he believes usability testing strengthens the brand of studios, and can increase the sales of any given title.

Senior lecturer in human-computer interaction at the University of Sussex, Dr McAllister is also the director of UK usability testing firm Vertical Slice.

McAllister went on to say that he believes the economics of games are changing. As an example of the title quality that can be achieved by usability testing he pinpointed the processes used by Valve and Bungie for Half Life 2 and the Halo series respectively.

“With episodic gaming likely to become more popular and downloadable demos available, buyers can sample fragments of your game and if the experience is not what they expect, the majority of a game’s revenue potential may be lost,” he added.

The full feature can be read here.