Usability Engineering of Games: A Comparative Analysis of Measuring Excitement Using Sensors, Direct Observations and Self-Reported Data
This work addresses usability engineering for game developers by evaluating physiological measures, but it is incremental as it builds on existing methods without major breakthroughs.
The paper tested whether electrodermal activity (EDA) sensors could serve as a usability testing tool for games by comparing them with observer opinions and self-reported data, finding partial support for the hypothesis through statistical analysis.
Usability engineering and usability testing are concepts that continue to evolve. Interesting research studies and new ideas come up every now and then. This paper tests the hypothesis of using an EDA based physiological measurements as a usability testing tool by considering three measures which are observers opinions, self reported data and EDA based physiological sensor data. These data were analyzed comparatively and statistically. It concludes by discussing the findings that has been obtained from those subjective and objective measures, which partially supports the hypothesis.