UX of video games

iMinds is an independent research institute founded by the Flemish government to stimulate ICT innovation. The iMinds team offers companies and organizations active support in research and development. It brings together companies, authorities, and non-profit organizations to join forces on research projects. Both technical and non-technical issues are addressed within each of these projects.

The game experience lab is designed to facilitate research into user experiences with video games in different stages of their development cycle. The game experience lab is used to study and evaluate various aspects of the user-game interaction and serves as a playground for exploring and developing new methods for measuring user experiences in a non-obtrusive manner. Visit the website: http://www.iminds.be

The main part of the test room is furnished as a living room in which test users can be made as comfortable as possible. The part closest to the control room consists of four high-end game computers capable of running the latest game software, several game consoles (X-box, Wii, PS3), two ceiling-mounted Dome cameras, four standard cameras and several mobile and fixed microphones.

The control room provides visual access to the test room through a one-way mirror. Apart from allowing for direct observation, the room is equipped with software capable of capturing in-game action, the context in which game play occurs and the player’s facial expressions. By using The Observer XT software, collected data can be gathered, synchronized and analyzed jointly.