Game User Experience And Player-Centered Design

There are approximately 2.5 billion gamers worldwide today, and the video game industry is soaring. It certainly seems that everyone is interested in video games in one way or another, from parents to the media to healthcare professionals to policy makers. Some of them are concerned about the impact of video game play, while others are very enthusiastic about its potential. Yet, there are still many questions to answer regarding the true benefits and limitations of video games, and more research is required.

On the industry side, video game developers are in need of guidelines and reliable methods to succeed in a now very competitive space, with thousands of games released every year scrutinized by a demanding audience. Canceled games, layoffs, and studio closures are frequent. At the same time, increasingly more game professionals (and gamers alike) are pushing for greater accessibility, inclusion, and ethics in the game industry.

All in all, understanding of how players experience games and are impacted by them has become critical to help us address those challenges. During the past decade, user experience has entered the game industry and developed, but we have still a long way to go for game ux to be formalized and centralized. This book is a step in this direction, and I hope that it will encourage many more to follow.