Abstract
In recent years there has been an increasing amount of computer game focused HCI research, but the impact of controller-related issues on user experience remains relatively unexplored. In this chapter we highlight the limitations of current practices with respect to designing support for both standard and innovative controllers in games. We proceed to explore the use of McNamara and Kirakowski’s (Interactions 13(6):26–28, 2006) theoretical framework of interaction in order to better design and evaluate controller usage in games. Finally, we will present the findings of a case study applying this model to the evaluation and comparison of three different game control techniques: gamepad, keyboard and force feedback steering wheel. This study highlights not only the need for greater understanding of user experience with game controllers, but also the need for parallel research of both functionality and usability in order to understand the interaction as a whole.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Adams E (2005) Bad game designer, no twinkie! VI. Gamasutra designer’s notebook. http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050603/adams_01.shtml. Accessed 23 Aug 2008
Albinsson P, Zhai S (2003) High precision touch screen interaction. Proceedings of the SIGCHI on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 105–112
Arnold A (1999) Mental effort and evaluation of user interfaces: a questionnaire approach. Proceedings of the 8th International conference on human-computer interact.. ACM, New York, pp 1003–1007
Atari Stunt Cycle {computer software} (1977) Atari Inc. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stunt_Cycle
Bevan N, Mcleod M (1993) Usability measurement in context. Behav Inform Technol 13:132–145
Brewster S, Faraz C, Brown L (2007) Tactile feedback for mobile interactions. SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems CHI 2007. ACM, New York, pp 159–162
Brown M (2008) Evaluating computer game usability: developing heuristics based on user experience. Proceedings IHCI conference. University College Cork, Ireland, pp 16–21
Card S, English W, Burr BJ (1978) Evaluation of mouse, rate-controlled isometric joystick, step keys, and text keys for text selection on a CRT. Ergonomics 21:601–613
Cheema S, LaViola J (2011) Wizard of Wii: toward understanding player experience in first person games with 3D gestures, Proceedings of the sixth international conference on the foundations of digital games, pp 265–267 (June 2011)
Colin McRae: Dirt {computer software} (2007) Codemasters
Csikszentmihalyi M (1975) Beyond boredom and anxiety. Jossey-Bass, London
Cummings A (2007) The evolution of game controllers and control schemes and their effect on their games. Proceedings of the 17th annual university of Southampton multimedia systems conference
Dennerlein J, Martin D, Hasser C (2000) Force-feedback improves performance for steering and combined steering-targeting tasks. CHI Letters, vol. 2, 1st edn. ACM, New York, pp 423–429
Desurvivre H, Caplan M, Toth JA (2004) Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games. Extended abstracts, conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM Press, pp 1509–1512
Dourish P (2001) Where the action is: the foundations of embodied interaction. MIT, Cambridge
Falstein N, Barwood H (2008) The 400 Project. http://theinspiracy.com/400_project.htm. Accessed 6 Nov 2008
Federoff M (2002) Heuristics and usability guidelines for the creation and evaluation of fun in video games. Thesis. Indian University
Flanagan JC (1954) The critical incident technique. Psychol Bull 51(4):327–358
Forlines C, Wigdor D, Shen C, Balakrishnan R (2007) Direct-touch vs. mouse input for tabletop displays. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. ACM, New York, pp 647–656
Forster W (2005) The encyclopedia of game machines—consoles, handheld and home computers 1972–2005. Hagen Schmid, Berlin
Game Developer Magazine (2008) http://www.gdmag.com/homepage.htm. Accessed 8 Nov 2008
Gerling KM, Klauser M, Niesenhaus J (2011) Measuring the impact of game controllers on player experience in FPS games. MindTrek 2011. Tampere, Finland
Graetz JM (1981) The origin of spacewar. Creative computing, August 1981. http://www.atarimagazines.com/. Accessed 12 Nov 2008
Hoysniemi J (2006) International survey on the dance dance revolution game. Computer entertainment 4(2): 8
ISO (1998a) 9241 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)—part 9—requirements for non-keyboard input devices (ISO 9241-9)
ISO (1998b) 9241 Ergonomic requirements for office work with visual display terminals (VDTs)—part 11—guidance on usability (ISO 9241-11)
Johnson D, Wiles J (2003) Effective affective user interface design in games. Ergonomics 46(13/14):1332–1345
Jorgensen AH (2004) Marrying HCI/Usability and computer games: a preliminary look. Proceedings of the 3rd Nordic Conference in HCI, pp 393–396.
Kane C (2005) Beyond the gamepad http://www.gamasutra.com/features/20050819/kane_pfv.htm. Accessed 20 Oct 2008
Kavakli M, Thone J (2002) A usability study of input devices on measuring user performance in computer games. Proceeding of the first international conference on information technology and applications 2002, pp 291–295
Kent LS (2001) The ultimate history of video games: from Pong to Pokémon. The story behind the craze that touched our lives and changed the world. Three Rivers Press. New Jersey
Kirakowski J, Corbet M (1993) SUMI: the software usability measurement inventory. Br J Educ Technol 24(3):210–212
Klochek C, MacKenzie IS (2006) Performance measures of game controllers in a three-dimensional environment. Proceedings graphics interface, vol. 137, pp 73–79
MacKenzie S (1992) Fitts’ law as a research and design tool in human-computer interaction. Hum Comput Interact 7:91–139
Marshall D, Ward T, McLoone S (2006) From chasing dots to reading minds: the past, present, and future of video game interaction. Crossroads 13(2):10
McCarthy J, Wright P (2004) Technology as experience. The MIT, London
McNamara N (2006). Measuring user satisfaction with consumer electronic products. Doctoral thesis. University College Cork, Ireland
McNamara N, Kirakowski J (2006) Functionality, usability, and user experience: three areas of concern. Interactions 13(6):26–28
Nielsen J (1993) Usability engineering. Academic Inc, Oxford
Pagulayan RJ, Keeker K, Wixon D, Romero RL, Fuller T (2003) User-centered design in games. In: Jacko JA, Sears A The human-computer interaction handbook: fundamentals, evolving technologies and emerging applications (Human factors and ergonomics). L. Erlbaum Associates. Hillsdale, pp 883–906
Pinelle D, Wong N, Stach T (2008) Heuristic evaluation for games: usability principles for video game design. ACM SIG CHI ’08, pp 1453–1462
Rabin I (2005) Introduction to game development. Charles River Media, Boston p 125
Rubin J (1994) Handbook of usability testing. Wiley, West Sussex
Sheff D (1993) Game over—how Nintendo zapped an American industry, captured your dollars, and enslaved your children. Random House, New York
Silfverberg M, MacKenzie IS, Korhonen P (2000) Predicting text entry speed on mobile phones. Proceedings of the SIGCHI conference on human factors in computing systems. CHI ’00. ACM, New York, pp 9–16.
Van Beurden MHPH, IJsselsteijn WA, de Kort, YAW (2011) User experience of gesture-based interfaces: a comparison with traditional interaction methods on pragmatic and hedonic qualities, workshop of gesture in embodied communication and human-computer interaction Athens, Greece, pp 121–124.
Acknowledgements
This work was supported by RCUK through the Horizon Digital Economy Research grant (EP/G065802/1).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2015 Springer International Publishing Switzerland
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Brown, M., Kehoe, A., Kirakowski, J., Pitt, I. (2015). Beyond the Gamepad: HCI and Game Controller Design and Evaluation. In: Bernhaupt, R. (eds) Game User Experience Evaluation. Human–Computer Interaction Series. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_12
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_12
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-319-15984-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-319-15985-0
eBook Packages: Computer ScienceComputer Science (R0)