The Essence of Game UX

Don’t waste the player’s time¹

¹With the uncommon exception being when the player’s desire is to waste time.

The essence of Game User Experience design is enabling progression towards the player’s desired goal. When seen through this lens, many do’s and don’t’s in Game UX become immediately apparent. You won’t need to read a ton of literature to start making good UX decisions.

Take the humble Splash Screen flow. It’s THE first interaction when booting up a game and yet, it often supports the business needs instead of the player! It will consume seconds to fade in and out disclaimers, warnings, and logos of studios, technologies, and other business partners. Every. Single. Time the game starts. Don’t waste the player’s time. They want to play the game ASAP; don’t impede their progress with slow, repetitive Splashes.

Action Points:

• Can you work with your legal team to put contractual logos and legalese elsewhere?
• If a Splash Screen flow is mandatory, can you make it interesting? Can it be interactive or evocative?
• Can you use persistence and skip the Splash Screen flow for subsequent play sessions?

What are we trying to do here? Not get in the way of the player trying to play the game!

Fast isn’t always good UX. Progress is.

It’s important to understand the nuance here. It’s not about speed nor implementing time-saving techniques; it’s about progression. And progression can be slow if the game calls for it. The real issue with most Splash Screen flows is they impede player progression towards playing the game.

UX design rules dictate many principles. But at the end of the day, the condition is the same: serve the user by helping them achieve their goals. It’s no different with games; substitute user with player. Always ask yourself: what is the player trying to do right now and does this design help them make meaningful progress toward it?