Heuristic Evaluation of Prototype-Group:BuTtErFlY
From CS 160 Fall 2008
Contents |
Heuristic Evaluation for Group:Lucky Seven
Problem
We our heuristic evaluating Lucky Seven's healthy eating simulator, which presents various food choices such that the user chooses which foods to "eat" in the game and stay healthy.
Violations Found
1. [H2-10 Help & Documentation] [severity = 3]
In the upgrade section of the game, the user has no idea what each upgrade does.
2. [H2-1 Visibility of system status] [severity = 1]
The health and status bars are really far away from the gameplay area of the screen. A user might have a hard time keeping an eye on both areas in a game designed to be face paced.
3. [H2-8 Aesthetic & Minimalist Design] [severity=4]
When playing the game in the webpage, the user has no way to resize the game to fit in the window. Part of the game screen is cutoff because of the browser window.
4. [H2-3 User Control & Freedom] [severity=1]
In the middle of the game, the user is able to change the settings (Age, Weight, etc.). Game mechanics shouldn't change in the middle of the game.
5. [H2-2 Match System and Real World] [severity = 2]
In the "Settings" page, there is a check box for "Mouse." When checked, the mouse sensitivity can be adjusted, but when off, the sensitivity bar is inaccessible.
6. [H2-8: Aesthetic and minimalist design] [severity = 1]
On the upgrade page, the pictures do not make it which organ is which, especially to someone not familiar with organ shapes. The tool-tip does work, but it's inconvinient to have to move the mouse around to find out which organ is which on first glance.
7. [H2-2 Match System and Real World] [severity = 3]
It is not intuitive that clicking the food item would eliminate it. Dragging the item to another location on the screen would be more intuitive like a trash bin for example.
8. [H2-8 Aesthetic Design] [severity=3]
There is an urge for the user to control the food item movements in the stomach. Currently there is a path that each food item follows and as more and more items enter the stomach, the more clutter it gets. Items that have already been decided for consumption float around with items that haven't been decided for. As a result there is too much clutter as well. the game is too slow. This will make a player not want to play the game.
9. [H2-3 User control and freedom] [severity = 1]
No escape sequence when clicking "End Game". What if I don't want to end the game? Takes me back to main screen. Clicking "Start Game" resumes the game.
10. [H2-4 Consistency and Standards] [severity = 1]
After submitting high score, game resumes from before. Is this typical behavior? Shouldn't the game restart with a clean slate?
Recommendations
1. The tool tip is nice in explaining the REAL effects of the organs. Adding an extra spiel about the in-game effect of each upgrade would help.
2. Move the status bars closer to the majority of the gameplay area of the screen; preferably closer to the middle.
3. Make sure flash file fits in webpage with automatic resize or manual resize options.
4. Disable changes to the Settings menu after game has started or eliminate the Settings menu completely after game has started.
5. Not sure what the in-game alternatives to using the mouse are, but if there are any, perhaps have them listed in a drop down bar.
6. Add the name of each of the three organs above, below, or anywhere around the respective graphic to make it clear which is which.
7. To allow users to drag the food item to another location during game play like the trash for example instead of having to click it.
8. Instead of just having the items float around, users should be able to drag the good items into a "consume" area and undesirable food items into a "trash" area.
9. Change "start game" to "resume game". Add "pause" and "quit game" to game interface.
10. After quitting game and submitting high score, go back to main menu and allow player to start new game
Summary of violations
While there are not many catastrophic problems in the game, there are many various violations of the minor/cosmetic type. Many of these problems are simple Aesthetic and Minimalistic Design problems that can be fixed easily. However, the catastrophic violations need attention immediately. Some of the testers found the game unplayable because of the window resizing issue.
Another theme that seemed to give the testers a bit of trouble with was matching the system to the real world. These violate require minor edits and didn't affect gameplay too drastically.
Tutorials for beginners and novices were not present, but this was mentioned in the limitations portion of the lecture.
All and all, a solid game layout. However, the theme of teaching users about the advantages of a healthy diet could be pushed even further. The game is fun to play and the idea is unique, but it would be great if future iterations of the game could greater emphasize the advantages of a healthy diet. This could involve more organs and more random facts about the organs incorporated into the tool tips.
Summary Information
Violations found in each category
| Heuristic Categories | Violation Count |
|---|---|
| [H2-1:Visibility of system status]: | 1 |
| [H2-2:Match system and real world] : | 5 |
| [H2-3:User control and freedom] : | 2 |
| [H2-4:Consistency and standards]: | 1 |
| [H2-5:Error prevention]: | 3 |
| [H2-6:Recognition rather than recall]: | 0 |
| [H2-7:Flexibility and efficiency of use]: | 0 |
| [H2-8:Aesthetic and minimalist design]: | 8 |
| [H2-9:Help users recognize, diagnose and recover from errors]: | 0 |
| [H2-10:Help and documentation]: | 3 |
Violations in the entire interface
20
Violations in each severity category
| Severity | Count |
|---|---|
| 0 -don’t agree that this is a usability problem | 0 |
| 1 -cosmetic problem | 5 |
| 2 -minor usability problem | 1 |
| 3 -major usability problem; important to fix | 3 |
| 4 -usability catastrophe; imperative to fix | 1 |
