Identify the intended audience for your game
Anyone who has access to a laptop and has basic motor skills and has a burning desire to entertain themselves in mindless ways similar to how we did when we played with Microsoft Paint and Checkers during our prime childhood years.
Conduct interview #1 with a potential user PRIOR to development
- What are some games you have played recently?
- Mario Kart & Super Marios Bro- Nintendo Land
- What are some games you might enjoy playing on MATLAB?
- “I’d be proud of you for doing anything on MATLAB it’s a very temperamental platform.”
- In your opinion what is the optimal length a game should take to play?
- “Max 20 minutes, a game with a story line or level should take a few months, if i finished Super Mario in a weekend, it’s weak.”
- What aspects of a game make it enjoyable to you to play?
- Variety and development of skills, for example in Mario Kart, the tracks get harder.
Conduct interview #2 with a user after beta testing (must be different person than #1)
- What are some games you have played recently? “Connect 4, Hangman”
- What are some games you might enjoy playing on MATLAB? “Connect 4, Card Games”
- In your opinion what is the optimal length a game should take to play? “5 minutes”
- What aspects of a game make it enjoyable to you to play? “Critical thinking, strategy”
- When playing this game, which aspects did you enjoy? “Challenging AI, looks nice, easy to navigate”
- When playing this game, what changes would you recommend? “Change AI so that it makes a move after, not at the same time.”