A. User Identification and Interviews

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

  1. What are some games you have played recently?
    1. Mario Kart & Super Marios Bro- Nintendo Land
  2. What are some games you might enjoy playing on MATLAB?
    1. “I’d be proud of you for doing anything on MATLAB it’s a very temperamental platform.”
  3. In your opinion what is the optimal length a game should take to play?
    1. “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.”
  4. What aspects of a game make it enjoyable to you to play?
    1. 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)

  1. What are some games you have played recently? “Connect 4, Hangman”
  2. What are some games you might enjoy playing on MATLAB? “Connect 4, Card Games”
  3. In your opinion what is the optimal length a game should take to play? “5 minutes”
  4. What aspects of a game make it enjoyable to you to play? “Critical thinking, strategy”
  5. When playing this game, which aspects did you enjoy? “Challenging AI, looks nice, easy to navigate”
  6. When playing this game, what changes would you recommend? “Change AI so that it makes a move after, not at the same time.”