Applying Principles of Game Design to User Interface

Abstract: This thesis investigates how principles of game design can be applied to a PC game settings menudesign to make the interaction fun and enhance the user satisfaction of interaction and navigation.Through exploring the question “How can principles of game design be applied to UI design inorder to enhance the user satisfaction of interacting with an interface?” it might be possible to addto the experience of using UI without removing any of the usability goals that is customary today.This is determined through user testing of a common design pattern of game settings menusrecognized in World of Warcraft (2004) Elder Scrolls V: Skyrim (2011) Stardew Valley (2016)and a game settings menu designed through game design principles where the respondentsevaluated their experience in an SUS form (Brooke, 1996) and a form created for this study basedon Swink’s (2009) Game Feel. The results revealed that the common menu design generatedhigher scores in usability than the interface designed through game design principles but therewas no significant difference in game feel between the prototypes. However, when dividing gamefeel into questions regarding usability and aesthetics a clear difference between the twoprototypes could be determined where the prototype designed through game design principlesdisplays a trend to score higher in aesthetics than the traditional UI. This could be strengthenedthrough optional comments from the participants where 6 used the word “fun” to describe thegame design prototype while the traditional UI design were described with words such as“functional” “intuitive” “straightforward” “easy to use” and “felt more like a chore”.