How the choice of virtual joystick affects usability in mobile fighting games

Abstract: As the mobile games market keeps growing, game interfaces for mobile games also warrant further development. One area that especially has room for improvement is the touchscreen joystick. This dissertation focuses on the differences in usability for different touchscreen joysticks. A mobile fighting game prototype was developed for this purpose, and a user study was conducted in order to evaluate the difference in usability between two joysticks. Data was gathered and demonstrated, and an analysis of the logged data was conducted, showing no significant difference between the two joysticks. The authors hope that the comparison methodology and measurements demonstrated may be used as a benchmark and framework for future research in mobile joysticks.