Analyzing player experience of multi-platform games : A case study of a single-player game

Abstract: The player experience (PX) of games can be inspected in various ways to help developers understand the essential ingredients for a successful and engaging game design. Users are even able to experience games on a variety of different gaming platforms, which presents more ways of interaction compared to games that are restricted to only a single gaming platform. The overall chain of interactions between games and platforms, becomes a central design target to understand the complex nature of digital games. However, there are a limited number of studies that investigate how the gaming platforms affects the general PX, and how to conduct an effective evaluation on a game that exists on several platforms. The purpose of this thesis is to research the general PX of these multi-platform games and to generate information about a topic of interest where there is not much prior knowledge. This was done through a single case study using participants and measure their overall PX when played on two different platforms. This process used playability heuristics based on literature focusing on PX and usability, along with semi-structured interviews and observations. The data from this case study would then be discussed to serve as a base for a future hypothesis to be studied, and to discuss how research around multi-platform gamescan be managed and assist game developers in their process of creating an enjoyable PX.Besides presenting how games developed for several platforms can affect the evaluation of the PX, the study also presents findings for how players personal preference for gaming platforms can impact both their performance, and their opinions of a games design.