As part of the final phase of our design and UX process, we conducted a crucial user testing session focused specifically on the game interface. Our previous testing had already focused on the traditional shuffleboard game to assess how well children understood the physical game and interacted with the board. This time, we wanted to make sure our interface design was intuitive and appealing for our target audience: 10-year-old children. Given that we couldn't bring our full setup with the working interface to a group of children, we adjusted our testing method to focus on key interface elements.
We asked children to review different states of the game interface, giving us valuable insights into how they interacted with and understood our design choices.
The first part of our testing involved showing the children the start screen of the game. This screen is designed to be simple and intuitive, so players can easily grasp what they need to do. To our relief, the children immediately understood the instructions and what was expected of them. They recognized the familiar structure, which mirrored other games they had played before. This recognition made them excited and eager to start.
The interface was well-received, and the fun design elements, like the monsters, really sparked their interest and enthusiasm. This confirmed that our design was appealing and easily accessible for children.
Next, we tested the game interface, where the players would engage with the game’s features, such as the progress bar, their chosen monster, remaining time, and level status. The children had no trouble understanding the key elements on the screen, everything was clear to them.
However, there was one element that caused some confusion: the level icons. Some children thought the icons represented "lives" rather than levels. This feedback was consistent with earlier feedback we received from other testers (adults outside our direct target group) and even from our client. This indicated that the concept behind the icons wasn’t as clear as we had hoped.
Based on the feedback, we realized that the original design for the level icons, where a monster icon would disappear after completing a level, was not conveying the intended message clearly. To address this, we made a significant design change.
Instead of having the monster icons disappear, we decided to keep all three icons visible. As the player progresses through the levels, the icons will now be colored to indicate the level the player is on. This provides a clearer visual cue: players can now easily see how many levels they have completed, how many are left, and which level they’re currently playing. This change also enhances the overall user experience by giving them a better sense of progress.
Original design:
New design:
