UX in UR

UX is fundamentally user-based, so it is imperative to listen to your users through research. Good UX requires good data.

UI Testing
Readability, Dark vs. Light Mode
Storyboard Testing

UI Testing

This time, I got to experience creating a whole study with two other researchers from start to finish. I was in charge of the UI section.

Fellow Researchers: Carter Hoke and Ethan Volonte

Methodology

  • Convenience sample of 14

  • Participants were given, and signed, a consent form

  • Testing was done simultaneously on 3 machines in an open lab

  • Players were given a brief verbal tutorial before playing

  • Participants filled out a 30-question survey covering level design, UI, and NPC interaction

Findings

  • All participants found the chat box to be readable

  • Participants found chat response time to be fast

  • 4 participants were unaware of the chatlog

  • About half of the participants did not know where the keyword menu was

Skills

  • Data collection

  • Data analysis

  • Data presentation

  • Communication

Tools

  • Excel

  • Microsoft Forms

  • Word

  • Unreal

Limitations

  • Only one machine had headphones hooked up

  • The introduction and tutorials given varied between participants, leading to occasional researcher intervention

  • 30 survey questions produce a high cognitive load

Takeaways: Research with a Team

  • While comparing my work with my teammates, I found that my questions should have been more standardized

  • Experienced creating one report document with 3 researchers and 3 topics, and how chaotic that can be

  • Navigated scheduling to ensure no one was blocking anyone else

Dark vs. Light Mode

Skills

  • Data coding

  • Data analysis

  • Study creation

  • Self driven

Tools

  • Tobi Eye Tacking

  • Excel

  • Unity

  • Canva

Methodology

  • Convenience sample of 10

  • Participants were given, and signed, a consent form

  • Participants were instructed to rewrite sentences to the best of their ability; 5 in dark, and 5 in light mode

  • Sentences were given in escalating difficulty based on academic reading test guidelines

One of life’s big questions… is light or dark mode better for reading and understanding information digitally?

Findings

  • Most participants started with a dark mode preference

  • Average spelling mistakes: light - 1.4, dark - 0.9

  • Average sentence fixations: light - 36.8, dark - 35

  • Overall, participants had an easier time understanding content in dark mode

Takeaways: Research Alone

  • I was the only one responsible for planning and creating the test and for how data was collected. This meant I got experience with pivoting halfway through

  • Experience with eye-tracking software, and having to learn it very fast

  • Ended up with lots of experience in coding data from video recordings

  • I got experience with creating a Unity prototype that became the test

  • Experience with creating a test based on academic guidelines

Storyboard Testing

Skills

  • Multidisciplinary communication

  • Data analysis

  • Data presentation

Tools

  • Excel

  • Word

  • Procreate

Methodology

  • Convenience sample of 9

  • Participants were given, and signed, a consent form

  • Participants were instructed to observe the storyboard first, then:

    • I asked a set of predetermined questions about their interpretation of the story

    • Participants then had the choice to leave or continue onto a different test

Part of being a researcher is working with other departments. For one of my teams, I was in charge of checking the clarity of our main narrative storyboard.

Assisted by my fellow researcher Ethan Volonte

Limitations

  • Limited and convenient participants

  • All participants were student game developers

  • Storyboard formatting constraints

  • Many distractions in the testing environment

Findings

  • Participants shared similar interpretations of the storyline and objectives

  • Most believed the goal was to repair the ship and leave the planet,

    which is close but not fully accurate

  • Participants assumed that Barton starts out friendly, but not close to the player and that their relationship develops through the game

Takeaways: Research for Others

  • Learned how to adapt to getting materials for a study from another department

  • Got experience in presenting data to non-designers

  • Practice in being impartial, as well as not being involved in any solutions to problems that surface