MANGROVE CITY
Heuristic Evaluation Research Report
Executive Summary
Objective: To enhance player engagement and satisfaction by identifying violated heuristics within "Mangrove City," a VR game.
Scope & Target Audience: The game was fully reviewed from start to finish by four evaluators to ensure a wide range of feedback. The evaluation was done being mindful that the target audience is middle school students.
Methodology: Applied Nielsen’s 10 usability heuristics as a guide.
Key Findings: Identified 39 heuristic issues ranging from non-functional elements to confusing game instructions and overlapping audio issues. Provided targeted recommendations aimed at improving user interaction, clarity of game objectives, and overall gaming experience.
Conclusion: Addressing these usability issues will significantly enhance player experience, aligning "Mangrove City" with best practices in UI design, thereby meeting player expectations more effectively.
Product description
-
Mangrove City is an interactive VR game designed for middle school students that teaches them about the importance of mangrove forests and its ecosystem.
-
The single player game experience allows students to paddle through a fictional canal and complete interactive mini games at the “Education Stations”.
-
It was created by an interdisciplinary team at the University of Miami.
Evaluation Objectives
-
Heuristic Evaluation:
Conduct a thorough game review using Jakob Nielsen's 10 heuristic evaluation principles to ensure comprehensive coverage.
-
Identify Design Issues:
Document critical pain points and inefficiencies within the game's design to pinpoint areas for improvement.
-
Enhance User Experience:
Improve overall player satisfaction by addressing common user issues, refining gameplay, and streamlining interactions.
Evaluators & Roles
Testing, Heuristic Evaluation,
Executive Summary
Testing, Heuristic
Evaluation, Results
Testing, Heuristic
Evaluation, Methods
Testing, Heuristic
Evaluation, Introduction & Conclusion
Evaluation Criteria
Severity Score Rating
-
Cosmetic problem only: fix if time is available
-
Minor usability problem: fixing this should be given low priority
-
Major usability problem: important to fix, given high priority
-
Usability catastrophe: fix this before product can be released
Likelihood of Occurrence Rating
-
evaluator found this issue. Low probability for other users to encounter.
-
evaluators found this issue. Medium probability for some users to encounter.
-
evaluators found this issue. High probability for users to encounter.
-
All evaluators found this issue. Extremely High probability for other users to encounter.
Evaluation Criteria
Combined total issues found : 39
Discussion Yielded:
-
Issues grouped by tasks after discussion: 17
-
Not Keepers or problems but suggestions for improvement: 3
Problem Count by Severity
Severity 1
3
Severity 2
8
Severity 3
11
Severity 4
17
Heuristic Violation Frequency
User control and freedom 16
Visibility of system status 6
Consistency and standards 5
Error Prevention 4
Flexibility and Efficiency of use 3
Help and documentation 2
Match between system and the real world 2
Aesthetic and Minimalist design 2
Recognize, Diagnose and recover from errors 1
Recognition Rather than recall 0
Keepers
Paddle vs Motor
The ability to select how to move through the space is a nice option for users
Controller Tutorial
There were clear tutorials at most places, to ensure user clarity
Clear Error Message
There were clear error messages at stations where the narration was important to hear
Problem
Task: Exit
Problem: At the end of the experience, the exit button doesn't work, the user can’t exit the game.
Severity score: 4
Heuristics Violated
-
Error prevention
-
User control and freedom
Recommendations for fix
-
Make the Exit button clickable.
-
Move the exit trigger forward or allow user to click exit button
Task: Place animals on food web and click refresh
Problem: The "refresh" button at the top right corner of the food web screen, does not work / it’s not clickable
Severity score: 4
Heuristics Violated
-
User control and freedom
Recommendations for fix
-
The refresh icon seems unnecessary in this context.
-
A "Play Again" button could be more appropriate for users wanting to replay the game.
Task: Measure & save game progress
Problem: You cannot save the game progress and re-enter after you turn off the headset
Severity score: 4
Heuristics Violated
-
User control and freedom
Recommendations for fix
-
Create a button to save the works or create the save button in the setting button.
-
Save the progress
Conclusion
The heuristic evaluation of "Mangrove City" has revealed crucial usability issues that, if addressed, can greatly enhance the player experience.
We finalize 17 potential product problems after careful evaluation and discussion. User control and freedom, visibility of the system status and consistency and standards are most frequently happened.
By adhering to established usability principles and making improvements, the game can achieve a higher standard of user interface design that meets the expectations of its players.