Playability is a term in video gaming jargon that is used to describe the ease by which the game can be played, or the quantity or duration that a game can be played.[1] The term "playable" may also be used to refer to objects in the gameplay that can be controlled by the player. It is usually ascribed to characters in role playing games or fighting games, and to factions in real-time strategy games. Various antonyms include unplayable, static and non-playable character. The term features often in previews, reviews and other critical discussions of games. In those places, whether a certain object will be able to be controlled by the player or not is of interest. A large amount of playable objects can enhance gameplay by supplying the player with a large amount of possibilities. Similarly, a game where there is a large amount of non-playable characters may be less immersive. Especially in previews of games, where some of the content is known beforehand (for example, in a series) but the (un)playability of the characters has news value, the term is used often. [edit] See also Gameplay Playability can also be used to describe a games fun factor and ease of play. [edit] References - ^ Usability First: Usability Glossary: playability
[edit] Further reading - Desurvire, H., Caplan, M., & Toth, J. A. (2004). Using heuristics to evaluate the playability of games. CHI '04 extended abstracts on Human factors in computing systems, Vienna, Austria. doi: 10.1145/985921.986102
- Fabricatore, C., Nussbaum, M., & Rosas, R. (2002). Playability in video games: a qualitative design model. Human-Computer Interaction, 17(4), 311-368. doi: 10.1207/S15327051HCI1704_1
- Jegers, K. (2008). Investigating the Applicability of Usability and Playability Heuristics for Evaluation of Pervasive Games. Internet and Web Applications and Services, 2008. ICIW '08.
- Korhonen, H., & Koivisto, E. M. I. (2006). Playability heuristics for mobile games. In Proceedings of the 8th Conference on Human-Computer interaction with Mobile Devices and Services (Helsinki, Finland, September 12 - 15, 2006). MobileHCI '06, vol. 159. ACM, New York, NY, 9-16. doi: 10.1145/1152215.1152218
- Korhonen H., Koivisto E.M.I. (2007). Playability Heuristics for Mobile Multi-player Games. In proceedings of the 2nd International Conference on Digital Interactive Media in Entertainment and Arts, DIMEA 2007, ACM Press (2007), pp. 28-35. Perth, Australia. doi: 10.1145/1306813.1306828
- Nacke, L. (2009). From Playability to a Hierarchical Game Usability Model. In Proceedings of the 2009 Conference on Future Play on @ GDC Canada (Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada, May 12 - 13, 2009). FuturePlay '09. ACM, New York, NY, 11-12. doi: 10.1145/1639601.1639609
- Nacke, L. E., Drachen, A., Kuikkaniemi, K., Niesenhaus, J., Korhonen, H. J., Hoogen, W. M. v. d., et al. (2009). Playability and Player Experience Research. Proceedings of DiGRA 2009: Breaking New Ground: Innovation in Games, Play, Practice and Theory, London, UK. (online slides)
- Sánchez, J. L. G., Zea, N. P., & Gutiérrez, F. L. (2009). From Usability to Playability: Introduction to Player-Centred Video Game Development Process. Proceedings of First International Conference, HCD 2009 (Held as Part of HCI International), San Diego, CA, USA. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-02806-9_9
- Sánchez, J. L. G., Zea, N. P., & Gutiérrez, F. L. (2009). Playability: How to Identify the Player Experience in a Video Game. Proceedings of INTERACT 2009: 12th IFIP TC 13 International Conference, Uppsala, Sweden, August 24-28, 2009. doi: 10.1007/978-3-642-03655-2_39
- Järvinen, A., Heliö, S. and Mäyrä, F. Communication and Community in Digital Entertainment Services. Prestudy Research Report, Hypermedia Laboratory, University of Tampere, Tampere, 2002.
|
