Independent Blog

Last Thursday, the 26th, I accompanied my mentor and a couple other people from Blue Marble Game Company to the YMCA for some field testing with the game, Health in Motion. At the YMCA, we had six elders, ranging from around 71-76, come in and do a fall screening.

Going out and testing this game with elders helps us see...

1. how the users react to the game
2. what they like/dislike about the game
3. how we can improve the game to make it more enjoyable to the user
4. if the Kinect is working/tracking the movements properly
5. how to make the instructions/use of the game easier for the user to understand

Those are a few of the things we looked at while game testing. It is extremely important for us to see how the seniors interact with the game because they are our target audience. If they are not able to navigate the game on their own and enjoy it, then the game will not sell as much. Going out and field testing helps with so many different aspects of the game and it is so much fun to meet these people and have them test out Health in Motion.

Nina(seat left) is my mentor. She explains the game to the seniors, helps them while they play to game to make sure they're safe(she's a PT), and asks them questions about the game.

Rachel(seated right) records and codes the videos while the play test is happening.

Tony(standing right) is one of the designers of the game. He is there to observe to see how the game can be improved, see that the tracking is working properly, and to help with technical difficulties.