Week 13- Usability

In regard to board games, I think usability means making a game with clear understandable rules while retaining the fun factor of the game. It is important to make sure your rules are clear and concise so that there is no confusion while reading them, while also avoiding making the rules too wordy. As we discussed earlier this semester, some players don't read the rules and just rely on the rule book when they get stuck or need help. Making the design of the game easy to understand and consistent is also important. All the pieces and the board need to match each other in theme and the  information they share.

I agree with the premise of Jason Schklar’s exercise, that games should strive to be somewhat understandable without the rules. The exercise works by giving a group a board game while leaving out the rule book. The players are then given 20 minutes to figure out how they think the game is played. They then compare the rules they came up with to the actual rules. This helps pinpoint what about the board and pieces conveys the idea of the game and what doesn’t. This can teach game developers how to find a balance in what Jason called “an art versus UX tradeoff”. An act of providing enough information on the board while also keeping the art style the creators were going for. This can also teach the developers how much and what kind of information should go on the board and cards. Too much or wordy information can leave the players confused, while also cluttering up a board or play space. I also agree with Jason that quick reference cards are a very helpful reminder of the rules, without having to go and hunt them down in the rule book or with google. Whenever I try to teach a new player Magic the Gathering, I bring one of the quick reference rule sheets that comes in the boxes to give to them. This gives them a brief rundown of  basics, but more importantly it lists all of the different phases in each turn. This lets them know when exactly certain cards take effect and when combat happens on each player's turn. 

While designing our board game for class I will think of this exercise and try to apply the lessons I learn. One of these lessons comes from one of the questions Jason got asked. The question was about the use of certain vocabulary ease for localization for other languages. Think this should not only apply for other languages but also for people who don't play games and may not understand certain vocab. We talked about this at the beginning of the semester, but you never know who will be playing your game and what kind of  game knowledge they are bringing with them.