The fundamentals of games user research haven't changed much over the last decade, but what has changed is the rapid development of technology. We've seen significant advancements in screen capture and screen sharing, voice recording, email, instant messaging, video chat, and other communication tools – and these advancements have opened new doors for games user researchers.
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Games user researchers all over the world are embracing the new technology, as told in our two-part interview with esteemed games user researcher and User Behavioristics Founder & Principal, Heather Desurvire:
“As for the changes in technology, services like PlaytestCloud, which offer us the ability to do user research remotely, have been revolutionary. These services bring in a much wider variety of players from different places, and it makes it possible to reach players in their natural environments, which is fantastic.”
The ability to reach new players through new communication channels is crucial to remote games user research, but the advantages run much deeper. With services like PlaytestCloud you can playtest with people in their natural environment:
It's particularly useful for mobile games because testing remotely allows for the stopping-and-starting that occurs in the real world. Maybe someone's playing while waiting for the subway, or maybe they get interrupted because their child comes in, or they have to cook dinner, or whatever it might be.
Heather Desurvire, Founder & Principal, User Behavioristics.
Here at PlaytestCloud we're always developing new tools to make it easier than ever before to find key insights about the player experience.
Check out our product list in the New to PlaytestCloud FAQs section of our Help Center for more information, or reach out to us directly.
Header photo by David Grandmougin on Unsplash.