How meaningful UX creates better experiences in the world of gaming.

An article about the small revolution going on under our radars of user experience design being properly applied in game design.

Y ou probably won’t be surprised when I tell you that I love playing video games to unwind after a long day. I’ve done that as a way to kick back since I was a teenager, there was nothing better than jumping into a session of Battlefield after a tiring day at school, or driving a virtual truck through all of Europe. A difference between then and now is that I also work in tech, I understand more about the elements that go into game design than I did before. That’s why I recently noticed, that impressive graphics, great virtual soundscapes and raytracing are not the only major improvements the gaming industry has achieved.

As more and more people started turning to gaming as a way to unwind and escape, it has become crucial that game designers focus on creating games that are easy to learn and enjoyable to play — games that don’t frustrate the player and instead offer help while still leaving an open path to explore on their own.

That’s — not only — why we have so many User Experience Designers working in Game Design now, shaping the way we interact with our virtual characters and worlds.

What really is UX Design?

User Experience Design has a pretty loose definition, some could even argue that it has no definition at all, but I think that it was best described by the inventor of the term itself.

“No product is an island. A product is more than the product. It is a cohesive, integrated set of experiences. Think through all of the stages of a product or service — from initial intentions through final reflections, from the first usage to help, service, and maintenance. Make them all work together seamlessly.”

— Don Norman, inventor of the term “User Experience.”