Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
do. You will likely fi nd that play testing or beta testing is the only kind of
research such companies do. But that happens after the egg has hatched, so
to speak, and such research likely does not shape the game itself beyond
some tweaking.
Human-centered design research shares many of the methods common
to market research, but deployed for a different purpose. To oversimplify
only a bit, market research looks at how to sell something, while design
research looks at what should be designed and how. It comes much earlier
in the process, so as to inform design as it proceeds.
To begin, you really need to block-erase your preconceived notions
about your audience. Be ready to be surprised. You may fi nd out things
that disturb you. Don't worry; your main objective is to meet your audi-
ence where they are, and as all designers know, there are ways to fi nesse
what you might think of as bad habits or bad ideas in your audience.
DESIGN HEURISTIC
Check your preconceptions and values at the door. You will
pick them up later, after you have fi ndings and are ready
to turn them into design principles.
Most of the methods of design research are fairly straightforward. Second-
ary research looks at other people's insights (and products), history, and
culture. Primary research can take the form of interviews, focus groups,
or intercepts. Primary research can include interviews with experts in the
fi eld that you've uncovered in your secondary research. Primary research is
generally trickier than secondary, but it's the most valuable way of gaining
insight into your potential audience.
Finding the right questions to ask is crucial. Asking people directly
what kind of application or game they would like will not get you far. As I
am fond of telling my students, if you had asked a group of kids and teens
in 1957 what kind of toy they would like, no one would have said they
wanted a plastic hoop they could rotate around their hips, but that's when
Richard Knerr and Arthur Melin developed the contemporary hula hoop
for Wham-O toys. In a way, the hula hoop was an extension of rhythmic
play such as jump rope and clapping games. It arose in the context of pop-
ular dance styles, in which Bop was replacing Swing as the dance of choice
for teens (the Twist would come later, and it may have had something to do
with the hula hoop).
