Usability, Readability, Ease of UsE

Usability, readability, and ease of use are crucial aspects of game design that impact the overall player experience. A game that is easy to learn and use will enable players to accomplish their goals quickly and efficiently. Similarly, clear and legible text, as well as visually interpretable elements, will help players absorb and retain information, as well as navigate and understand the game. Ultimately, the overall simplicity and ease with which players can interact with a game is essential for creating a sense of confidence and competence. Regardless of their specific needs, all players will appreciate a game that is easy to use, easy to read, and easy to navigate. By prioritizing usability, readability, and ease of use in game design, developers can create a more enjoyable and effective gaming experience for players.• How easy is for the users to achieve their goals?

How to do this in practice:

• On every screen of the game, I ask “Is this screen readable? “
• This goes beyond UI’s as well. E.g., can you tell game elements from
the background
• In UI’s is it clear what elements the user is able to interact with. Is the
information grouped to logical sets?
• Are the most commonly needed functions easy to access?
• Does the user need to choose between options, is there a preferred
option, is there a way to continue with default option?
• Test it: If you blur your screen, watch it from 3 feet distance or scale it
down to a stamp size would you still be able to recognize the most
important parts of it?

Example 1

Here’s an example of a consultancy project where this approach has been used. In this example the game had an interesting new novel gameplay but the User Interfaces and the art direction wasn’t doing the game any favors.

Screen 1: In the example of this screen the user needs where the following:
1. User has to be able to click the blocks (they need to be as big as possible)
2. User has to see clearly how many moves she has left
3. Secondarily (everything else): Access pause menu, see score, see how many power ups…

Screen 2: In the example of this screen the user needs where the following:
1. Next level
2. Available levels
3. Amount of lives

Example 2

Here’s another example of a project where user centric design was used. The project is called Brick Breaker Revolution, and it was a Java game for mobile phones. In this project, the design philosophy was to make sure that all the visual elements had some purpose.


One of the key visual innovations was the decision to move the HUD to the middle of the screen and have the most important information always available to the player without losing the sight of the ball. In different gameplay modes the HUD displayed different pieces of information. And when you picked up a power-up the display briefly explained the name of the powerup you picked up.