Game Usability

Reviews / Votes

Isbister's Better Game Characters by Design MK book was mentioned in a New York Times article, July 2007, called "Hey Man, Let's Play Video Game Dress Up". "Playtesting is the most challenging, and most mysterious part of game development, and this book is by far, the most thorough and practical collection of writings on the subject. I plan to return to it again and again -- there is just so much to draw from! Anyone who reads it will be able to playtest their games well, and with confidence."

Jesse Schell, Professor of Entertainment Technology, Carnegie Mellon University

".Games user research has taken leaps and bounds over the past 10 years, as evidenced by the content of this book.We encourage the readers to use this resource as a great starting point for strengthening the discipline while taking us into the future.

Randy Pagulayan, Microsoft Game Studios & Dennis Wixon, Microsoft Surfaces

"Katherine Isbister's "Game Usability is a multi-faceted look at a critical component of modern game design, full of excellent case studies by usability experts, industry leaders and cutting edge researchers. The methods found here will be useful to anyone interested in honing the player experience of their commercial, independent or academic games."

Tracy Fullerton, Associate Professor USC School of Cinematic Arts; Director, EA Game Innovation Lab

"On first blush, usability and game design look like oil and water: they don't seem to mix. One appears scientific, the other creative; one dispassionate, the other sentimental. This book offers a variety of promising ways to put the two together, ways that suggest general lessons in how design can learn from a measure of impartiality, and usability from a measure of passion."

Ian Bogost, Associate Professor in the School of Literature Communication and Culture, The Georgia Institute of Technology, and Founding Partner, Persuasive Games