Examining the Effects of Game Design on Playability

Abstract

This thesis explored the game design of a novel roguelike deck-building game and the implementation of its user interface. The thesis made a hypothesis on what would be a good game design for the game and a good design for its user interface. The research data was collected through a series of playtesting sessions, incorporating surveys and interviews. The collected data was analysed with reflexive thematic analysis, to gain design flaw themes. The design flaw themes and general data collected are used to get an estimate on effectiveness and satisfaction of game design’s playability in terms of usability. We propose potential future improvements to the future iterations of the game by reflecting on the design flaws found, general data collected and the game's design we had previously explored.