Video Game Playtest and Games Usability Review Reports
I help make video games better. I use my passion for game design and user experience to help game development teams realize their design intent.
I’ve never met a game that can’t be made better through proper usability reviews and player research. A selection of my project deliverables can be found below.
I’d like to help make your game better! Whether you are an independent developer or a game studio, I can help make your games better. Contact me via email so we can discuss your project needs.
Video Game Playtest and Games Usability Review Reports
Brightseeker is a action RPG video game.
This playtest report was compiled from two playtest sessions which were conducted on an alpha demo build of the game (version 0.0.0.6).
From Zakroutil
[The report] perfectly answered all my concerns. And showed me what I must improve or rework. Everything was very clear, relevant and well organized. I can’t thank you enough for this. And I hope we could work together again in the future.
Gym Empire is a Tycoon-like simulation game in which you grow your fitness business.
This playtest report was compiled from two playtest sessions which were conducted on an alpha demo build of the game (version 0.3).
From Chronik Spartan:
Brilliant, reading through this has really, really helped clarify some issues and worries I had. Specifically around the tutorial being vague and the impact of the focus blur…I’m going to need you for all my future projects
Via Twitter:
I’ve been working a lot on the Usability aspect of #GymEmpire recently and seeing massive improvement. Thanks to the amazing work from
@calebjross! If any #gamedev need a thorough and incredibly helpful Usability Test I thoroughly recommend you get in touch with Caleb.
Video Game Usability Reviews
Dungeon in a Bottle is a precision platformer in which you are a thief trying to escape from a magical bottle.
This game usability & gameplay review was conducted on an beta release build of the game.
Watch or flip through the slides of my Dungeon in a Bottle usability & gameplay review here.
Gym Empire is a Tycoon-like simulation game in which you grow your fitness business.
This game usability review was conducted on an alpha demo build of the game (version 0.3).
From Chronik Spartan:
What a fantastic presentation! Clear, precise and incredibly relevant. Every point you made was valid and gave clear direction on how the issues can be resolved. I’ll be addressing those issues in v0.5 and will be more than happy for a second look once the issue are addressed.
Via Twitter:
I’ve been working a lot on the Usability aspect of #GymEmpire recently and seeing massive improvement. Thanks to the amazing work from
@calebjross! If any #gamedev need a thorough and incredibly helpful Usability Test I thoroughly recommend you get in touch with Caleb.
Watch or flip through the slides of my Gym Empire usability review here.
Ratchet & Clack Future: a Crack in Time represents perhaps the game genre I am most familiar with and possibly most passionate about. I love a 3D action platformer (and the more collecting, the better).
This game usability review was quite interesting to conduct. My expectations for finding usability issues in a game that is not only in a retail release stage but also from a highly respected developer/publisher partnership were quite low. I was surprised to find so many issues in just a few hours of play.
Despite the usability issues however, the Ratchet & Clank series is wonderful. I highly recommend playing a few of the games.