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Interview

☻Qualitative Method:
Explore how players feel and behave through interviews, observations, and open-ended feedback.

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Best Stage: Early Concept → Mid Development

Primary Goal: Understanding player needs, motivations, expectations, and pain points

Effort: Moderate

Overview

An interview for game testing purposes is a structured or semi-structured conversation conducted with players before, during, or after a playtest. It helps uncover usability issues, emotional responses, motivations, and expectations that aren’t always visible through analytics. Interviews work best when paired with other methods, offering a balance of qualitative and quantitative data.

How to Run Interviews

  1. Prepare a Question Guide

    • Mix open-ended questions (e.g., “Tell me about...”) and specific ones (e.g., “Was the map easy to read?”).

    • Stay neutral and avoid leading phrasing like “Did you like that part?” Instead, ask “What did you think about that part?” (See Build Your Own Survey for more question tips.)
       

  2. Record

    • Recording interviews (audio or video) allows you to review tone, emotion, and language later.
       

  3. Encourage Honest Feedback

    • Remind players they’re not being tested and that negative or critical feedback is valuable.

    • Be aware of social desirability bias, a cognitive bias where participants give answers they believe are more polite or acceptable rather than their true opinions.
       

  4. Use Probes

    • Follow up with questions like “What made you say that?” or “Can you show me where you got confused?”
       

  5. Take Notes

    • Identify patterns in what players liked, found confusing, ignored, or requested improvements on.

What Interviews Can Reveal That Data Can't

  • Why players ignore a feature

  • Emotional responses to characters or story beats

  • Mental models (e.g., “I thought I had to fight him, but I was supposed to run”)

  • Frustration or joy not reflected in telemetry or survey data

Analyzing Interviews

To analyze qualitative data, I usually record the interview, create a transcript, and import it into software like MAXQDA or Dovetail. From there, I code or tag sections of the transcript to mark important insights.
 

Common Tags I Use:

  • “Confusion”

  • “Frustration”

  • “Liked mechanic”

  • “UI issue”

  • “Fun moment”

    After coding, I use filters to identify which tags appear most often and look for patterns. I then group related tags into themes such as:
     

  • “Onboarding issues”

  • “Positive feedback on combat”

  • “Misunderstood mechanics”
     

This helps translate raw feedback into clear, actionable insights for designers and developers.

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