It’s important developers consider how players will interact with their product, given it can have a multiplying effect on your retention. In the words of Apple, great user experience “just works”.
Ensuring you user test your game with a large number of people is far more valuable than attempting to evaluate it from your own perspective. People’s emotions are a powerful tool in mobile games: understanding how the brain’s natural reward pathways, operant conditioning and social queues can help you create tighter experiences.
Getting to grips with UI/UX design doesn’t stop at making buttons look pretty. Rather, it’s everything to do with a user’s experience in the game – how to effectively communicate mechanics, and how to ensure that the game makes sense.
Almost every developer out there will have enjoyed successes and suffered failures over the years, so we’ve put together a “best of” series of links that relates to:
- Touchscreen controls
- UI design
- Onboarding and tutorial design
- Playtesting and and usability testing
For more on creating a great user experience, check out the following articles: