Identifying Onboarding Heuristics for Free-to-Play Mobile Games: A Mixed Methods Approach
نویسندگان
چکیده
The onboarding phase of Free-to-Play mobile games, covering the first few minutes of play, typically sees a substantial retention rate among the players. It is therefore crucial to the success of these games that the onboarding phase promotes engagement to the widest degree possible. In this paper a set of heuristics for the design of onboarding phases in Free-to-Play mobile games is presented. The heuristics are identified by a labbased mixed-methods experiment, utilizing lightweight psycho-physiological measures (Galvanic Skin Response and Photoplethysmography), two questionnaires, post-session interviews, stimulated recall and engagement graphs, across three titles that cross the genres of puzzle games, base builders and arcade games, and utilize different approaches to onboarding phase design: Candy Crush Jelly Saga, WinterForts and Pogo Chick. Results showcase how heuristics can be used to design engaging onboarding phases in mobile games, and provide support for the use of lightweight psycho-physiological methods in mobile game evaluation.
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