Level Up YOUR Game User Research

Our Services: Data-Driven Insights for Game Development

The GUII Lab offers a comprehensive suite of research and consulting services designed to empower game developers with the insights they need to create successful, engaging, and impactful games. Our team of experts uses the latest tools and techniques to give helpful, data-based advice throughout all stages of game development. Partner with us to unlock a more profound understanding of your players and elevate your game to the next level.

1. Player Experience & Usability Testing

Our core mission is to help you understand how players interact with your game. We design and execute customized testing plans to evaluate usability, identify pain points, and measure engagement, ensuring your game is not only functional but also fun and intuitive.

• 1-on-1 & Multi-Seat Playtesting: We facilitate individual and group playtesting sessions in a controlled lab environment. These sessions allow for direct observation of player behavior, providing rich qualitative data and immediate feedback on gameplay mechanics, level design, and overall user experience.

• Moderated & Unmoderated Testing: Whether you need deep-dive, guided sessions with a trained moderator or want to observe natural player behavior in an unmoderated setting, we can tailor the testing environment to meet your specific research objectives.

• Concept & Prototype Testing: Validate your game ideas early in the development process. We help you test everything from initial concepts and paper prototypes to early digital builds, providing critical feedback to inform your design decisions and mitigate risk before significant resources are invested.

2. Biometric & Affective Analysis

Go beyond what players say and understand what they truly feel. Our advanced biometric and affective analysis services provide objective, quantitative data on player emotional and cognitive responses, offering unparalleled insights into engagement and immersion.

• Eye-Tracking: See your game through your players' eyes. Our cutting-edge eye-tracking technology reveals exactly where players are looking, what they notice, and what they ignore. This is invaluable for optimizing UI/UX design, guiding player attention, and assessing the effectiveness of visual elements.

• Physiological Sensing (GSR & ECG): We measure physiological responses such as skin conductivity (Galvanic Skin Response) and heart rate (Electrocardiography) to quantify emotional arousal and stress levels. This data helps identify moments of high excitement, frustration, or cognitive load that players may not be able to articulate.

• Facial Expression Recognition: Using advanced iMotions software, we analyze players' facial expressions to automatically detect and code their emotional states (e.g., joy, surprise, confusion, frustration). This provides a continuous, moment-by-moment measure of affective response during gameplay.

3. Data Analytics & Visualization

Transform raw gameplay data into strategic assets. Our data analytics team specializes in mining large-scale player data to uncover actionable patterns and insights that can drive design, improve retention, and enhance monetization.

• Telemetry & Behavioral Analytics: We instrument your game to collect detailed telemetry data on player actions, choices, and progression. Our analysis reveals critical insights into player behavior, identifies bottlenecks in the player journey, and helps balance game mechanics.

• Proprietary Data Visualization Systems: We don’t just give you numbers; we make them understandable. Our lab has developed proprietary visualization tools that transform complex, spatiotemporal game data into intuitive visualizations, enabling your team to easily see and understand how players interact with your game world. Refer to our INSPECT system. 

• Advanced Data Processing & Modeling: From cleaning and processing large datasets to building predictive models of player behavior, our team has the technical expertise to handle your most complex data challenges. We provide the deep analysis needed to support strategic decision-making. See our books on that subject: Game Analytics and Game Data Science. 

4. Expert Consultation & Strategic Evaluation

Leverage the deep expertise of our faculty and senior researchers, who are leaders in the fields of game studies, HCI, and AI. We provide strategic guidance and expert evaluation to help you solve your most pressing design and development challenges.

• Heuristic & Expert Evaluation: Our experts conduct thorough evaluations of your game based on established usability principles and design best practices. This provides a rapid and cost-effective way to identify potential usability issues and areas for improvement.

• Focus Groups & In-Depth Interviews: We facilitate structured discussions with your target audience to gather deep qualitative insights into their motivations, preferences, and perceptions of your game. These sessions are invaluable for understanding your market and shaping your product strategy.

• Data-Driven Design Consulting: We work with your team to translate research findings into concrete design solutions. Our research-based consulting ensures that your design decisions are grounded in solid evidence, helping you to create a more successful and marketable product.

Ready to collaborate: 

Contact us at mseifeln at ucsc dot edu

• Each workstation includes up-to-date computer specs (i9 intel CPU and 40-series NVIDIA GPU). Additionally, each workstation is equipped with an Eye Smart Aurora eye-tracker and iMotions eye-tracking software. Every room is equipped to handle multi-user testing, large focus groups, one-on-one testing, moderated and unmoderated observation, and anything in between. 

• GUIILAB faculty consisted of seasoned user and market researchers specialized in large-scale quantitative and qualitative research studies. Utilizing individual and group playtesting, interviewing, focus groups, online surveying, heuristic evaluation, and proprietary data analysis. Everything is required to get products ready for market through data-driven research-based consulting. 

Game User Research Lab Technical Specs

• Data Collection Workstation

  • iMotions 10.1 eye tracking software 

  • Intel Core i9-10900X CPU

  • 64gb @ 3000mHz RAM

  • NVIDIA RTX A4000 

  • Gigabit Ethernet Network

• Eye Tracking Software

  • Smart Eye Aurora remote eye tracker 120Hz 

• Monitors

  • 4x LG 2560x1440 144Hz

  • 2x Asus ProArt PA247CV 1920x1080 75Hz