Game:

The Last of Us Part II (2020)

Duration: 24:51

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22

How user research collaborated on accessibility development during The Last of Us Part II. “Building upon the foundations established with Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, The Last of Us Part II features more than 60 accessibility settings, with expanded options focused on fine-motor and hearing, as well as completely new features that benefit low-vision and blind players.” The previous paragraph is from Naughty Dog’s website. In fact, the perspectives of many who were involved in the development of those accessibility settings are already available online in fascinating and informative videos. This talk’s unique focus is the approach taken by Naughty Dog and PlayStation Studios to apply user research to expand the accessibility of TLOU2. Collaboration on research started very early in production and continued throughout development. Developers with a wide set of roles and responsibilities were engaged in the research process. A broad, inclusive set of participants contributed feedback. User research methods were applied to understand accessibility needs, iterate strategies, and validate solutions.

Speaker
Kevin Keeker, (PlayStation Studios) specializes in bespoke game-improvement research, efficient real-time research methods and accessibility research. He has presented at the Games Accessibility Conference and organized and participated in sessions for HCI-I Games, GUR Summit and CHI. Before PlayStation Studios Kevin worked at Zynga for 3 years and Microsoft for 16 years. He has had brief, eye-opening stints as a game designer. Kevin’s academic training is in Social Psychology with an emphasis on statistical analysis of mixed-method behavioral measurements. Recent products include: The Last of Us Part II, Days Gone, God of War, Horizon Zero Dawn and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.

Introduction: 0:00
Learning from the community: 3:40
Harness the momentum from Uncharted 4: 5:08
Creating a resourcing plan: 7:51
Identify & support strategies: 9:53
Validate strategies with usability: 13:09
Check new mechanics and content: 15:38
Identify remaining or unexpected barriers: 16:18
Teaching and tailoring strategies: 21:35
Wrap up: 24:07

About #gamesUR​ Conference
Games User Research focuses on players’ psychology and their behavior via techniques such as playtesting, analytics, expert analysis, and others. Game User Researchers aim to help game developers deliver players the best gaming experience possible.

The #gamesUR​ Conference is a biannual gathering of the world's top professionals in games user research. For more information visit www.gamesurconf.com.

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