Prof. Magy Seif El-Nasr, Vice Chair of UCSC’s Serious Games MS program, delivered the keynote address at SBGames 2021 – the Brazilian Symposium on Computer Games and Digital Entertainment. This event is the main scientific and pioneer conference on Games and Digital Entertainment in Brazil, which is the largest video game market in Latin America.
Prof. Seif El-Nasr’s presentation, A User-Centric and Data-Drive Approach to Game Design, highlights the benefits of gathering and analyzing user-generated data throughout the game design, development, and post-production process to create a constant cycle of improved usability and design. Though there are numerous game-user research methods, choosing the right method and the right data collected at the right phase in design and development is imperative in generating heightened engagement and retention through game analytics.
In the address, Magy showcases Glyph, a proprietary visualization system for understanding strategies adopted by individual players, which helps indicate cognitive progress in relation to serious goals, such as learning processes. Scalable evidentiary understanding of an individual player’s strategy is key not only in helping game designers create compelling gameplay, but also helping Serious Game designers teach players new skills more efficiently and effectively.
Magy’s presentation can be viewed on our YouTube Channel.