Platforms: Xbox 360, Playstation 3, Playstation 2, Wii
Studio: Harmonix
Publisher: MTV Games, Electronic Arts
rockband.com
The followup to Rock Band saw a refresh of the controller hardware and a refinement of the mechanics and UI that reflected players' needs.

Many changes were made to campaign and UI flows, inspired by feedback from the vibrant and vocal fan community.  This, along with a growing research department at Harmonix, produced a game that was easier to navigate and play, alone or with friends.

This installment also saw a marked advancement in hardware quality.  Player stories indicated that the little plastic instruments needed to be sturdier to survive life in the living room.  I created a database to catalog every instrument in the studio, referencing its age, production run, and history.  We ran diary studies with community members, and simulated our own rough use cases— shoving them under sofas, stuffing them in drawers, and dropping them from heights.

Our most interesting finding was that some players reported accelerometer misfires in structurally perfect guitars.  We realized that reclining on a sofa (rather than upright, in an office chair), created the necessary angle to reproduce the issue.  The sensor was adjusted and the problem disappeared.


My contributions included...
  • Evangelizing for player research within the team, educating and involving developers on benefits and processes.
  • Cataloging hardware and replicating misuse cases, to isolate points for improvement.
  • Collaborating with the community team to organize wishlists from the fanbase.
  • A/B testing of gameplay and UI revisions with new players.
 
Typical design questions
  • How does the experience of playing solo differ from group play?  How can we serve both?
  • How do controllers typically break?  How can we improve them to safeguard against stressors?
  • Where are the most common points of friction in game flow?  How can we smooth them?