Wave Race: Blue Storm
UX Research Project
Usability / Playability Report
Table of Contents
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Issue Severity Scale (User Experience)
Game information
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Project summary
Game title
Genre
Playing device/Platform
Player mode
Features evaluated
Methodology
Wave Race: Blue Storm
Racing
Console
(GameCube)
Multiplayer
- Stunt mode
- Championship mode
- Weather effects
- Maneuvering controls
Qualitative
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Playtest
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Participant observation
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Focus group discussion
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Game info card
Game concept
Wave Race: Blue Storm is a jetsky racing game launched for Nintendo GameCube.
The game is a sequel to the Nintendo 64 game Wave Race 64.
Player mode
Gameplay mode
- Championship mode
Single-Player and Multiplayer
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Players race the other characters and one another in unlocked courses.
- Stunt mode
Single-Player and Multiplayer
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The goal for players in this mode is to get high scores by performing stunts.
- Time attack
Single-Player
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The player selects a course and races alone to complete the race in the fastest time possible.
- Free Roam
Single-Player
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Allows the player to roam freely through any unlocked course, without other racers or time limits.
- Difficulty
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Normal, Hard, Expert
Single-player
Single-player
Multiplayer
Game mechanics
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In Championship mode, buoys are placed throughout the racing course and players should pass them correctly.
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Red buoys should be passed on the right, and yellow buoys on the left.
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If players miss more than five buoys throughout a race, they will be disqualified.
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In Stunt mode, stunts are usually performed by making flips and riding through rings placed on the course.
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Players can gain speed by activating the turbo meter.
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Players can build up their turbo meter by correctly passing buoys and making stunts.
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Some featured courses are unlocked by winning 1st place in championship mode.
Weather effects
- Weather conditions can affect the environment in racing courses.
- The weather can change several times throughout a race.
- Changing environment elements:
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Weave height
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Wave frequency
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Course layout
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Water resistance
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Moving obstacles
- Examples:
Windy course
Rainy course
Playable Characters / Riders
- There are 8 playable riders in the game.
- Each rider has customizable stats that will affect racing physics (speed, acceleration, maneuvering, stunt skill, and strength).
- Racer categories
(with character information):
All round riders
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Ryota Hayami (Male, 23 - Japan)
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Ayumi Stewart (Female, 26 - US)
Stunt riders
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Akari Hayami (Female, 21 - Japan)
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Ricky Winterborn (Male, 18 - Canada)
High speed riders
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David Mariner (Male, 37 - US)
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Rob Haywood (Male, 24 - US)
Advanced riders
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Nigel Carver (Male, 28 - UK)
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Serena del Mar (Female, 19 - Brazil)
Participant information
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Sample of Participants
Sample size
Age Groups
Inclusion criteria
4 participants
(Multiplayer maximum)
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18-21 (User Group 1) – N/A
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22-25 (User Group 2) – 1 Participant
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26-29 (User Group 3) – 1 Participant
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30+ (User Group 4) – 2 Participants
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Relative experience playing racing games
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Ability to participate in playtest onsite
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Ability to participate in focus group discussion after playtest
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Participant summary
Participant Gender Age Relevant games played
Participant 1 Male 26-29 Midnight Club: Street Racing, Need for Speed
Participant 2 Male 30+ Grand Turismo series, Driver: San Francisco
Participant 3 Female 22-25 Cars, Burnout Paradise
Participant 4 Female 30+ Mario Kart 64, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe
Issue Severity Scale (User Experience)
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Research design
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Research summary
Session type
Playtest (1 hour)
Focus group discussion (30 minutes)
Data Collection
Notes via Transcribe app
Number of Sessions
1 session of
an hour & 30 minutes
Project duration
3 days total
Research procedures (1 day)
Analysis and Report (2 days)
Main target audience
Open to all User Groups listed
Location
On-site play
Console in game room
Methodology
Qualitative
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Participant observation
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Focus group discussion
Responsibilities
Two contributors
Researcher (Lead)
Playtest
Focus group discussion
Research-related tasks
Volunteer (Support)
Game setup / Technology
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Playtest information
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Participants played the game as a group in Multiplayer.
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They played Stunt mode for the first 20 minutes of the test, then Championship mode for another 40 minutes. Both modes were played in normal difficulty.
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The Stunt mode portion of the playtest was performed first so participants could get familiar with the game mechanics prior to racing one another.
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Instructions on how to play both modes were provided before the playtest.
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Rider categories were not shared with the participants to avoid character selection biases. However, participants were aware that stats are customizable and different for each rider.
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Rider selections:
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Participant # 1 – Ryota Hayami (All-round rider)
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Participant # 2 – David Mariner (High speed rider)
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Participant # 3 – Ayumi Stewart (All-round rider)
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Participant # 4 – Akari Hayami (Stunt rider)
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All participants played with default rider stats.
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A focus group discussion was conducted after the playtest (last 30 minutes of the session).
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Methodology rationale
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A qualitative approach was deemed appropriate for this assessment.
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Participant observations allowed for more organic player interactions and inter-player collaborations as participants experienced the Multiplayer mode and other features of the game first hand.
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The focus group discussion allowed for a more dynamic exchange of comments about the features evaluated. Moreover, participants encouraged their peers to share their thoughts in this context.
Findings summary
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Insights and recommendations
This section contains an in-depth analysis and further discussion on each of the findings.
Recommendations were provided to address the medium, high, and critical issues identified
per the Issue Severity Scale (User Experience) on this assessment.
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Overall sentiments: Participants enjoyed their overall experience
Positive finding
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All participants enjoyed their overall experience. They stated that the game was fun and it provided a different feel from other racing games.
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They seemed to especially enjoy the weather effects system and some features from the Stunt and Championship modes.
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Two of the four participants managed to finish the championship cycle in 2nd and 3rd places, but all participants indicated that they had a good time playing the game regardless of their final placings.
Final placings in Multiplayer - Championship mode
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They praised the Weather effects system
Positive finding
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All participants praised the weather effects system. They especially enjoyed the ways weather would impact environmental elements in the course such as wave height, course layout, and moving obstacles.
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They liked the game physics, particularly, interactions with the water and water movement.
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All participants agreed that the most player-friendly course was the Strongwater Keep, while the most challenging was Ocean City Harbor due to obstacles being randomly thrown into the course.
Participant #1 (26-29)
“This is probably the best water mechanics I have ever experienced in any game. I could definitely feel the resistance, bumpiness, and density of the waves change along with the weather.”
Participant #2 (30+)
“Riding on water instead of concrete or snow definitely adds a different feel to the physics of this game. The weather effects also allowed for a change of scenery at times. Racing through a course on a nice sunny day was definitely not the same as racing on the same course with heavy rain. The weather sometimes would randomly change throughout different laps as well. Crazy, but nice!”
Participant #3 (22-25)
“I definitely liked some courses more whenever I got to experience a different weather in them.”
Participant #4 (30+)
“I loved how the weather would change throughout a single race. It’s like I was experiencing a different environment in every lap. This made dealing with moving obstacles and weaves a bit more stressful of course, but the unpredictable nature of it made the experience that much more
interesting!”
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Championship mode was slightly favored over Stunt mode
Finding
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Participants stated that they enjoyed both the Championship and Stunt modes. However, two of the four participants indicated that they slightly favored Championship mode over Stunt mode.
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Participants commented that attempting flips in the Stunt mode was fun, but riding through all the rings in the courses was challenging as it required a high level of maneuvering control.
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They stated that passing buoys correctly in Championship mode sometimes allowed for more maneuvering space, but stakes were higher as they could be disqualified if they missed five buoys.
Riding through rings in Stunt mode
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Maneuvering controls were challenging for participants
Critical issue
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All participants stated that maneuvering controls were either twitchy or sensitive. They argued that many of the riding maneuvers required restricted movements with the GameCube control stick and a highly paced use of the R and L buttons.
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These limitations in maneuvering control often caused issues such as participants accidentally making wide-angle turns in narrow path ways or their rider characters falling off of the jetkis after colliding with obstacles.
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The issues in question were especially evident in courses with very dynamic environments and a considerable amount of moving obstacles. These observations were consistent among all participants, regardless of rider category, performance in the game, or level of maneuvering skill.
Participant #1 (26-29)
“I made a turn to avoid an obstacle at the end of one of the races, however, I ended up getting off track due a wrong angle movement. The control stick is too sensitive at times. That bumped me from second place to sixth place in the race.”
Participant #2 (30+)
“High speed is great but when I had to make turns or ride through narrow places, I was going so fast that I ended missing some turning points. I know that I should play the game more often to get better, but going a bit slower might help with control in those moments.”
Participant #3 (22-25)
“The leaning action is key for avoiding certain obstacles in the course, but having to press the R or L buttons for that did not come as natural for me for some reason.”
Participant #4 (30+)
“Moving the control stick sightly to the side made me turn almost 180 degrees. I know the way I am describing it might sound a bit exaggerated, but that’s how sensitive the stick movements felt for me at times.”
Recommendations
It is understandable that participants were playing the game for the first time and they will probably get more used to the maneuvering controls with practice. However, in order to improve user experiences with this feature (regardless of learning curve), developers could consider doing the following:
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Decrease movement sensitivity for the GameCube control stick
This measure might help users perform more controlled movements.
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Enable control customization for the leaning action
This measure might help users perform the leaning action with alternate controls (other than the R and L buttons) to provide more comfort.
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Slightly decrease riding speed
Slower speed might help users with movement precision and maneuvering dexterity.