Dead Star is a twin-stick space-shooter with hybrid MOBA and RPG elements. Here, it was reviewed in the format of a think-aloud, which is a form of usability testing where a researcher observes a participant “thinking aloud” and verbally expressing feelings, experiences, actions or issues encountered while playing the game (Desurvire & Seif El-Nasr, 2013). This think-aloud was conducted with me as the researcher and a female in her mid-twenties, who does not self-identify as someone who plays video games, as the participant. The tutorial of the PS4 version of Dead Star was played, which is comprised of three sections: Loadout, Piloting, and Conquest, and lasted about 30 minutes. The initial tutorial screen can be seen below.
The player proceeded to complete the tutorial in the order in which the sections were presented, beginning with Loadout, which can be seen below.
As seen above, the tutorial commences with Mags Mu’zeta speaking instructions to the player along with the written instructions presented in the top-left corner of the screen. Once the player noticed the option to read the text and skip ahead by pressing “X,” she progressed through these subsections at an expedited pace, not waiting for Mags Mu’zeta to finish reading the introduction and instructions aloud.
At the heart of the Loadout section of the tutorial, it presents the player with the three categories of space ships that can be used during gameplay, as seen above. The player was instructed to navigate to the Estari Warden ship and swap it out for the Marksman. Although the ship currently selected is outlined in a yellow square, as well as labeled with the ship’s name in the box, the player became confused as to why she could not swap the Warden out for the correct ship, the Marksman. The issue was simply that the player was unaware that she was currently selecting the Bulldog instead of the Warden, which was rectified after a few seconds of focusing on her options. She proceeded to correctly highlight the Warden and swap it out of the loadout for the Marksman.
The player then proceeded to navigate, without issue, back to the main tutorial screen to select the Piloting tutorial. This was where the player learned how to perform basic controls, including navigating the ship, shooting, and collecting loot. First, the player was instructed to collect 50 ore and return to the home base, which was instructed verbally by Mags Mu’zeta, as well as with a small text indication at the top of the screen (see screenshots below). When instructed to shoot the ship’s gun for the first time, the player verbally expressed confusion about how to control the dual-stick firing system (right stick to aim and RT to fire). After some troubleshooting and time spent looking at the controller, she was able to successfully destroy and collect the ore rocks.
The current amount of ore the player has is indicated by HUD on the bottom right-half of the screen (see below). Here, you can see the current amount in the player’s inventory, as well as a progression bar indicating how close the player is to capacity. While not explained at this point in the tutorial, different types of ships have different ore-carrying capacities. At this point, the player was controlling the Estari Marksman, which has a capacity of 50 ore and, as seen in the screenshots, the player currently has 40. However, she was not aware of this HUD element, even though there is a brief text pop-up explaining this feature. Once she had reached the capacity of 50 and was unable to collect the remaining available ore, she asked “why can’t I collect more ore?” and “do I have too much?” After some time spent flying the ship around the remaining ore and failing to pick it up, she continued to her objective by navigating the ship in the direction of the yellow directional reticle.
Upon returning to the home base, the player was instructed to transfer the ore in her inventory to the base as supplies for upgrades. The UI for this can be seen in the screenshot below. Similar to other instructional segments throughout the tutorial, there are text instructions at the top of the screen, as well as button prompts at the bottom (e.g. X Transfer Ore). When presented with this screen, the player demonstrated a facial expression of confusion. However, after a few seconds of looking up and down the screen a number of times, she was able to successfully transfer the ore.
After upgrading the home base, the player was instructed to investigate a nearby cargo salvage. Before proceeding to said cargo, the player was instructed to recruit nearby drone ships to fly with her. She quickly correctly recruited two drone ships; however, she attempted to circle the larger, stationary, object thinking it was another drone and asked “are they supposed to come with me?” The similar size and shape of this object was mistaken as a drone ship (see screenshot below).
She then proceeded to navigate the ship to the correct location of the cargo salvage. Once she arrived, two text pop ups were presented on the screen simultaneously, although only one was relevant to the current objective, as seen in the screenshot below. She verbally expressed frustration with this scenario, saying “how am I supposed to read both at the same time?!”
Once the player destroyed the cargo and collected the artifact, she was instructed to level up and was presented with the screen below. Here, there were visual cues on the screen as well as a repeating “upgrade available” as an auditory cue. She expressed confusion about the prompt to press the PS4 controller’s touchpad, saying “I don’t know what button that is.”
After examining the controller for a brief moment, she was able to reach the level-up screen, which can be seen below. The player was instructed to level up the missile launcher, which was when she asked, “how do I choose the missile launcher?” She then navigated to the right and the player’s current selection was highlighted in yellow, as seen below. She proceeded to press X to upgrade the missile launcher; however, the two indicators of successful leveling up, which were the white bar filling in half of the left portion of the highlighted diamond and the “1” under “Upgrade Points” turning to a “0,” were not noticed by the player. Therefore, she hesitated once upgrading the missile launcher and, shortly after, realized she needed to press “O” to back out of the level-up screen. She then proceeded to try her new weapon against incoming enemies, however, her ship was destroyed, resulting in a respawn at the home base.
Upon respawning, the player was urged to destroy any remaining enemies and then navigate to the enemy’s controlled station. Upon arrival, she successfully destroyed the enemy ships and began the process of taking over the base. At this point, the player was instructed to stay within range (indicated by a blue pulsating aura) of the base and the time it takes to complete the takeover was indicated by a timer within the base (see below). Once remaining enemies were destroyed, she navigated away from the base and asked, “are there any remaining enemies?” While there was text for the current objective at the top of the screen, the player stated, “I don’t know what I am supposed to be doing right now,” and “it’s not clear what I’m supposed to be doing.” After several minutes of navigating around the home base, but not within range to complete the takeover, the player was prompted by the researcher to “look to the top of the screen for your objective.” The player read the objective aloud and further asked, “what am I supposed to do?” The researcher then clarified that the player was out of range and that she had to stay within the blue circular aura for the appropriate amount of time.
Once the takeover was complete, the player proceeded to follow the level-up prompt. Again, she displayed frustration with this system and the verification that she had correctly upgraded her intended option. Lastly, the player completed the Conquest tutorial, which consisted of attacking and overtaking an enemy outpost using one of the largest ships available, the Vindicator. The player expressed no verbal frustrations or obvious issues with this part of the tutorial and completed it in a timely fashion.
Summary
While inexperience with games in general was evident throughout this playtest, it also revealed some potential usability issues in Dead Star. For one, during this think-aloud, the player was tripped up by the leveling-up system, suggesting that the indication for successfully leveling up may be too subtle for some players. Secondly, as a game with MOBA-like elements, there can be a lot going on on screen; therefore, it may be beneficial that stationary, non-interactive, objects in the game world not resemble objects that can be interacted with, as seen in Dead Star with commandable drones. Thirdly, the simultaneous presentation of two instructional text boxes (one with additional auditory presentation) can confuse the player and potentially direct their attention in an unintended direction, ultimately significantly affecting the experience.
Additional thoughts on usability
During my time with Dead Star, I noticed some usability issues not previously mentioned in this review. Although I played through it on PS4, I played it on a PC monitor, so I was only ~3 feet away from the screen. However, some of the HUD and pop ups, including words, numbers, and button prompts are small and I wonder how this holds up when playing on a TV, where the player is significantly farther from the display. Lastly, as seen in the screenshot below, it can be easy to lose track of the aiming reticle (bright green triangle) when aiming at the lower half of the screen. It not only clashes with the colors of the shield and health bars, but also collectible ore and the background of certain maps. A different color choice for this reticle or the option to change the color along with certain maps would have been beneficial.
References:
Desurvire, H. & Seif El-Nasr, M., “Methods for Game User Research: Studying Player Behavior to Enhance Game Design,” IEEE Computer Graphics and Applications, vol. 33, no. 4, pp. 82-87, July-Aug. 2013, doi:10.1109/MCG.2013.61