Text Twist
by Aaron, Logan, and Jeremy
The subject was sent to the web address of the game and asked to play without any instruction except to "think out loud."
During play the subject negatively stated that he:
1. Found the interface unintuitive
2. Was guessing and pressing things. "Twist" and the "Last Word" options were mysterious and therefore, he did not press them
Positive statements:
1. Felt like it was the right amount of (limited) time
After the test was over:
1. Did not realize that he could use the keyboard (as informed afterwards)
2. Did not care about his Score
3. "Hated" the game
4. Did not like color scheme
5. Found "Twist" to useless
It should be noted that the subject did not like word games (Scrabble, etc.).
We decided that the following improvements should be given consideration: a) either an onscreen instruction that the keyboard was usable for input or a disabling of the mouse's ability to select letters to allow the user to intuitively start using the keyboard, as the keyboard allows for a more fair game than slowly clicking away at letters; b) an incentive for the player to earn a higher score, perhaps being able to buy hints (definitions, synonyms, etc. to the 6-letter word?) or to purchase more time with score points - though this would immediately lower his or her score, it would give the player more opportunity to advance forward and earn more points; c) more color to add life to the game.