When the player puts down a second finger anywhere on the screen, a second virtual joystick for looking around and steering the character appears. When one finger is touching the Movement Area of the screen, a virtual joystick that can be used for movement is displayed. The joysticks operate in different modes depending on how many fingers are touching the screen. Assassin's Creed: Identity offers two control schemes: virtual joysticks to control movement and camera angle, and a tap-to-move scheme. The players first contact with the game is through a tutorial explaining the controls. We recruited players aged 20-30 who played at least one previous PC or console version of Assassin's Creed and who are also active gamers on phones or tablets. John points out, selecting the right target audience is crucial when doing playtests.

My methodology is to invite a few players to play these games in a usual usability testing setting, with screen recording, a think-aloud protocol, and a survey after the test and then analyze the results. Without spoiling too much, it's a close call in this one. My goal is to find out what parts of the games already work well, and in what parts players are getting lost and the game still needs work.

In this series of articles we apply the tools of playtesting and user research to soft-launched games as an exercise in game design. This article was originally published on Gamasutra in October 2014.įreshly arrived in Australia and New Zealand, Assassin's Creed: Identity is finally bringing the third-person action-adventure experience of the Assassin's Creed series into a pocket-sized format. First look: Playtesting the soft-launched Assassin's Creed: Identity 07 November 2014

Assassin's creed identity play store