Mobile Gaming: Investigating the Effects of Screen and Keyboard Size on Game Playablity and Interaction

Abstract

An increasingly wide range of games is available on mobile phones, primarily motivated by the rapidly improving graphical capabilities of mobile devices. Human factors investigations continue to emphasize that the perception of, and interaction with, mobile devices is affected by their relatively small keyboard and screen sizes. That research, however, is limited in identifying how keyboard size and screen size affects game play on mobile devices. Therefore, this paper explores, through two respective experiments, the effects of keyboard size and screen size on the participant's perception of the mobile game and the participant's ability to interact correctly with the game itself. The results of this study suggest that a larger screen size does not alter the ability of participants to obtain high scores, but does make the game more appealing. Interestingly, the results also reveal that although a smaller keyboard size appears to lower game scores, participants do not perceive it as a limiting device feature. The findings of this study contribute toward a fundamental understanding of how the mobile device keyboard and screen sizes affect mobile gaming.

Comparing User Performance on an iPad to a 17-inch BackPad

“…The larger screen size interests' users more but it does not change their score significantly. The keyboard size has an influence on game score, with lower scores the result of smaller keyboards [9].…”