Using Interviews to Evaluate Location-Based Games: Lessons and Challenges

Abstract

Games User Research (GUR) is an interdisciplinary field of study that aims to measure, analyze, and understand the interaction and experience of players with digital games. Joining efforts to the advances in GUR, this work focuses on the evaluation of player interaction with Location-Based Games (LBGs), seeking to understand which aspects of this interaction can be explored through interviews and how researchers and practitioners have been using this method. We analyzed 23 studies that applied interviews to this end and conducted an expert opinion survey with the authors of these studies. As a result, we presented lessons and research challenges for the use of interviews in this type of evaluation, in hopes to encourage the conscious and systematic application of this method, in addition to guiding practitioners and researchers, especially beginners.