One of the most valuable aspects of UX (user experience) design is being able to evaluate how easy an app is to use based on certain criteria. The game I will be evaluating is Among Us. The reason I’m interested in this app is because it’s a social deduction game where you are meant to find out who doesn’t belong in the crew and try to compare and provide alibis to help out or manipulate the crew in order to win.
One way we evaluate a product, app, or service in UX is through something called Heuristics. There are 10 main heuristics, and I’ll be covering System Status, Real World / System, Consistency, Minimalist Aesthetics, and Help & Documentation .
The first Heuristic I’ll be using is System Status. This heuristic has to do with visually showing the status of a process. One example of this heuristic is a buffering or loading symbol.
With Among Us, some tasks visually show how close they are to being complete. They do a good job of using this heuristic because it allows players to see their progress during these longer tasks which helps them with understanding how long it will be until they can continue on.
Submit Scan task
Download task
The second Heuristic I’ll be using is Real World / System. This heuristic has to do with helping users understand the system and terms with simple language and graphics. One example of this heuristic is giving a short, simple tooltip.
With Among Us, there is a map that markers for where crewmate tasks are to help players understand where to go. They do a good job of using this heuristic because simple graphical tooltips like this are very helpful to players and are easy to understand.
Mira HQ task map
The third Heuristic I’ll be using is Consistency. This heuristic has to do with doing things the same way to avoid confusion & make easier to learn. One example of this heuristic is having the home button for a phone at the bottom center of the screen.
With Among Us for mobile, they have the joystick and buttons in places where people who have played mobile games would be used to. They do a fair job of using this heuristic because it is fairly standard to set up controls in a way that is familiar to players.
The fourth Heuristic I’ll be using is Minimalist Aesthetics. This heuristic has to do with removing as much as possible from the layout. One example of this heuristic is the Google homepage only using a few icons and colors.
With Among Us, the design of the buttons and interface are very simple so that nothing clutters the screen from the gameplay. They do a good job of using this heuristic because all of the elements of the interface provide necessary information without being to intrusive.
The fifth Heuristic I’ll be using is Help & Documentation. This heuristic has to do with providing help and making things easy. One example of this heuristic is having a chat box to contact support on the website.
With Among Us, there is a How to Play and a Freeplay section to help players understand playing the game. They do a good job of using this heuristic because it is very clear how to practice and learn how to play.
Home screen
Overall, I would give Among Us a 4 out of 5 score based on the fact that it has a lot of features and functions that are nice and helpful while not being overbearing or unnecessary.
Hopefully, you can get a sense of how valuable the UX process is. Leave comments about with any questions or ideas you might have.
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