User Satisfaction and System Environment Convenience for Interface Design of Mobile Games

The convenience and multi-functionality of mobile devices have made mobile gaming an increasingly popular recreation but the industry competition is becoming increasingly fierce. Therefore, making research into the design flow facilitated by the user-interface a worthwhile endeavor. The five of the most popular tower defense game titles in recent years were adopted to be the cases in this study. This study was conducted using an empirical research methodology with semi-structured surveys. The missions or tasks undertaken by participants in these games serve as the bulk of the research on the interface flow. Each participant was assigned four tasks for each game, and then each participant was asked to complete a user satisfaction survey and system environment convenience scale survey. The results show that the interface's easily recognizable icons and effective tutorials were the reasons for the higher user satisfaction and system environment convenience scale ratings from participants. In addition, the three interface designs, which are (1) unrestricted areas for building, (2) tutorial explanations on the tasks, and (3) options to undo or cancel actions, provide players with a positive experience. Therefore, interface design provides intuitive control, easy-to-identify icons, simple and clear building and upgrading tasks, and well-designed task hints among other features which would help players get through the games more smoothly.