Forza Motorsport
For an arena listener, record which cues they chose and can hear before interpreting an incorrect turn call.
02
Player decisions and journeys
Whose experience are we designing for?
Interview first, watch an uncoached task, or observe and then interview?
THE SNAKE EYES BASELINE
- Starting position. The diamond sits beside Campaign. In the inspected menu, either pointer hover or navigation focus can produce that emphasis. The image cannot identify the device or what the person noticed.
- A destination in view. Options is visible below Customize Character. Pointing to it, moving focus to it and opening it are three separate observations. This frame establishes only that it is present.
R32 / 02 NOV 2026 The estate menu
WHAT TO LOOK FOR
Who is trying to do what?
Name the person’s actual goal, starting knowledge, device and setting. Specify whose experience the evidence leaves open.
Compare a first visit with a return to Options on the same input. The diamond beside Campaign records emphasis. The picture cannot tell us who put it there or what they noticed.
01 / RESEARCH SHORTLIST
CURATED FOR THIS QUESTIONThree for Snake Eyes
Frostpunk
Compare first entry and return from a break using a recorded starting screen and the same public battle state.
Overcooked! 2
When testing independent 1v1 matches from different homes, record the two actual viewpoints and devices separately.
02 / PRODUCTION CONTEXT
One question, different scales
Compare what the player can infer. The scale labels describe the production context of each example.
03 / COMPARATIVE GALLERY
CONTEXT / EDITORIAL RANKINGThe top ten
How these examples were ranked
These editorial lists rank how well a particular shipped interface supports the stated research question. We inspected publisher and developer imagery across 22 candidate games, including examples from the 1990 Loom lineage through 2023 releases. We compared the specificity of the task, the strength of the primary source, whether an observable action can distinguish plausible explanations, and transfer across genres. The four lists answer different questions. The three Snake Eyes picks in each list are separate editorial recommendations. In particular, the Dead Cells team reports a player panel for its revision, and Turn 10 describes direct consultation on Blind Driving Assists. Other proposed prompts and observations are our exercises. No reference screenshot records a Snake Eyes participant, and no sample here represents all game players. Award labels describe their organizer’s category rather than endorsing our rank or exercise.
Each entry links to the image and the feature evidence. Award badges name the recognized category. The saved direction records the director’s own choices.
See how different genres answer this question
Racing simulationForza MotorsportDocument the information channel the person actually uses
Action platformerDead CellsRecord the chosen input policy
Action adventureGod of War RagnarökCapture effective settings and experience separately
Co-operative cookingOvercooked! 2Record role and communication setting
Musical graphic adventureLoomSeparate device, prior knowledge and sensory cue
Historical narrative RPGPentimentRecord how this person reads this build
Survival city builderFrostpunkRecord prior exposure to the legend
Fighting gameStreet Fighter 6Distinguish experience with the current scheme
Environmental placement puzzleUnpackingDefine a task without dictating personal taste10 / 10 references
AAA · Racing simulation2023
Forza Motorsport
Document the information channel the person actually uses
The picture depicts one visual route to driving information. Turn 10 reports that blind and low-vision players helped refine supplementary cues for track position, turns and other conditions. Record actual playback setup, chosen cues, prior practice and which driving decision is under study.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The consultant-led audio design makes the participant’s actual information channel indispensable to the task.
- Where it breaks down
- Audio cannot be assessed in this frame. Covering a sighted tester’s screen is a different study from observing a player who uses these cues.
- For Snake Eyes
- For an arena listener, record which cues they chose and can hear before interpreting an incorrect turn call.
- Production
- Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios · 2023 game · PC publisher cockpit and track images. GAconf gave this title its 2023 AAA Excellence Award and recognized its Blind Driving Assists.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source GAconf Awards 2023 · Best blind/low vision accessibility
Other views of this game
Turn 10 Studios / Xbox Game Studios · publisher-supplied PC screenshotsIndie · Action platformer2018
Dead Cells
Record the chosen input policy
Before asking someone to maintain a guard and release it on cue, record their chosen mapping and whether the game uses a held or toggled shield. Ask how they usually play if that bears on the task.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- Named alternatives and reported panel testing distinguish configuration from a presumed player type.
- Where it breaks down
- A chosen toggle identifies a configuration. It does not establish a diagnosis or preferred difficulty.
- For Snake Eyes
- For estate navigation, record the device and active interaction settings before treating two runs as equivalent.
- Production
- Motion Twin / Evil Empire · PC · Breaking Barriers update, June 2022. The independent project and its update team are credited in the developers’ announcement.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source The Game Awards 2018 · Best Action Game, for the game
Other views of this game
Motion Twin / Evil Empire · developer update screenshotsAAA · Action adventure2022
God of War Ragnarök
Capture effective settings and experience separately
Ask which settings the person normally chooses and why they matter for today’s task. The developer documents that presets change multiple values. Record relevant individual overrides after a preset is applied.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- Presets and overrides make effective settings an observable condition instead of a demographic guess.
- Where it breaks down
- Two people selecting the same preset may have different effective settings, prior experience and goals.
- For Snake Eyes
- For a repeat visit, write down the actual display/input conditions before interpreting a change in navigation time.
- Production
- Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment · PlayStation · Santa Monica Studio accessibility guide. GAconf awarded the title AAA Excellence for 2022.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source GAconf Awards 2022 · Best Deaf/HoH accessibility
Other views of this game
Santa Monica Studio / Sony Interactive Entertainment · official accessibility-guide screenshotsIndie · Co-operative cooking2018
Overcooked! 2
Record role and communication setting
Assign one player preparation and another delivery. Record actual room/network setup, communication available, prior time playing together and what each person can see. Compare pairs with the same task instructions.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The meaning of a handoff changes with role, physical separation and communication access.
- Where it breaks down
- The screenshot is one shared game view. It cannot establish what participants heard or whether all four had equal control or familiarity.
- For Snake Eyes
- When testing independent 1v1 matches from different homes, record the two actual viewpoints and devices separately.
- Production
- Ghost Town Games / Team17 · PC · publisher gameplay gallery. Team17’s FAQ credits Ghost Town Games and Team17 and documents local and online play. The category describes the studio lineage rather than a disclosed project budget.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source The Game Awards 2018 · Best Family Game, for the game
Other views of this game
Ghost Town Games / Team17 · publisher-supplied PC screenshotsPublisher-led · Musical graphic adventure1990
Loom
Separate device, prior knowledge and sensory cue
Lucasfilm describes playing four-note spells with mouse or keyboard. Record actual input, access to sound, prior contact with the interface, and relevant music familiarity. Ask for the same learned phrase under documented conditions.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The original musical interface makes both input device and experience with a specific notation consequential.
- Where it breaks down
- A player may learn visually or by ear. The image cannot disclose their preferred strategy or whether a note was audible.
- For Snake Eyes
- Avoid treating time spent recognizing unfamiliar pips as proof of navigational difficulty.
- Production
- Lucasfilm Games · 1990 design · publisher-distributed PC edition, exact screenshot build unspecified. Lucasfilm’s retrospective identifies the original team, period and unusual four-note interaction. Comparing its budget to a contemporary AAA production would be speculative.
Other views of this game
Lucasfilm Games · publisher-distributed PC screenshotsPublisher-led · Historical narrative RPG2022
Pentiment
Record how this person reads this build
Record the participant’s preferred language, reading presentation and actual input configuration as relevant to the assignment. Give the same short choice to a first visitor and someone returning to it after a break.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- Language, legibility and device options provide separate variables within a narrative reading task.
- Where it breaks down
- The presence of an option does not justify inferring reading ability, handedness or language preference from play alone.
- For Snake Eyes
- Record the actual text-size/device setup before comparing how quickly two people locate Options.
- Production
- Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios · PC · original game and Obsidian’s official settings illustrations. A small project inside a major publisher. The director’s account describes the scale and the small-team process.
Other views of this game
Obsidian Entertainment / Xbox Game Studios · official settings and publisher-supplied gameplay screenshotsAA · Survival city builder2018
Frostpunk
Record prior exposure to the legend
Ask a first-time player and a returning player to identify a workplace needing attention. Record prior use of this display, time away and whether they start with the overlay already open.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- The same heat-reading task tests discovery or interpretation depending on which screen is open.
- Where it breaks down
- If one group begins in the overlay and the other in the ordinary city, their discovery times answer different questions.
- For Snake Eyes
- Compare first entry and return from a break using a recorded starting screen and the same public battle state.
- Production
- 11 bit studios · PC · two different publisher-captured city states. Editorial mid-scale bracket. The studio’s 2017 consolidated report describes almost 50 in-house contributors and external support.
Other views of this game
11 bit studios · publisher-supplied PC screenshotsAAA · Racing simulation2022
Gran Turismo 7
Prior completion changes the starting information
Compare a first visit with a return after prior completion. Record exact course, vehicle, assist settings, control device, prior demonstration and time away. Use a matched route when comparing two people.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A prior demonstration and a recorded medal affect what an attempt can establish.
- Where it breaks down
- A stored medal indicates performance on this profile. It need not belong to the current participant.
- For Snake Eyes
- Record verified exposure to the lesson. An experienced-looking local profile does not authenticate the current player.
- Production
- Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment · PS4 / PS5 · Polyphony Digital online manual illustrations. The official product page identifies this PlayStation Studios release and developer. The scale bracket is editorial.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source The Game Awards 2022 · Best Sports / Racing, for the game
Other views of this game
Polyphony Digital / Sony Interactive Entertainment · official manual screenshotsAAA · Fighting game2023
Street Fighter 6
Distinguish experience with the current scheme
Record whether the participant routinely uses this scheme and device. Ask a returning fighting-game player to perform one familiar action on their usual configuration before asking them about a new one.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- A player can be experienced with a genre yet new to this control scheme.
- Where it breaks down
- Genre experience and familiarity with the present mapping can differ. The menu cannot tell which experience the person has.
- For Snake Eyes
- Record prior time with Snake Eyes separately from controller or tactics experience.
- Production
- Capcom · PS5 · Capcom web manual, Practice and Recording Settings. Capcom identifies its worldwide multiplatform fighting release. GAconf identifies the Modern and Dynamic controls in its mobility award.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source GAconf Awards 2023 · Best physical/mobility accessibility, citing Modern and Dynamic control options
Other views of this game
Capcom · official Street Fighter 6 web manual screenshotsIndie · Environmental placement puzzle2021
Unpacking
Define a task without dictating personal taste
Give the assignment “Put an item somewhere you would want to find it again.” Record whether the player knows the room, the input device, and their stated aim. Keep preferred arrangement separate from task completion.
Study notes and sources
- Why it ranks
- An open-ended domestic task illustrates why a person’s goal belongs in the context record.
- Where it breaks down
- A designer’s preferred shelf is a poor score for a task that permits expression. Familiarity with domestic conventions varies.
- For Snake Eyes
- Ask someone to choose a creator detail they would want to keep. Treat their aesthetic decision as theirs.
- Production
- Witch Beam / Humble Games · PC · original game, publisher gallery. Witch Beam’s site credits the team and describes the independent production.
Image context Original image Feature source Production source 2022 BAFTA Games Awards · Narrative, for the game
Other views of this game
Witch Beam / Humble Games · publisher-supplied PC screenshotsSaved direction
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