The cover story of the current issue of Wired magazine (15.09) discusses the user-centered approach to make an upcoming game playable. Halo 3: How Microsoft Labs Invented a New Science of Play focuses on the work of Randy Pagulayan and his team at Microsoft, who conduct usability testing and analytics to optimize game play - for example, when an area of the game might be too difficult, or a key weapon overlooked by too many players. (Note - Randy is a grad school buddy of mine from University of Cincinnati - I've personally visited his lab and its quite impressive in terms of technology and methods).
I'm also trying out a new feature on the IDSA Human Factors site called Snap Shots, which displays a preview of a linked site on rollover. Let me know if it's more useful than annoying or vice versa.
-Rob Tannen
