Help Resources in Games: Gamers' Opinions and Preliminary Design Remarks

Help resources are available in many ways and required in many applications. However, in the digital game context, little has been investigated and discussed about why, how and when to offer help in order to not jeopardize the gameplay. In this work, we present an exploratory research on gamers' preferences and opinions about help in games, conducted by means of an online survey. We found out gamers prefer help resources to be fast, discreet, and relevant, capable of fostering learning, so they can evolve by themselves. We also observed that gamers need these resources in specific moments, and they must be perceived as necessary in order to avoid disturbing the gameplay. Finally, we make available some design remarks to support designers to better understand gamers' needs and improve design in what concerns to help resources in games.