51. Interview Trees
Step 4. Interviewing Players
You can perhaps think of interviewing as a tree structure, branches being created or ended as different questions and responses are explored.
Using the three interviewing modes as previously discussed will help you mentally build this tree, and also move between the branches effectively.
Keeping a mental track of the interview tree is one of the challenges of interviewing.
Example
During a usability playtest, the player's inventory becomes full and the player manually sells items one by one, despite the game having an auto-sell feature. Did the player not use this feature because they weren't aware of it, or they because they chose not to use it?
Going into the interview, you know you’re going to end up discussing the auto-sell feature one way or the other, having a reliable interview framework will help you get there.
Key Takeaway
A tree structure is a useful mental model for exploring the player’s mental model. Using the 3 interviewing modes helps you build this tree and move around effectively.
