11 Chapter 2 Video Game Development and User Experience Graham McAllister and Gareth R. White G. McAllister () Player Research, Brighton, UK e-mail: graham@playerresearch.com G. R. White University of Sussex, Brighton, UK Abstract In order to design new methodologies for evaluating the user experience of video games, it is imperative to initially understand two core issues. Firstly, how are video games developed at present, including components such as processes, timescales and staff roles, and secondly, how do studios design and evaluate the user experience. This chapter will discuss the video game development process and the practices that studios currently use to achieve the best possible user experience. It will pres- ent four case studies from game developers Disney Interactive (Black Rock Studio), Relentless, Zoe Mode, and HandCircus, each detailing their game development pro- cess and also how this integrates with the user experience evaluation. The case studies focus on different game genres, platforms, and target user groups, ensuring that this chapter represents a balanced view of current practices in evaluating user experience during the game development process. 2.1 Introduction In order to design new methodologies for evaluating the usability and user experi- ence of video games, it is imperative to initially understand two core issues. Firstly, how are video games developed at present, including aspects such as processes and time scales, and secondly, how do studios design and evaluate the user experience? This chapter will discuss the video game development processes and practices that studios currently use to achieve the best possible user experience. It will pres- ent four case studies from AAA game developers Disney Interactive (Black Rock Studio), Zoë Mode, Relentless and mobile developer HandCircus, all based in the © Springer International Publishing Switzerland 2015 R. Bernhaupt (ed.), Game User Experience Evaluation, Human-Computer Interaction Series, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-15985-0_2