Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!tut.cis.ohio-state.edu!ucbvax!dewey.soe.berkeley.edu!thom
From: thom@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu (Thom Gillespie)
Newsgroups: comp.cog-eng
Subject: Evaluating the 'entertainment' value of a piece of software?
Summary: How do you do it?
Keywords: entertainment software
Message-ID: <28953@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU>
Date: 28 Apr 89 06:06:20 GMT
References: <5434@cs.Buffalo.EDU> <12591@ihlpy.ATT.COM> <17778@cisunx.UUCP> <17154@mimsy.UUCP>
Sender: usenet@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU
Reply-To: thom@dewey.soe.berkeley.edu.UUCP (Thom Gillespie)
Organization: School of Education, UC-Berkeley
Lines: 17

I've been doing some small experiments on using print and hypertext systems and
I've noticed a factor I haven't seen addressed anywhere. Software or Interfaces
have a certain 'entertainment' value which makes them seem more useful or
pleasurable to users. I'd like to figure out a method for evaluating this
factor and I wondered if anyone has any ideas how to go about it short of 
chi square tests on user surveys or focus groups.

I don't think that you can say that it is pure utility which drives the success
of a piece of software. For example, my kids are always asking me if what I am
doing on the Mac is a game. They never ask me if what I am doing on the IBM is
a game. To them that is work. This might be a silly question but do software
devlopers look at 2 similar products and figure out which is more fun? Or do
they just run out of money?

Just some thoughts.

Thom Gillespie