What are some best practices for providing user feedback in games?

1 The types of user feedback

User feedback can be categorized into four main types: positive, negative, neutral, and informative. Positive feedback is used to reinforce desirable behaviors, such as completing a task, earning a reward, or achieving a goal. Negative feedback is used to discourage undesirable behaviors, such as making a mistake, losing a life, or failing a challenge. Neutral feedback is used to acknowledge actions that are neither good nor bad, such as selecting an option, moving a cursor, or clicking a button. Informative feedback is used to provide additional information, such as instructions, tips, or hints.

2 The modes of user feedback

User feedback can be delivered through different modes, such as visual, auditory, haptic, or verbal. Visual feedback is the most common and effective mode, as it can convey a lot of information quickly and clearly. Visual feedback can include colors, shapes, icons, animations, effects, or text. Auditory feedback is the second most common and effective mode, as it can create a sense of immersion and emotion. Auditory feedback can include sounds, music, voice, or silence. Haptic feedback is the least common and effective mode, as it can be limited by the device and the user's preferences. Haptic feedback can include vibrations, pulses, or pressure. Verbal feedback is a special case of auditory feedback, as it can be used to communicate complex or contextual information. Verbal feedback can include narration, dialogue, or speech recognition.

3 The principles of user feedback

User feedback should follow some general principles to ensure that it is clear, consistent, relevant, and timely. Clear feedback means that it should be easy to understand and interpret by the user. Consistent feedback means that it should follow the same rules and conventions throughout the game or the UI. Relevant feedback means that it should match the user's goals and expectations, and provide meaningful information. Timely feedback means that it should be delivered as soon as possible after the user's action, and not interrupt or distract the user from their flow.

4 The examples of user feedback

User feedback can be seen in many games and UI gamification examples, but here are some of the most popular and effective ones. In Candy Crush Saga, the game uses positive feedback to reward the player for matching candies, such as colorful explosions, sounds, and words. In Super Mario Bros, the game uses negative feedback to penalize the player for dying, such as losing a life, falling off the screen, and hearing a sad sound. In Google Forms, the UI uses neutral feedback to acknowledge the user's input, such as highlighting the selected option, showing a progress bar, and displaying a checkmark. In Duolingo, the UI uses informative feedback to guide the user's learning, such as showing instructions, tips, corrections, and explanations.

5 The benefits of user feedback

User feedback can have many benefits for both the user and the UI designer. For the user, user feedback can enhance their experience, satisfaction, and motivation. User feedback can make the user feel more engaged, involved, and rewarded for their actions. User feedback can also help the user learn, improve, and overcome challenges. For the UI designer, user feedback can increase the usability, effectiveness, and retention of their UI. User feedback can help the UI designer communicate their goals, rules, and expectations to the user. User feedback can also help the UI designer measure the user's behavior, performance, and feedback.

6 The challenges of user feedback

User feedback is not without its challenges and limitations. User feedback can be difficult to design, implement, and test. User feedback can require a lot of resources, time, and creativity. User feedback can also depend on the user's preferences, context, and culture. User feedback can be too much, too little, or too confusing. User feedback can also have unintended consequences, such as frustration, boredom, or addiction. User feedback should be carefully planned, balanced, and evaluated to achieve the best results.