A person who doesn’t usually play games played Breath of the Wild. Here are the learnings from their playthrough:
- Controls
- Had trouble getting used to them, especially in high-pressure situations
- Button prompts showing where the buttons are in relation to each other was helpful
- Camera
- Was hard to control
- The lock-on button that centres the camera to Link was helpful
- Instinct was for inverted axes, possibly because of interactions on touch screens
- Open spaces
- Were helpful in providing breathing spaces
- Being able to run away was helpful, gave a break between action
- Beautiful landscapes were calming
- Objectives
- Didn’t pay attention to the HUD
- Was focussed on the objectives and didn’t feel the need to explore
- Uncluttered map was helpful, as it only had the main objectives
- Solution space
- Problems having multiple solutions and no one right answer was helpful
- Leads to discovery and excitement
- The number of options aided player expression
- Experienced players can experiment with multiple strategies, and less experiences players are able to find at least one way
Challenging yet approachable design helps build confidence in the player
🔖 What Breath Of The Wild Is Like For Someone Who Doesn’t Play Games