Abstract
Assessing user experience (UX) and product desirability in video games remains a complex and resource-intensive process, particularly during early stages of development. This paper proposes a lightweight, low-cost evaluation method based on Game User Experience Cards (GUXC) and an aggregation algorithm called GUXC Score. The method adapts the concept of Product Reaction Cards to the video game domain and introduces a quantitative aggregation mechanism that transforms qualitative card selections into a normalized numerical score. A dataset of 693,055 Steam reviews was utilized to construct a domain-specific card set, followed by evaluation with 174 participants (65 in sentiment validation and 109 in main local and remote study). Results demonstrate strong correlations (Pearson r = 0.94 at best) between the GUXC Score and established UX metrics, supporting the method’s validity as an efficient alternative to traditional UX studies.
Paper Type
Short Paper
DOI
10.62036/ISD.2026.3
From Words to Scores: Estimating Video Game User Experience with Game User Experience Cards and the GUXC Score
Assessing user experience (UX) and product desirability in video games remains a complex and resource-intensive process, particularly during early stages of development. This paper proposes a lightweight, low-cost evaluation method based on Game User Experience Cards (GUXC) and an aggregation algorithm called GUXC Score. The method adapts the concept of Product Reaction Cards to the video game domain and introduces a quantitative aggregation mechanism that transforms qualitative card selections into a normalized numerical score. A dataset of 693,055 Steam reviews was utilized to construct a domain-specific card set, followed by evaluation with 174 participants (65 in sentiment validation and 109 in main local and remote study). Results demonstrate strong correlations (Pearson r = 0.94 at best) between the GUXC Score and established UX metrics, supporting the method’s validity as an efficient alternative to traditional UX studies.
Recommended Citation
Andrzejczak, J. & Dera, P.(2026). From Words to Scores: Estimating Video Game User Experience with Game User Experience Cards and the GUXC Score. In M. Valenta, B. Mannová, R. Pergl, A. Przybylek, M. Lang, H. Linger, C. Schneider, N. Iivari, & E. Insfran (Eds.), Making ISD Sustainable: Reloaded with AI and Automation (ISD2026 Proceedings). Prague, Czech Republic: Czech Technical University in Prague. ISBN: 978-80-01-07585-2. https://doi.org/10.62036/ISD.2026.3