Avaliação Heurística de Usabilidade da Plataforma de Jogos Steam

Abstract

This essay analyzes and evaluates the usability of Steam, a digital game platform launched in 2002 by Valve Corporation. This platform gives its users access to games without having to keep physical copies, operating all monetary transactions through its server and concentrating the digital copies belonging to a profile in a library. However, its confusing interface and excessive possibilities are frequently targeted by the users, which endorses this research and raises reflection on the importance of usability on digital systems. This work uses as methodology John Brooke’s satisfaction scale (1986) and Nielsen’s usability heuristics (1993) through tests with five non-specialist users and four digital interfaces specialists in order to rate the levels of intuitiveness and organization present on the system. Based on this analysis, it’s possible to conclude the platform possesses a low intuitiveness level and high discomfort for new users, also presenting difficulty for experienced users.