User Research Services - Cloverfield

What User Research Provides

When you invest in user research, you receive clear, actionable insights about how people experience your game. These aren't vague opinions or theoretical recommendations—they're specific findings based on watching real players interact with your work and understanding where they engage, where they struggle, and what keeps them playing.

Your research deliverables will include detailed observations from playtesting sessions, analysis of player behavior patterns, identification of friction points that disrupt engagement, and concrete suggestions for improvements ranked by potential impact. You'll understand not just what players think about your game, but why they behave the way they do while playing it.

Beyond the immediate findings, you'll develop a better intuition for thinking about player experience. This knowledge helps you make more informed design decisions throughout your project and on future games, reducing the guesswork that often leads to costly revisions.

The Uncertainty You're Facing

You're developing a game based on your vision and understanding of what makes experiences engaging. But you're also aware that your perspective as the creator differs significantly from that of players encountering your game for the first time. What feels intuitive to you might confuse others. What seems too simple might be exactly right.

Perhaps you've released previous work and been surprised by player reactions that didn't align with your expectations. Or maybe you're in the middle of development and feeling uncertain about key design decisions, wishing you had concrete data rather than just your team's opinions. The stakes feel high—investing time and resources in the wrong direction means costly revisions later.

You understand that player feedback is valuable, but conducting meaningful research requires specific skills and methodology. Simply asking people what they think often yields unhelpful or contradictory responses. What you need is someone who knows how to observe player behavior, ask the right questions, and translate findings into design recommendations you can actually use.

Our Research Methodology

We begin by understanding what questions you need answered. Are you testing whether core mechanics work? Trying to identify where players get confused? Comparing different approaches to a feature? Your research goals shape our methodology, ensuring we gather information that actually helps your decision-making.

Our research approach combines multiple methods because different techniques reveal different insights. Playtesting sessions show us what players actually do, which often differs from what they say they'll do. Surveys help us understand broader patterns across many players. Interviews provide deeper context about player motivations and experiences. Behavioral analysis reveals unconscious patterns in how people interact with your game.

Throughout the research process, we focus on actionable findings rather than academic rigor for its own sake. Our reports highlight specific issues ranked by severity and potential impact, suggest concrete solutions where appropriate, and explain our reasoning so you can make informed decisions about which recommendations to implement.

Research Methods We Use

Moderated playtesting with observation
Semi-structured player interviews
Surveys for broad pattern identification
Behavioral analysis of play sessions

What Sets Us Apart

Game development background informs analysis
Focus on actionable recommendations
Participant recruitment from your target audience
Flexible methodology adapted to your needs

The Research Process

Week 1: Planning and Preparation

We start with a detailed discussion about your research goals. What decisions are you trying to inform? What aspects of player experience concern you most? Based on these goals, we design a research plan that outlines which methods we'll use, how many participants we'll recruit, and what specific questions we'll investigate. You receive this plan for review before we begin, ensuring we're aligned on objectives.

Week 2-3: Data Collection

During this phase, we conduct the actual research—running playtesting sessions, conducting interviews, distributing surveys, or whatever methods we've agreed upon. We recruit participants who match your target audience and facilitate sessions that encourage honest feedback. Throughout this period, we keep you informed about what we're observing, though we save detailed analysis for after all data is collected to avoid premature conclusions.

Week 4: Analysis and Reporting

With data collection complete, we analyze findings to identify patterns, prioritize issues by severity and frequency, and develop recommendations based on what we've learned. The final deliverable is a comprehensive report that presents key findings clearly, explains the reasoning behind recommendations, and provides supporting evidence from the research. We also schedule a presentation to walk through the findings and answer your questions.

Collaboration Throughout

User research works as a collaboration. You maintain access to preliminary findings as they emerge, can ask questions at any point in the process, and have opportunities to refine our focus if early results suggest we should investigate different aspects of the experience. The goal is ensuring the research serves your actual decision-making needs.

Research Investment and Value

$2,500 USD

Comprehensive User Research Project

Research Components

Research design tailored to your questions

Participant recruitment and screening

Moderated playtesting sessions (6-10 participants)

Follow-up interviews or surveys

Behavioral data analysis

Deliverables

Comprehensive research report with findings

Prioritized recommendations for improvements

Raw data access for your own analysis

Presentation of findings with Q&A session

Follow-up consultation after implementation

The Value of Early Research

This investment represents approximately 3-4 weeks of focused research work, including methodology design, participant recruitment, data collection, and analysis. Consider that catching and fixing design problems during development costs far less than addressing them after release. Research that prevents even one major redesign typically pays for itself several times over.

We recognize that research represents an additional expense beyond development costs. To make it manageable, we can structure payment around project milestones—such as half upon approval of the research plan and half upon delivery of findings—or discuss payment arrangements that align with your project budget.

Our Research Standards

Methodological Rigor

Our research methodology balances academic rigor with practical application. We use established research techniques but adapt them to serve your decision-making needs rather than pursuing research for its own sake. Every method we employ serves a specific purpose in answering your research questions.

We're transparent about our methodology's limitations and confident intervals. If sample sizes are small, we acknowledge that. If findings suggest trends rather than certainties, we say so. This honesty helps you make appropriately calibrated decisions based on the evidence.

Practical Application Focus

Our reports prioritize actionability over exhaustiveness. We highlight the most important findings first, explain why they matter for your specific situation, and suggest concrete next steps. Supporting detail is available for those who want it, but the executive summary gives you everything needed for decision-making.

After delivering findings, we remain available to discuss implementation questions. As you work through recommendations, you might need clarification about specific observations or want to discuss how findings apply to new design ideas. That ongoing support is included.

Timeline and Outcomes

Most research projects take 3-4 weeks from initial planning to final report delivery. This timeline can be compressed if urgency requires, though recruiting appropriate participants sometimes takes additional time. More extensive research with larger sample sizes or multiple research phases would extend the timeline accordingly.

You'll receive preliminary findings within two weeks of starting data collection, allowing you to begin considering implications while we complete analysis. The final report arrives by week four, with a presentation scheduled shortly after to ensure you understand findings and can ask questions.

Research doesn't end problems or guarantee success, but it does transform uncertainty into informed decision-making. You'll finish the project knowing more about your players and having concrete data to support design choices, which tends to accelerate development and reduce costly iteration.

What We Guarantee

Research involves inherent uncertainty, but our process and commitment don't. Here's what you can depend on:

Ethical Research Practices

We treat all research participants with respect, obtain proper consent, protect their privacy, and compensate them fairly for their time. Your reputation matters to us, and we conduct research that reflects well on your project.

Clear Communication

You'll always know what we're doing and why. We provide regular updates during data collection and remain accessible for questions throughout the process. If we encounter challenges, we discuss them openly and adjust the approach as needed.

Actionable Insights

Our reports focus on findings you can actually use. We prioritize by potential impact, suggest specific improvements where appropriate, and explain our reasoning clearly. Academic rigor serves practical application, not the reverse.

Confidentiality Assurance

Your game concept and all research data remain confidential. We sign non-disclosure agreements if you require them, and we never share findings or participate identities with third parties without explicit permission.

No-Risk Initial Discussion

Before committing to research, let's discuss whether it would actually help your project. This consultation is free and gives you a chance to understand what research could reveal, assess whether the investment makes sense for your situation, and ensure we're equipped to answer your specific questions.

If after our conversation you decide research isn't right for your project at this stage, that's perfectly fine. We'd rather you invest resources where they'll provide the most value.

Starting Your Research Project

1

Share Your Questions

Use the contact form below to tell us about your game and what you'd like to understand about player experience. What design decisions feel uncertain? Where do you suspect problems might exist? What aspects of player behavior would help inform your development? Don't worry about phrasing questions perfectly—we'll refine them together.

2

Define Research Scope

We'll schedule a consultation to discuss your research needs in detail. This conversation helps us understand your project context, clarify which questions matter most, and determine which research methods would provide the most valuable insights within your timeline and budget constraints.

3

Review Research Design

Based on our discussion, we'll prepare a research plan that outlines our methodology, participant recruitment approach, timeline, and deliverables. You'll have opportunity to review this plan and suggest adjustments before we begin, ensuring the research addresses your actual needs.

4

Receive Actionable Insights

Once you approve the research plan, we conduct the study and deliver findings within the agreed timeline. You'll receive a comprehensive report with prioritized recommendations, access to raw data, and a presentation where we walk through findings and answer your questions about implementation.

The research process is designed to be collaborative and transparent. We avoid unnecessary complexity and focus on delivering insights you can actually apply to your development.

Most clients find that research reduces uncertainty and accelerates decision-making, making it a worthwhile investment even for projects with limited budgets.

Ready to Understand Your Players?

Let's discuss what research could reveal about your game and whether it would serve your development needs. The conversation is free, and there's no obligation to proceed unless you're confident it's the right investment.

Start the Discussion

We typically respond within one business day

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