The Wall Street Journal has an interview with DICE’s Lead Gamer Tester and Executive Producer that I found really interesting. Awesome to have more insight into user testing outside of the web/application realm.

There was one bit in particular that struck a chord with me:

I don’t know why, but I always feel ashamed about the games I’m involved in making. I can’t even bring myself to start up “Battlefield Bad Company 2,” our last game, because I feel so ashamed. I know it is a great product but still I only see the things we could have done better.

Patrick Bach, DICE Executive Producer

UX, Interaction designers, and others who help plan, execute and analyze user tests are often perfectionists, and also tend to be their own worst critics. It’s true in web design, and apparently it’s also true in game design.

For what it’s worth, Battlefield Bad Company 2 was a ridiculously good game (one of my all time favorites), and Battlefield 3 is looking to raise the bar quite a bit. Just more evidence that investing in user centric design, just like investing in outstanding talent and leadership, is crucial to building great products.

Most normal people I know have at least one sport they try and keep up with. Could be Football, Tennis, or maybe even something like competitive Poker.

Myself? I’m a fan of competitive video games. Starcraft, specifically.

It’s a geeky choice for evening entertainment, but I’m definitely not alone in my programming selection. Over 60,000 people tuned in from all over the world this past weekend to watch a live tournament in Spain called DreamHack. Some events see even more attention than this—and the winners often take home prizes in the tens (or hundreds) of thousands of dollars.

A lot of the individuals who “cast” live video streams use live video streaming service Justin.tv. JTV is great, but I find it a little difficult to navigate my way around the site, or watch video on my tablet. Thankfully, JTV has put together an API that has allowed me to create my own customized stream browser :)

I spent some time last night putting together a basic video browser with the API that tracks some of my favorite streams. I don’t currently have any plans for it, but I’m hosting the app at GamerChannels.com for the time being.

With how much momentum I’ve seen competitive gaming gain in the past 2 years, who knows… I may invest some more time into this project so it will be more useful for others.