Hey, I'm Lydia · Edinburgh, UK · happy to work remotely or relocate
I watch people use apps and play games, then help teams make them better.
I'm a UX researcher with a psychology degree, so I spend a lot of time wondering why people do what they do. I've interviewed yoga teachers about moving their classes online, followed mobile players for days, and run 50+ playtests on PC, mobile, console and VR. Whatever the product, I turn what people say and do into changes teams can act on. And yes, my name's in the credits of 7 released games.
Quick read gives each project in plain words: the question, what I did and what changed. Full case studies adds methods, my reasoning, and what I would do differently. Names are changed, and client results stay confidential, so the game cases focus on how I designed and ran each study. Open Mat shows a full case with findings.
New to UX research?
Whether it's an app, a website or a game, I see how people really use it: through interviews, usability tests, surveys or playtests (people try an unfinished game while I observe). People rarely do what the design team expects. I also look for insights beyond the brief, which often add extra value, and my psychology background keeps my focus on behaviour: what people actually do, not just what they say.
One person's opinion is an anecdote. When 20 of 35 people get stuck in the same place, that's a finding. I combine survey numbers with what people say and do.
I rank problems by how much they hurt the experience and suggest concrete changes. Good research saves a team from launching something people give up on.
Where I can help
Video games · most experience
Moderated and unmoderated playtests, diary studies, focus groups and large quantitative surveys for indie and AAA studios worldwide. Accessibility, onboarding, pacing and retention.
Apps & digital products
Turning a vague business idea into clear research questions, interviewing users and synthesising what they need, as I did for a yoga teaching platform.
Psychology & behaviour
A psychology degree and a master's in cognition and consumer behaviour, including biosensor methods such as eye tracking.
Selected work
Would players keep playing a story-driven PC game after 30 minutes? A staged playtest with 35 players.
Method: checkpoints, think-aloud and repeated surveys
Drac Catalan: "dragon"What keeps people coming back to a mobile game day after day? A four-day diary study and focus group.
Method: daily sessions matched to how mobile games are played
Open Mat A yoga term: a free practice sessionWhat do yoga teachers struggle with when teaching online? Discovery interviews for a new app.
Result: 6 teacher needs and a persona to prototype from
More projects · method spotlights
One adventure game, three playtests, from pre-alpha to a later build. Following a game as it grows.
Method: repeated rounds, each with its own focus
Marea Catalan: "tide"Does an open-world adventure fit its intended audience? A first-time experience study near launch.
Method: survey for breadth, interviews for depth, team analysis
Equip Catalan: "team"How do you get trustworthy answers from 109 players at once? A large-sample playtest and survey.
Method: survey design, data cleaning and a ranked findings log
Case study 1 · Video games · Method spotlight
Measuring, stage by stage, whether players keep playing
Narrative adventure · PC · unmoderated, played at home · pre-release
The question
A studio wanted to know if players would stay with their story game after the first half hour, how its cast was received, and how accessible it was.
What I did
I played the game myself first, then designed a study where 35 players played in stages at home. They answered a short survey after each early stage, and a longer final one when they finished the game.
Why it matters
Checking in at several points shows exactly when players get hooked or start to drift, instead of one verdict at the end.
Client results stay confidential. This case shows how I designed and ran the study.
Objectives
Retention. Do players want to continue after 30 minutes, and does that hold as the game goes on?
Representation. How do players see the game's characters and its diversity goals?
Accessibility. What barriers do players hit, and do they know about the features that exist?
Why this method
A mixed-methods, repeated-measures design: observational playtesting with think-aloud, plus a questionnaire at each checkpoint. We wanted to understand how players experienced the game over time, not capture a single impression.
| Method | Its job |
|---|---|
| Observation + think-aloud | Behaviour, immediate reactions, confusion and usability issues |
| Closed questions | Comparable ratings and patterns across all 35 players |
| Open questions | Explanations that set answers would miss |
| Repeated questionnaires | How experience and willingness to continue changed across checkpoints |
| Final questionnaire | The overall experience, including accessibility |
Keeping play natural. Thinking aloud doesn't come naturally while playing, and it can change how people play. So alongside encouraging players to share their thoughts, I always asked them to play the way they would at home.
Why not interviews? Interviews would have gone deeper into motivation. But think-aloud already gave immediate qualitative insight, and repeated questionnaires gave consistent feedback from all 35 players at several stages. The final survey also had a lot of open-ended questions, which gave players room to explain their experience in their own words, much like an interview would. Follow-up interviews would have been the next step if a pattern had needed explaining.
Study design
Why I played it first. Two reasons. My facilitation shouldn't clash with the natural experience. And a multi-session study only works if the game lets players save and resume, which is easy to overlook when planning.
Recruitment
How I screened players
Turning data into decisions
I logged every issue and highlight by stage and topic, then rated each with a traffic-light system (high, medium, low) so the team could see what to fix first. I presented the report to the client's researcher first, then to their wider stakeholders.
Looking back
Limitations, and what I'd do differently
Case study 2 · Video games · Method spotlight
What makes a mobile game worth opening again tomorrow
Mobile game · iOS · diary study + focus group
The question
Mobile games live or die on whether people come back each day. The studio wanted to understand motivations and expectations over time, not just first impressions.
What I did
Six fans of the genre played 30 minutes a day and filled in a short survey each time, like a diary. At the end I ran a focus group to dig into the why.
Why it matters
Timers and daily rewards only show their effect over days. A single test would have measured novelty, not habit.
Client results stay confidential. This case shows how I designed and ran the study.
Objective
Identify players' motivations and expectations, and what helps or hurts their wish to keep playing over several days.
Study design
The lead UX researcher and I chose the method together, and I ran the study. We recruited in the market where the game would launch first. Four days gave timed mechanics, like eggs hatching, time to play out.
Why this method
| Method | Its job |
|---|---|
| Daily 30-minute sessions | Match the real rhythm of mobile play |
| Daily progress screenshots | Prove and show each player's progression, independent of opinion |
| Daily surveys | Each person's own view, tracked over time, before any group discussion |
| Focus group | Players' own view of their struggles, and what they'd want to see in future |
Looking back
Case study 3 · Digital product
How yoga teachers moved online during COVID
Discovery research for a new teaching platform · 2020–21
The question
A start-up wanted to build something for yoga teachers but wasn't sure what. I helped turn that idea into clear research questions and a plan the designers and developers could build from.
What I did
I found and recruited teachers myself, then interviewed five in the UK, US, Spain and France about how they teach, the tools they use and what's hard.
What we found
Teachers picked Zoom in a rush, not by choice. They wanted good sound, privacy for students' health data, and a way to see and correct students as if they were in the same room.
One hidden problem: on a mirrored video, students confuse left and right.
Objective
Find yoga teachers' main pain points when organising and teaching classes, especially online, to inform a first product prototype.
At the start, the brief from management wasn't clear. I worked with them to define what we needed to learn, then wrote an action plan covering interviews, a survey and a focus group.
Method
I ran every interview and did the thematic analysis myself, working from recordings and transcripts rather than memory. As the only researcher, I checked my findings with the UX designer, the product manager and some engineers. The guide covered years teaching, style, how often and where they teach, how they schedule, which tools they use, how teaching online feels and what's difficult.
The teachers ranged from one to ten years of experience: an independent teacher who started after an IT career, a hot-yoga studio owner, teachers working across several studios, and one who hadn't taught online yet.
Why interviews first. The brief was open and we didn't yet know which problems mattered, so open conversations fitted better than a survey. Five interviews in four countries gave depth and variety. The plan was to check the themes with a larger survey afterwards.
Artifact · interview guide
Semi-structured interview guide · topics
Artifact · affinity map
Theme
Reliability"Everyone's internet being stable"Extra mics and screens to lift qualityTheme
Teaching presenceBig self-view to keep body in frameMirroring confuses left and rightStudents turn cameras offTheme
Trust & safetyStudents share health informationPayments must feel safeTheme
Tools by habitZoom picked quickly, not comparedReluctant to switch booking systemWants live classes plus a libraryA redrawn, simplified version of the Miro board: codes from the transcripts (notes) grouped into themes.
What teachers want
Students share health information, and payments must feel safe.
Unstable internet was the main pain. Quality should hold whatever the class size.
A big view of themselves so they can keep their body in frame, and a sense of being with students.
Live classes, plus a library of past sessions.
A space where students don't feel the need to turn cameras off.
Mirrored video makes left and right confusing, so corrections are harder than in person.
All teachers used Zoom, chosen for speed rather than after comparing options. Their setups were heavily Apple-based (MacBook, iPhone, iPad, AirPods), plus extra monitors and mics added to raise class quality. Scheduling tools were sticky: one studio owner stayed with her booking system because it was the first she used.
"I picture like my whole screen and having my video be like somewhere big in the middle so I can make sure that my arms and body are in the frame… some way to make it feel like you are in the room with my students."Teacher, interview
"I didn't do an evaluation… it was more to do something and do it quickly."Teacher, on choosing Zoom
"People don't understand left sometimes… because people are mirroring."Teacher, about one year in
"I think we all adapted and it has become 'the normal' really for me."Teacher, on moving online
Persona
Teaches in a studio and online, moved to video during the pandemic, and wants technology to stay out of the way.
What happened next
A survey and a focus group were planned as next steps to test these findings with more teachers. The company closed before the work could continue, so no product decision was made. The interviews still gave the team a clear, evidence-based starting point for prototyping.
Case study 4 · Video games · Method spotlight
Three playtests, one game, from pre-alpha onwards
Single-player casual adventure · repeated playtests across development
The question
Early on, the studio wanted to know if players could get around and learn the game once the tutorial ended. Later rounds looked at building, controls and side quests.
What I did
I set the scope, recruited the players and wrote the surveys. I also watched people play to see where they hesitated or got lost.
Why it matters
Testing the same game three times shows whether changes actually helped players, not just what was broken.
Client results stay confidential. This case shows how I planned the rounds.
Study timeline
Each round had its own focus, matched to what the team was building at that point. Pre-alpha sessions included watching players play, which works as a usability test. When I tested the next build, I could check which recommendations had been applied and move on to new questions.
Why it matters
One-off playtests show a snapshot. Repeated rounds on the same game build a relationship with the team and show whether changes helped. This is the kind of long-term research I'd like to do on one game.
Case study 5 · Video games · Method spotlight
Checking audience fit and the first-time experience before launch
Open-world adventure · PC · unmoderated, played at home · near launch
The question
The game was almost ready to launch. The studio wanted to know whether it worked for its intended audience, and how new players found the first hours.
What I did
I joined a study planned by a colleague. I ran interviews, analysed the data with the team and wrote the final report.
Why it matters
A survey of 50 players shows how widely views are shared. Interviews explain why. Four researchers analysing together keeps one view from shaping the themes.
Client results stay confidential. This case shows how the study worked.
Study design
Why team analysis. With four researchers coding the same data and agreeing on themes, the findings didn't depend on one person's reading.
Why not only a survey? A survey shows what players think but rarely why. Questions about audience fit needed conversations.
Looking back
Case study 6 · Video games · Quantitative · Method spotlight
Getting trustworthy answers from 109 players at once
Multiplayer shooter · PC · large-sample playtest + survey
The question
The studio wanted the top highlights and issues in their multiplayer shooter, from a group big enough to trust the patterns.
What I did
Shooter fans played through set-up, matchmaking and matches, then answered a survey. I cleaned the answers and turned them into a ranked list of highlights and issues.
Why it matters
With 109 players, a pattern is something many people share, not one person's opinion.
Client results stay confidential. This case shows how I handled the data.
Study design
Why a large survey. The question was broad: what do players like and dislike across the whole game? A survey of 109 players shows which views are widely shared and which belong to a few.
From raw answers to a report
I paired the numbers with players' written comments, so each rating came with a reason the team could act on.
Looking back
How I report
Ratings at a glance
How I'd read it: players enjoy the game, but low scores for controls and goals suggest something is getting in the way. The findings log then explains what.
Findings log
| Severity | What happened | Impact | Recommendation |
|---|---|---|---|
| HIGH | Most pairs missed the prompt to swap roles and got stuck on level 2 | Frustration; risk of quitting early | A clear visual cue when a swap is needed |
| MEDIUM | Players weren't sure what the end goal of each level was | Aimless play, lower "clear goals" score | Show the goal at the start of each level |
| MEDIUM | The camera clipped through walls in small rooms | Lost track of their character | Pull the camera closer in tight spaces |
| HIGHLIGHT | Pairs laughed together at the physics puzzles | The main reason for high fun scores | Keep, and feature it in marketing |
Every finding follows the same shape: what happened, why it matters, and what to do. Severity tells the team what to fix first.
How I work
Good communication is essential. Before choosing any method, I talk with the team until the objectives are clear, so we gather the data they actually need. It's also how I work in teams: keeping everyone in the loop and sharing findings in a way designers, producers and engineers can each use.
When results aren't what a client hoped for, I present them anyway, framed as a chance to improve before launch.
I get informed consent and handle recordings confidentially. For in-lab sessions with children aged 8–14, parents gave consent and came along, and in one study children and parents played together as families. I also archive studies so teams can find them later.
I have a very high attention to detail. I play every build before testing it, check that a game can save and resume before planning multi-day sessions, add attention checks to screeners, and go through survey answers one by one before trusting the numbers.
A little about me
I grew up in Barcelona and I've always been curious about why people do what they do. That's what led me to psychology. By the end of my degree I knew I didn't want to work as a psychologist. I wanted to keep researching, so I did a master's in cognition and consumer behaviour and found my way into UX.
My favourite part of the job is the moment the patterns appear. You've been staring at notes, quotes and survey answers, and suddenly the story is right there. Then I get to turn it into a report people actually want to read.
These days I live in a small village near Edinburgh. I moved there for the nature, and I haven't regretted it once.
My perfect day
Also into
Games I'm credited on
See my credits on MobyGames
Unknown 9: Awakening2024View on Steam
Reka2024View on Steam
Dustborn2024View on Steam
The Fabulous Fear Machine2023View on Steam
Strayed Lights2023View on Steam
Tchia2023View on Steam
Gerda: A Flame in Winter2022View on SteamCredited as a user researcher. I worked on many more games that aren't listed. The case studies above use codenames and aren't linked to these titles.
Talks & writing
Talk · 15 Oct 2024 · Tampere, Finland
First-time user experience in games
Presented at the IGDA Tampere demo evening with CHI PLAY, for local game developers and conference visitors.
See the event Article · 2 Oct 2024 · Co-author QA vs. Playtesting: 3 Mistakes Every Game Dev Should AvoidWhy checking for bugs and testing the player experience are different jobs, and why a game needs both.
Read the article
Conference · Main sponsor representative · 14–17 Oct 2024 · Tampere, Finland
CHI PLAY 2024
Represented my company as the main sponsor of the leading academic conference on games and play research.
Experience
2022 – 2025
Ran 50+ playtests on PC, mobile, console and VR, in-lab and remote, for indie and AAA studios around the world, at every stage from concept and alpha to beta and release. My first was for a major global game publisher: a moderated remote usability test where players at home followed task instructions while I watched live, then answered survey questions out loud. Worked in multidisciplinary teams with designers, producers and engineers, and helped engineers build platform features for player sentiment tracking and automated reports. Like the rest of the research team, ran recruitment for my own studies from our shared panel of thousands: targeting players who matched the profile, writing screeners with checks for dishonest answers, cleaning the responses and selecting the final players, then tailored instructions, reminders, player support and rewards. Designed studies, built surveys, cleaned and analysed survey data, and reported findings to clients. Helped run the player community on Discord, including recruitment posts, moderation and security against leaks. Represented the company as the main sponsor at CHI PLAY 2024 and gave a talk on first-time user experience in games at IGDA Finland's Tampere hub.
2020 – 2021
The only UX researcher in a multidisciplinary team of designers, product managers and engineers. Led discovery research for a yoga teaching platform: research planning, recruitment, interviews, thematic analysis and personas. Working closely with the team, I learned how apps are designed and built, from idea to prototype. I also did research to support the designer on MyPause, the company's yoga practice app.
Education
Neuromarketing and biosensor methods such as eye tracking, plus machine learning basics in R.
Where my interest in why people do what they do turned into a career in research.
Certifications
Working with AI tools in everyday work.
Top 10% distinction.
Methods
Analysis
Tools
Learning now
Free courses to grow my data skills, ending in a data case study on game reviews.
Let's talk
Games or product research, remote or in Edinburgh, and open to relocating. Happy to walk you through any case in more detail.