Product - Razer Naga MMOG Laser Gaming Mouse (RZ01-00280100-R3)

Visiblity - the act of making physical features of the artifact clearly noticeable

The visibility of the Razer Naga mouse is good—the user can see all but one of the buttons or switches when the mouse is on a flat surface; the one switch that is not clearly visible is a switch on the bottom of the mouse that determines where the number buttons on the side of the mouse will map—either to the number pad that standalone keyboards have, or the row of numbers (1 through 9 and 0) that all keyboards have. All but two of the buttons on top of the mouse are lit with a blue light that makes them immediately noticeable.

Mapping - the clear association between a physical feature that can be interacted with and its effect or result

The mapping of the Razer Naga is good, except it assumes foreknowledge from its user for how it will be used. The mouse is more advanced than a typical mouse, and the number keys on the side of the mouse correspond to the actual number keys on your computer keyboard—either the 1 through 9 and 0 keys, or the keypad, depending upon the direction of the switch on the bottom of the mouse. This can cause some confusion, especially in the case of a person trying to or accidentally using the keypad setting on the mouse if their computer doesn’t have a keypad. Add to this the fact that gamers can customize key mappings within their game clients, and this adds potentially another layer of confusion. The only other issue with the mapping is that there is not a clear mapping for the three non-numerical buttons on the mouse, so the user has to determine what character their computer reads those buttons as by clicking the buttons.

Affordance - the degree to which the artifact wants to make you use it for the things for which it was designed

The mouse fits the hand comfortably and is really a “mouse’s mouse” in this regard. The hand naturally fits around the mouse and falls onto it rather than requiring the user to flex or arch the hand to fit the hand around the mouse. The mouse also gives the user a satisfying, mechanical clicking sound when they click, and moves smoothly.

Conceptual model - the model for all of the different ways we can interact with the artifact and the associated outcomes

The conceptual model of the mouse is quite simple, but as mentioned before, the mouse assumes some foreknowledge of the users—i.e., the people purchasing the mouse (should) know that the mouse can have different sets of mappings, and that these mappings are manually configurable in the mouse and in a person’s game. This complicates the model.

Feedback - clear responses or effects as a result of user interactions

The main source of feedback is the mechanical clicking sound when the user clicks and also the sound when you depress and release a button. Clicking and depressing a button are satisfying for their sound and how they feel.

Another source of feedback—which is more obvious—is that when you press a button or click, you typically see something on your display (assuming the mouse’s mapping switched is switched correctly)

Summary

Overall, I think the Razer Naga is a very good mouse, but I would not call its design intuitive as a typical person probably could not pick it up and easily understand how to configure it. The mouse assumes prior knowledge or willingness to understand how it is used on the part of the user.