Author: Lindsay

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Reflection Week 2

Game design
Reflection
week 2
1/16/17

Games Played: Munchkin Gloom and Dominion

The main focus for the games played this week focused on the different acts/stages that take place during the game. For the most part, every game is broken up into 3 acts (learning the rules/familiarizing oneself with the goal, 2. getting more comfortable with the rules of the game, and 3. (typically towards the end of the game) when everyone focuses on the goal and is completely comfortable). By playing these two games I was able to loosely pinpoint when these acts were taking place and changing.

Munchkin Gloom, simply put is Gloom under the art and humor of the Munchkin brand-which put a humorous twist on the game itself. This game is card based, and each player is assigned a set of character cards. The overall premises was to kill off all of your characters while lowering their self worth. The person with the lowest score of self worth of dead characters wins. In my limited game experience, this was the first time I’ve seen the concept of losing masked as winning. Although the goal was set in stone, I did appreciate how there can be different approaches to winning the game. In one round of playing alone my group went through tactics of blackmail, throwing each other under the bus, prioritizing negative self worth or prioritizing the killing of characters. Because of this aspect it is anything but a game where you can keep to yourself and bank on luck. It forces you to take notice of your teammates hand and strategize. The most enjoyable aspect of this game was clear to everyone, the transparency of the cards that allowed moves to be played on top of one another by either enhancing or negating a character. This mechanic was very original and intriguing- I’d love to be able to incorporate this type of ingenuity into my own game design in the future.

As far as the acts were concerned in Munchkin Gloom the first act of the initial understanding of the rules and concept was a little slow at first and definitely took the longest. The instructions on the cards were most helpful in this instance and made us communicate and talk out the game with the other players. After the first act transitioned into the second the pace picked up and we very quickly skipped our way to the last act.

Dominion took some getting used to personally. The overall concept was to collect money to buy cards that acted as tools which in turn yielded more money. Then with all that money you buy victory points. In order to win this game you must have the most victory points, however the game ends when certain stacks of cards are depleted. What I liked about dominion is that there are so many possibilities for different strategies and options of games to play, therefore it doesn’t have to be the exact same strategy and routine game after game. The acts during this game make me wonder if they are one continuous transition or if each player has their own variation. I struggled to latch onto a strategy for the majority of the game, therefore I feel that it is the latter. If given the opportunity to play more than once I definitely think I would gain a better sense of what to do and how to benefit but I think the different options and possibilities were slightly overwhelming at first which held me back in the beginning.

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Experimental Week 1 ideas

Card game ideas:

 

1.Truth or dare (could be called icebreakers). Instead of having a harsh/heavy sentence the theme will be more light and comical in order to make a group of people feel comfortable with each other faster.
2.workout cards: punishment cards where these cards tell you to perform some sort of task such as jumping jacks. For those who want to get in shape with a hint of competition.
3.shopping card game
-pull out 3 cards of items/products at random
-the person card you have determines how much money you have
-action cards (steal, bribe,store discount)
-money slips
The premise of this game will be to attain the 3 products randomly selected. It will have a “life” sort of analogy where you can gain money, lose money, or have the option to obtain the item at other costs.
4.Private College
-rich kids (nice car, no job)
-time
-time is spent between homework,working,social
-character cards have/requore so much
-major, lifestyle, organizations
Overall you are the character you are dealt. Depending on your character you will have a certain amount of money, time (because of work, social life, etc). The goal will be to get your homework done, have a social life, etc all while playing the rules of your characters life.
5.global warming
-build cities and buildings to grow but each time you do you lose
 a tree card
–The mayor will decide the new layout of the city: how many stores, companies, etc. Players are responsible for building a city with resources to match the mayor’s plans. However for each new building, trees die (lose a tree card)–depending on the route you go about building. Cheap fast routes cost more trees. If you lose all of your tree cards you lose. The first one to build a city ends the game (and wins depending on their tree ratio)
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Chapters 3,4,5

Ethnographic tools can help with relating to users and give a qualitative description of human social condition. In terms of improving the interactivity of an online banking website, ethnographic tools can help to identify different possibilities and instances that a user and the online banking website will share. By predicting these instances, it is easier to prevent issues so that the experience over all is that much more beneficial. While ethnography isn’t so helpful for retail and to try and understand buying habits, it can be helpful for a bank who’s main purpose is to make money transfers, deposits, etc, easy and hassle free to keep the clientele.

Personally I feel that a design is never really finished. There are always improvements and advancements that could potentially be made. However these potential improvements only come with the passing of time and with new discoveries. So although it can technically be limitless you can see that your design is “finished” when it is in its most simple form and can fulfill its function.You can tell when it is a success only through testing it. You must have actual people and users attempt to use and understand your product/design. If they can figure it out with ease and will continue to look at it rather than throw it aside, then it can be measured as a success. It is important to test for comprehensibility to tell if the user fully gets the design. A designs purpose is to solve a problem, whether it be usability, aesthetic, but mainly it revolves around function.
A product family that I use regularly would be Bath and Body Works Shea Butter. Over all it’s branding is a pretty strong name, especially in my age group. While I love the product anyway and have loyalty to it because of it’s quality and amazing scents, it is also a common ground among a majority of girls in high school and college about who owns which kinds. Because it is popular among my demographic it has that much higher of an image and is displayed as that much better verses generic scented lotion.

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Interaction Design Documentary

In class we watched a documentary that focused on interaction design through it’s progress and evolution and influence with the user. The documentary featured several well-known and respected designers who used interaction design in various different forms. There were a few different points made throughout the film that I either agreed or disagreed or made me think a little harder. One point which was very strongly projected was that design is the search for form; and that form follows function. I suppose that in its simplest, most easy to understand terms, that yes, design is the search for form. Whether it be digital, traditional, interaction; design is a consistent search for a an answer, or a solution to a problem. I thought that the statement that form follows function was interesting, mostly just in the wording. I’ve never thought of it before, but it makes complete sense now, that any object, item or idea has a function and a purpose. If the form can’t fit the function or doesn’t allow for the function to occur anymore, then it’s overall design is purposeless.
One aspect of the documentary that really opened my eyes was the recreation/redesign of common household items. For example, in the beginning, there was a focus on a set of hand trimmers. I didn’t realize how many steps needed to be taken. It starts with finding a problem or finding a task that could be made easier. Once this is established there is a long experimentation process where the team finds the best solution. From here it is executed with 3d modeling and prototypes to make sure every aspect is covered before the product is ready for production. I have so much more appreciation for this area and how much brain power it takes to not just create, but recreate in a more positive way. I found it kind of sad that this type of design and thinking isn’t as common. Because of the level of intensity and hours spent, this is very financially taxing and a lot of businesses and companies cannot afford to hire people in these fields. Because money is an issue, we as a society choose to settle with the cheapest alternative even if the design and function suffer.

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Chapters 1 and 2 Interaction

Interaction design is made up of the communication and exchange of any information through a sensory connection. A main challenge of the interaction design industry in general revolves around its definition. There is a high stress placed upon the design aspect with an unclear understanding. The common misconception is that the notion of design soley revolves around aesthetics and innovation. This isn’t entirely true. Design incorporates a lot of different steps and though processes overall in order to finally reach a creation that fits form and function. A large portion of interaction design specifically focuses on the user and how the user reacts and interacts with an object. According to Jon Kolko, Discovery is a huge issue in companies due to low budgets and such. This area in interaction design focuses on the research and findings of the needs and wants of consumers and users. While this stage is very important and can be extremely beneficial, it is not easily affordable or prioritized.

Interaction design is evolving at a faster rate than I would have expected or predicted. When you look at a historical timeline of technology and innovation, it is a consistent pattern that each new idea and invention are built off of previous ideas. This holds true for interaction design. The main difference I think however, is that now it is growing not only growing vertically but laterally as well. To explain this a little more clearly let’s look at the telephone. From what started as the phonograph and has worked its way up into what is now called the cell-phone, there have been many modifications to the one idea of vocal communication over distance. That would be the vertical growth. The lateral growth is the extra additives and extensions a design can take, such as how cell-phones now have multiple uses and applications. An example of evolving interaction design is the experimentation and implementation of the fourth dimension. In Thoughts On Interaction Design, Jon Kolko discusses the distinction between graphic and traditional design verses interaction in that there are so many deeper and interconnected levels on interaction. This is why it is evolving as fast as it is. Because interaction design is on such a more complex deeper level, it draws information and sourcing from  psychology, engineering, and ethnography; to name a few.

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Questions

1.The goals of Apple’s website is to sell not only products but their brand as well. With their variety of products they offer information from purchasing to post purchase and offer assistance even after product purchase. For a user who has just purchased their first MacBook, the website offers images, video clips, and informative blurbs as well as a help feature and contact to assist with any possible questions.

2. The functional specifications of Facebook’s wall include content related information which depend upon the creation of your own page/settings. It selects only information, photos, etcetera to share with you based on your selected friends list and pages you have previously liked. On your wall specifically Facebook projects all of your own updates and posts but only with those you have friended. If you are not on Facebook however, in order to signup you must be a certain age, provide a valid email, name, and location that you are associated with. From here you can create and customize how you view others and how others can view you.
3. The four architectural approaches to information structure include the matrix, sequential, hierarchical,and organic.
An example of the hierarchical approach is the jcpenny website. Basically any clothing/department store USUALLY follows this format.
An example of a matrix approach is zappos. While this website accommodates for many different products, you can still narrow your selection (especially with shoes) by color, size, style, etc.
An example of a sequential approach would be Tumblr, for the sole purpose that one post follows the other from the time which they were originally posted or shared. It flows one after another.
An example of an organic approach would be Amazon since there are a large variety of options so you can navigate from one product to a completely opposite one without backtracking and still a clear path of navigation.

4.For Huffington Post index page is 100% completely navigation. Content is 25%. For Google the index is 100% navigation with 100%navigation on the search page and 0% content. As for Wikipedia, the homepage is 95%navigation and 5%content. Easy has an index with 100% navigation and for searching content is about 70%.

5. landor.com guides the reader’s eyes and focuses their attention through a well thought out balance of color and type. Bold type and vibrant colors tell where to look instantly while softer tones and more subtile text guide your eye throughout the page after.

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Review #4

I chose Patron’s Mexican Grill’s website http://www.patronmexicangrills.com to compare with our final restaurant design. I specifically chose Patron’s because we are trying to give our site a more Mexican cultural feel while trying to keep it clean and simple. Patron’s use of color and texture really tie in the over all feel that we are looking for. The green, orange and yellow are similar to our color scheme. However I think the incorporation of magenta as the footer of the site and navy blue in the logo do not work well with the overall theme. While the colors follow the typical theme of a Mexican restaurant I think they should’ve stuck to a solid 3 or 4 colors to tie the whole site together. Instead they used a total of 11 colors that make the color scheme seem ill thought out and almost collaged.

As far as the layout goes, there are side bars that are texturized which overall helps add a sense of legitimacy. This texture works well in the overall sense, however I do not think a texture of a similar sort would work well on my final restaurant site. The center column which holds all the information works well and makes navigation a little easier as your eye isn’t distracted over the whole page. The only aspect that doesn’t work that well was one particular bar used to divide sections which extends past the center banner. Given that no other of the dividers do this, it looks out of place.

The overall navigation on the page works well. Everything flows seamlessly. The navigation bar and the buttons are easy enough to locate since they are at the top of the page with easy transition between each different button. Because it is a restaurant site, it lacks some of the normal elements most websites hold including a tag line and welcome blurb. This being because all that information is included within the logo.

While Patron’s website is still navigable and easy to read, it lacks an overall brand. With our final restaurant page we are doing our best to make sure the site works well as a whole, through our color scheme, graphics, and type. We stuck to a color scheme of 3 colors and chose a more simplistic approach to make sure it looks clean. We want the overall appearance to give off the image of our restaurant as being clean, organized, and accessible.

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Review #3

Of the sites listed, I chose to look at Peter Allen’s Italian Restaurant and No.9 Park. I haven’t viewed many restaurant websites before so I had little expectations for both places. Peter Allen’s chose went a common way with its layout; having the buttons run horizontally along the top to access key information. The logo is clear and prominent which shows emphasis on the most important factor of the restaurant; its name. However, there is not a unifying color palette and the layout itself seems almost too basic for a place that you’d think would be more sophisticated. Overall the most unappealing aspect of this site is it’s background, unfortunately its their product spaghetti with cheese sprinkles constantly floating. I think this animation takes away from its over all sophistication and the image itself along with its colors distorts the balance of the page. From the viewer’s point of view, every bit of information is easy to find and accessible because the site is so ‘basic’.

No.9 Park in comparison has a darker color scheme of coffee browns to give a sense of upperclass. The layout itself has the buttons on the side left vertically going down. As a whole this website reminds me almost of a blog rather than a restaurant. Unlike Peter Allen’s, the images of the food on this site are constantly changing and have a certain tone applied to them which makes it more unified. Overall I think this site has better composition and layout. But both are lacking the essence of truly portraying their restaurants appearance.

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Review #2

https://www.zalarob.com

This website is the page of a german family business that revolves around the sustainability of natural resources with oak being a main contributor. The color pallet consists of soft whites, tans, charcoal gray; neutral earth tones. For the sections with a mainly white background, the outline of wood texture is overlapped to give variation in what you’re looking at. Being a single page site the general direction of the page is scrolling vertically, top to bottom, with some sections giving you the option to click right or left to slide through photos.

This website exhibits good design. Even though it was in a different language I was still intrigued by the design. As a whole it was easy to navigate with clear direction of where to find specific information. The text “Don’t Make Me Think” stresses the importance of the sites ease and readability for the user. This website uses the design elements of symmetry through its images and text and emphasis through its headings to assist in this. Each section is clean cut with minimal text to avoid clutter. Overall I love the design of this website, it’s simple and clean cut. I’m not used to single page sites so this was definitely a good one to look at. Although it is only one page it incorporated a lot of different elements into it to add variety such as a slideshow, interactive button, with varying layouts dependent upon the section. Chapter 3 mentioned a photo where if you toggled over a face a blurb would appear with their name. This concept was used with a bock of wood where different diets of the wood slab highlighted different information. I was very impressed and think this website definitely helps the family business.