Category: Uncategorized

Posted on

Review 3

For this review, I am going to compare the two websites: Six Penn Kitchen and No. 9 Park. The two websites are very different in their own ways. Six Penn Kitchen is a local restaurant in the Pittsburgh area, it is a single page website (http://sixpennkitchen.com/index.aspx). The website is simple, it is more of a visual site. There is no navigation to the website. The website is very balanced, the colors they chose makes the content pop out to the user. Also, the light grey lines are settle enough that it separates the content but also makes it look like it all goes together. The colors ties in together with the images, they chose to put on the website, which makes it aesthetically pleasing. The layout is very simple and there is no complexity to it. One thing that seems out of place is the logo, it is confusing because they have their name at the center of the page and their logo on the far left corner, both could be the site id. No.9 Park (http://www.no9park.com) is a restaurant located in Boston, they have a navigation bar. Their navigation is very clear, they have a down arrow to direct you to go down to reveal more content. It also tells the user how to use the site. They have only one site id that makes it clear to the user that they are on No.9 Park, unlike Six Penn. Their navigation bar is clear and it is visible, so if there is something that I wanted to look at, I could easily locate it. They also have a bar on the far right that indicates where I am at on the site. The website is broken down with large landscape images and short paragraphs of text for each image. Their layout is consistent and every style is carried throughout the website. No.9 Park emphasizes their main content by making the text pop with white text over the images and solid dark colors.

Six Penn Kitchen does a really good job implementing Krug’s five important “things” by putting very little text on the home page, to showcase their dishes and have the customers want to seek more if they are interested in trying out the restaurant. In the book, Krug also stated that putting more into a to make the page shorter helps with people being able to see the content so that they do not have to scroll anywhere. Six Penn does a really good job implementing this on their homepage. No.9 Park, on the other hand, makes you scroll up and down to see the content. Which makes it hard for the user to skim through the website. It makes the user slow down, and that is not how you really use a website. This makes the website harder to navigate around because you can only scroll. However, both of the websites have a clear hierarchy. You can tell what’s the most important content on the website and what is secondary. Even though Six Penn Kitchen does not have much on their site, they omitted any needless words to help the users skim through the site without thinking too much about it.

In my opinion, I thin No.9 Park draws more attention to me than Six Penn Kitchen because it has more content to explore. When you land on No.9 Park, you land on the home page with an arrow that tells you to scroll down so you can read more about their “Chef Barbara Lynch’s Flagship Restaurant in Boston’s Beacon Hill.” They also have a very clear navigation menu, so if you want to know about something then you just press on it. It is also easy to navigate from one page to the other. In addition, it is very easy for me to locate the home page because you just click on the site id and (poof!) it takes you back to the homepage. They also have more clickable links that Six Penn Kitchen.

Posted on

Week 6 – Game Design

Prototype Playtest: Destination Stranded!

The playtest went very well because I received a lot of good feedback on the game rules and concept. The game card types seemed to work well but the duration of the game was too long due to the difficulty of finding the cards needed to win. This will be solved by either introducing a cooperative element, less matching needed, or having duplicates of those cards.

Game Review

Bang! has an American wild west theme in which players are on unknown teams and must find out who the other players are. The game rules seemed rather easy to learn but many player actions seemed random and not as caused as it would seem. The players had to eliminate other players not on their team without causing other players to notice their motives. I think this could be a gateway game because of its easy to learn ruleset and replayability.

Posted on

Week 5? Games and review

Cantan was a really fun game. I really liked the idea of each time you play the game, there is a different playground to play on. I learned that I like trading and collecting games, making sure that you have more paths, settlements, and roads to get to other environments to collect more cards and make more things. Splendor went quicker than Cantan, but I also enjoyed that game.  Again, you needed to trade and spend money to collect more items.

 

Building Games:

Ingredients:

-cook/trade

-Thanksgiving

 

Art thieves

  • Get the most expensive art
  • trade/money
  • work

 

Posted on

5 Building Game Ideas

Desmond Rossignoli

  1. Warped Space – I am not sure how this game is to be played, but I envision players placing new tiles and expanding the board.  Tiles would come in shapes that tesselate (such as triangles, diamonds, and rectangles), and would have grids on them which the player could move along.  The grid squares would be varied in size, and proportioned 1:4:16.  This would allow players to move quickly on some areas of the board, and quite slow in other areas.
  2. Obstacle Source – Players will increase their stats (jumping, running, climbing, dodging, etcetera) while collecting obstacles.  Players may play obstacles in front of each other, ideally building up an obstacle course in front of each player.  At the end of the game, the players run their courses simultaneously, and the first to the end is the winner.
  3. Demonlords – A new layer of hell is being developed, and God has appointed some new Demon Lords to take charge.  As the new layer of hell begins to expand, players will take over swathes of land, build up various torture rooms within their territory, and populate their rooms with sinners as they begin to flow in.
  4. I Want to be the Dungeon Master – Ever play a round of Dungeons & Dragons where everyone wants to be the Dungeon Master?  I know your pain, which is why in this game, each player plays as a dungeon master, competing for various tiles to add to their dungeon, placing treasure and monsters as they go.  In phase 2, each player randomly gets assigned a dungeon other than their own, which they must survive and loot.
  5. Sanitation Frustration – A cooperative game where pollution gets placed on an ever-growing map, and players must work together to fix the environment.
Posted on

Week 4 Board Game Reflection

Desmond Rossignoli

Of the two games brought in today, my group only had the opportunity to play Nano-bots (because of interviews).  Fortunately, RMU’s Tabletop Club will be purchasing Carcassone and its expansions soon, which will give me the opportunity to experience it in the future.

Nano-bots was frustrating to play but in a good way.  Not only were moves extremely strategic, but they also provoked loud debates between players, advising alternate moves (which might be more advantageous).  I enjoyed this atmosphere a lot, as it introduced a cooperative element into an otherwise competitive game.

The third act came very late in the game, as it took a while for any of the players to get a firm lead.  If I had to guess, I would say that the mechanics of this game were developed (mostly) before a theme was concocted.

Posted on

Death Sentence Rules

Death Sentence – Desmond Rossignoli

Materials Included:
6 Play Mats
120 Noun Cards + 5 Blank Nouns
120 Verb Cards + 5 Blank Verbs
48 Adverb Cards + 2 Blank Adverbs
48 Adjective Cards + 2 Blank Adjectives
48 Location Cards + 2 Blank Locations

Set-up:
1. Shuffle all of the cards into one deck
2. Each player starts with a play mat in front of them
3. Deal 5 cards to each player
4. The player who read a novel for leisure most recently begins, and play proceeds clockwise.

On Your Turn:
1. Draw 1 card
2. Place 1 card from your hand to the corresponding space on your mat
3. Trade 1 of your cards with a random card from one of your opponents

End of Game:
After the 10th round, the game is over, and points are tallied.
1. Earn 1 point for each card present in a complete sentence
2. Each player chooses their favorite sentence which they did not write, and awards 1 pt to that player (this step is skipped in a 2-player game)
3. The players vote together for their favorite sentence, and award it 2 points
4. In the event of a tie, the person with the most verbs/nouns in their hand is the winner.  If there is still a tie, the player who was last in the turn order (between the tied opponents) is the winner.

Prototype Play Mat Format:
[Verb] and [Verb][Adj] by [Noun]
[Adv][Verb] in [Location]
[Adv][Verb] by [Noun]
Killed by [Noun] in [Location]
Death by [Adj][Noun]
[Verb] by [Noun]

Posted on

5 Ideas for Card Games

  1. “Who Said It?” 2-6 players: Based off a tv show/movie. A quote is laid in the center of the playing area, players will have cards with the characters names from the show, and the first player to lay down the correct name wins the round. The player who gains the most cards wins.
  2. “Finish the Lyric” 2-6 players. Cards will be color coded by genre. Part of a lyric is placed in the center of the playing area, each player will write down the next line. Whoever gets the line correct wins the round, the player with the most correct answers wins.
  3. “Stars” 2-4 players. 16 stars will be placed around the table. Each round player will pick up and discard one card. Per round, the player will pick up a card with a task (ex. lay 4 spades). Whoever completes their task first takes a star. The player that collects 6 stars first wins.
  4. Multi-Solitaire. 2-4 players. One person lays down a card and calls whether they want it built up or down. Other players must build up or down. ex. player 1 lays down a 2 and wants to build up, player 2 will lay a 3, player 3 will lay a 4. If you don’t have the correct card on your turn, you must draw 2.
  5. 2 players. Each player has 6 cards in hand . They simultaneously choose one card for their opponents hand and the highest card wins the round. The player to get to “50” first wins.
  6. Lyrical “Cards Against Humanity” One player puts down a card that contains an existing lyric. All players put down a card that could serve as the next line. The player who laid the initial card chooses the best.
Posted on

Objectified Response

Objectified was a very intriguing documentary to me. It helped point out things about designing that I have not given a lot of thought to, such as how much design goes into objects and how everything we interact with was designed very specifically to meet the needs of the user. Designers have to think about the majority of people that will be using the objects and design for them and not the individual. While I do believe this is important, I also think sometimes focusing on the individual can help pinpoint problems and can help identify problems that a mass of people are experiencing. This would be like the peeler that is designed in the documentary for arthritis. It can be hard for them to use small and simple objects, but without the husband noticing his wife struggling, it would not have been brought to the attention of designers as a problem that needed a solution.

The documentary also brought up some questions about design that I had not given thought to previously. For example, what will happen to the design, as not everything lasts forever? What happens when it serves it’s purpose? It can be hard to create something that eventually fades from existence, so how do you create something that stands the test of time? This may be related to environmentally friendly materials that will not harm the environment when disposed of, but also should make designers think of it’s usefulness now and whether it will still be needed or it will become obsolete by users. Building things to be permanent was once normal, as disposing of these objects was not thought of as a problem a while back.

I also found it very interesting how the designers personality comes to play. From talking about the first time a designer saw an Apple product and the amount of personality it had, to the authenticity of the product to what it is. This would be like the faces on the cars and how humanistic elements are being handled on inanimate objects. The design should be, as mentioned in the documentary, authentic to what it is, emotionally and functionally.

One thing that really hopped out to me is that the individual character being given to something that is mass produced can be hard, and that’s what designers should be looking for. With art, if you like something or are moved by it, it is affecting you personally because that moment comes to you as you are viewing the art. Designers should strive for that kind of emotional impact on the users, especially because the objects are used so often they become a part of “the family.” People attach memories to objects, and as the one designer mentions, we can hold on to objects longer because of this by remembering them as “the chair dad always sat in,” or “the vase that mom always used.”

I also found it particularly interesting that we design from familiarity as well. It was mentioned that cameras were designed at first due to film, but now, even though that design isn’t necessary, we still use the same shape of cameras for DSLR’s even though it does not necessarily need to be that way. We notice bad design, from poorly designed hotel rooms and chairs, and we are uncomfortable but do not fix it. We do not give much thought to the tools and objects we are using, even though they have been designed for us.

Design is much broader of a topic than I originally thought and this documentary helped bring some of the aspects of design to my attention. I particularly liked the variety of designers and how they all spoke of their own personal ways of designing, but they were all mostly saying the same thing. I love that design is so personalized but at the same time so consistent.

Posted on

Scope vs Strategy

Our app is being designed to help a potential user, Jerome, more efficiently put gas in his car on his way to work. During the process of developing this app, the creative team discussed that not only was the “big picture” to make his morning better, but we wanted the app to inform users on where and how to save their money at different gas stations, create a user-friendly experience for each app user, avoid having to see so many people for one small process, as well as give them security and accessibility. In doing so, there were a lot of different tools and features we wanted the app to possess.

We imagine the app to allow the user to connect to their device like Apple wallet and allow the user to connect all of his/her membership cards to any gas station they use to be stored within the app. This eliminates the need to carrying dozens of cards in their wallet. The app would then be able to compare prices for gas within in a certain location radius that the user has selected. Once the station was selected, the user can then order their gas ahead of time and have the pump ready to pump gas for you when you arrive there; the amount of gas you need and the payment would already be programmed into this order as well. The more you use the app, the more rewards you get through the app’s awards program. The programs also tie into store-specific rewards programs that allow you to earn specific things from each station once you collect a certain amount of points. The app also alerts your car when gas is low and tells you if you forgot to put the gas cap back on before you leave the pump. On a more technical note, the app comes with a support feature that allows users to troubleshoot any of their problems or concerns. It is also protected via password or thumbprint so no one can steal your card information or charge you for gas that you aren’t getting.

Posted on

Review #2: Keep Portland Weird

For this review, I chose Keep Portland Weird. It was one of the first ones on the page, so I clicked on it, and was immediately intrigued by the site. It opens up with an animation, then one click allows you to enter the website. It comes up with a list of the alphabet, which totally caught me off guard at first, but each letter lists a different thing to do or about the city. Each letter is a different color, but none of the colors fight with each other, and come from an analogous color scheme. Chapter 2 discussed the different feelings given by each color, which was definitely utilized when choosing a color to fit the letter. For example, C is for crocheting, which is a calming activity, and is represented in a blue color. The text said blue is a color that can give a sense of calmness. Also, the letters have a background that appears like a pattern, but is an image from what the letter is describing. It is very clever and a great way to get the user to click on the letter. It is also super great because each letter is different already, and then once the letter is clicked on, it pops up with its own analogous color scheme. A short description is given, and a button is displayed in the upper left corner to go back to the home page, or there are up and down arrows on the right side to navigate forward or backwards through the letters. There is basically no room for user error, which makes the site extremely easy to use. I love it and think it is so so beautiful and well done.

Posted on

Review 2: Single Page Site

Z Creative Labs

Z Creative Labs’ single page site uses only black, white, gray, and pink in terms of color. The page scrolls from top to bottom. Along the side of the page there is a navigation bar that has an arrow pointing down to further emphasize the way the page is meant to be navigated. As you scroll there is a “Get in Touch” button in the top right corner that is clickable to contact the creators. At the bottom right corner there is a “Return to Top of Page” arrow that moves with you as you scroll. Most importantly, Z Creative Labs’ logo scrolls with you along the top left of the page.There are drawings that are “drawn” in the background of each section of the site to match the information that is being provided. These drawings are moving and are actively “drawn” when you scroll over its section. All of the drawings and uniform colors provide a sense of unity in terms of design. As you scroll down the page the title of the subject is in bright pink and is the largest font size in each section, which makes it easy to scan and read and see if it is the information you are seeking. The content is very straightforward and written in in a way that is easy to understand with common, everyday terminology.

 

The single page site for Z Creative Labs creatively depicts their company’s purpose in a creative and effective way. The consistency with color, graphics, movement, navigation, and scrolling capabilities works for them. It is easy for any user to find the information they seek. The site is easy to scan, read, and interpret the content provided. The site is easily navigated due to the scrolling, navigation bar, and clickability.

 

Posted on

Review 1

As a person that plays a lot of video games, and often does so with friends, I often need to find a way to host a game so everyone else can play while I am in class or just away from my computer. I find that leaving my computer on to run a game server is an option, but it can stop me from performing other tasks. For a game like Modded Minecraft, Nodecraft is the best choice when it comes to server hosting. Nodecraft.com is a website dedicated to letting people have their own server for gaming, without using their own computer. This means that the server will stay up and running 24/7 because it is not your own computer.

Starting off I went in knowing that I wanted a server that could run the SkyFactory 3 modpack. From the homepage there was no search bar and a menu with six buttons. Of those 6 buttons my mind went straight to pressing “Pricing”. I came to this deduction before looking at the other 5 buttons labeled “Home” (which was already highlighted), “Community”, “Blog”, “Support”, and “About Us”. After clicking “Pricing” it took me to a screen with six different plans and from past knowledge I knew I needed at least 3GB of RAM to run a server playing SkyFactory 3. I clicked the “Order” button on this new page under the plans and was amazed by what came up:

After revisiting the website for this assignment, I noticed something rather unique to Nodecraft that sets them aside from the competitors. When I click on “Order” for a server it doesn’t just show me the plans like other websites, but it also shows me the game types someone can run on each plan. This is unique to this website and highly useful to consumers. As I was using their function for checking the game types I noticed that it was titled “Customize Your Order”. This option had a slider that showed the game types and also changed the plan for you. This slider brings up a good point from the readings; “Faced with any sort of technology, very few people take the time to read instructions” (Krug 26). I believe that in this one instance that falsifies this statement. When someone is put into this situation they are faced with an option once more. Do you want to make sure this works for your game? If yes, then use this nifty slider. It’s an option that also may change the plan and the way the user is thinking.

So I put the plan into the cart and it took me directly to the cart. The most difficult part of buying this plan is the fact that you must have an account to use it. The most thinking I have had to do on this website has become the making of an account, and even that is easy.

The website was easy to use and made me think twice. The only thing that really needed to be changed was the cart. I was directly linked to the cart the first time I put an order into it. When I backed out of the cart to the homepage I didn’t see the cart anywhere. After looking everywhere I clicked on the “Pricing” tab again and then saw the cart. It would have been so much easier to use if the cart was also on the homepage.

 

Krug, Steve. Don’t Make Me Think!: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability.

Berkeley, Calif: New Riders Pub., 2006. Print.

Posted on

Week One Questions

1.) The main purpose of Apple’s website is to promote, advertise, and sell their products. Not only that but they want to sell the ecosystem that comes with their products. If you get the new iPhone, then you need to get the wireless headphones to go with it, and maybe a MacBook to sync all of your information with. The website remains simplistic and informative with large pictures and as little wording as possible (Unless of course, you enter the ‘help’ or ‘learn more’ sections). This clear and concise look promotes ease of use and great user experience.

2.) Facebook’s wall is fairly simple to navigate with the main focus on what the user wants to see. Facebooks ads are all based on what you are liking within the domain. Not only is the first option on the feed to post about one’s personal opinions at the time, but there are quick links to your favorite pages displayed on the left side. In addition, the feed only shows posts from your friends. Facebook is a more personalized experience. If you have yet to join facebook, when you reach the homepage, there is a green button, which is standing out against the typical blue color scheme, to create an account. The set-up structure is very simple, sequential, and direct.

3.) Sequential: such as an online test or a book, Hierarchal: Corporate images like Apple, Organic: Wikipedia or educational sites, Matrix: Amazon, News

4.) Huffington: Navigation=30 Content= 70, Google: Navigation=10 Content=90, Wikipedia: Navigation=15 Content=85, Etsy: Navigation=30 Content=70

5.) They use emphasis of color and cleanliness of design to focus largely on their designs and works as a whole.

Posted on

Week 1 Questions

Ricky Petticord

Week 1 Questions

 

  1. The goals of Apple’s website are to communicate the value of their products to potential buyers through sleek, concise layout and navigation and to provide support for existing customers using the same principals. Apple uses user segmentation to break their site into chunks related to specific products and support sections. Apple addresses the needs of a user who just purchased a new macbook by offering a support tab and a search tab alongside tabs for their products on the home page. A user seeking support for their new device has likely been to the site before, and having these sections in a familiar and easy to access section is helpful to the user. From there, a welcoming and understandable page provides several options, with basic information up front and a well designed layout for more experienced users to find the information they need.

 

  1. Facebook’s wall is loaded with content and user functions. These include a search feature, scrolling newsfeed with status updates from friends and subscribed pages, a post widget allowing users to share text status updates, photos, videos and pages, a notification panel, messenger, event reminders, trending news stories, event reminders, page manager and an explore feature. These all allow the user to connect with every feature that Facebook offers. Facebook’s signup page is much more basic. If offering new users a sign up field directly from the home page in order to create an account and access content within Facebook.

 

  1. The four architectural approaches to information structure are hierarchical, matrix, organic, and sequential. Fonts.com laregly followers a hierarchal structure with a navigation bar holding the site features containing further navigations options when a user selects one. Ebay uses a matrix structure, giving shoppers the ability to filter through different different options to customize their browsing experience. Google uses an organic approach, with a search feature in the center of the page. A user can search, then click through options such as images, and videos or access the account section to move to Maps, the Play Store, Gmail, Drive, and more. Sequential architecture organized information in a step by step approach, and is often used for checkout sequences such as on Amazon, where a user clicks through each page to the next.

 

  1. The Huffington Post home page is about 10% navigation and 90% content. The navigation bar rests at the top of the page, and as the user scrolls they are flooded with an endless stream of new stories and opinion pieces. Google is all navigation. A search bar rests neatly on the center of the home page, with some small navigation icons in the upper righthand corner. Wikipedia is similar, offering the user a language choice and a search bar. However, if a user goes directly to the home language page (such as en.wikipedia.org), it is about 10% navigation on the left hand side and all content from there. Wikipedia uses embedded contextual navigation through hyperlinks in the copy of the wiki articles themselves. Etsy’s home page primarily offers all navigation, giving users a selection tools and a hierarchal navigation system to select which category they want to search through.

 

  1. Landor.com uses a one page design with bright images, colors, and clean typography to draw the reader in and throughout the page. This approach reduces the possibility that the user will be distracted by some other clutter on the page.