Monday, April 2, 2012

Interactive Narrative [Tortoise & The Hare Adaptation]

The Tortoise & The Hare - A loose Adaptation:

Map

Title Screen


Graduation / Intro Scene




Hare's House


Hare - Inside



Tortoise's House


Tortoise - Inside

Wednesday, February 8, 2012

Elements of Interaction Design

 
The Elements of Interaction Design: 


Motion:
Motion is a trigger for action. It triggers behavior; How products behave in response to how 
people behave

Space:
Provides a context for motion. Both 2D and 3D spaces exist.


Time:
How long it takes for some action to happen and the duration it lasts for. Deals with the rhythm of the interaction.
The chair's appearance suggests the way
in which it is to be interacted with

Appearance:
The way something looks provides an indication of how to interact with the object. Everything from what material it is made out of, to the color and size.

Texture:
The sensation of an object can provide clues as to how it is to be used as well as when and where.

The Laws of Interaction Design:


Moore's:
Designers can concieve of devices that are smarter, smaller, and more powerful.

Fitts':
The time it takes to get from the start to the final target is determined by the distance to get to the target and the target's size.


Hick's:
The time it takes users to make decisions is determined by the number of possible choices they have.


Magic Number Seven:
The human mind is best able to remember information in chunks of 7 items (+ or - 2). Make it easy on the user by not requiring them to remember information for long amounts of time.


Tesler's:
There is a point where a process can't be simplified any further. The complexity should be handled / shared with the products designed.

Poka-Yoke:
Mistake proofing, or avoiding inadvertent errors. Ensures that the proper conditions exist before a process begins.

Direct and Indirect Manipulation:
Direct manipulation is closely mapped to physical experience. Indirect manipulation is interacting with something that isn't directly part of the digital object in order to alter it.

Feedback and Feedforward:
Feedback is an indication of an action being completed. Feedforward tells the user what to expect when an action is performed.

Characteristics of Good Interaction Design:


Trustworthy:
Before you use a tool, you must be able to trust it can do the job.

Appropriate:
Solutions need to be appropriate to the culture, situation and context they live in.


Smart:
Tools need to be smarter than us, being able to do work that we can't easily do alone.


Responsive:
Provides feedback and lets users know it is working on the request. Types of feedback are immediate, stammer, interruption, and disruption.


Clever:
Predicts the needs of the user and fulfills those needs unexpectedly.


Ludic:
Provides the environment and means for users to play with a product or service.

Pleasurable:
Objects that are agreeable to the eye or fit well in the hand engender good feelings in the users.

Saturday, January 14, 2012

Four Approaches to Design




User Centered Desgn (UCD)


-Focuses on user needs and goals
-Summarized by "User Knows Best"
-The user plays an active part in the design process
-One thing the designer keeps in mind is that "the designer is NOT the user"
-Fits products to people


Activity Centered Design (ACD)

-F0cuses on the behavior surrounding tasks
-Deals with Activity Theory which states that people create tools as a result of "exteriorized" mental processes
-The activity and tools needed to support it are the focus, NOT the user
-"You will get a different result if you set out to design a vase instead of something to hold flowers"



Systems Design

-An analytical approach to design
-The user is de-emphasized in favor of context
-With a goal in mind, the system is designed to check whether that goal is reached or not, as well as including tasks used in order to achieve that goal.

Genius Design

-Relies almost solely on wisdom and experience of the designer to make design decisions