[IGDA Mobile-SIG List] Hi

[DrDon]

As an old arcade guy, phones share a number of UI/design issues with
arcade games both in terms of the interface as well as overall game
design. One of the biggest design constraints that affected UI and
controls for arcade games was the need to get no less than $.25/minute
in order for the game earn enough to be worth an operator's investment.

Phone games have a similar though not so obvious constraint (among many
others). You have to grab the player fairly immediately. I think this is
where most phone games fall short. Part of it is due to UI and usability
but a significant part is due to poor design for the platform.

User experience design and usability is only part of it. Is there a
difference between a user experience designer and a game designer? It
may well be that phone game companies could benefit from at least some
consulting with a good HCI or UI person.

One problem I've noticed is that many games do not know how to live on
such a tiny screen. I'd be really curious to know what aspects of UI you
see as falling short.

dd

Wendy Fischer wrote:

> I've been working on mobile games for over a year, and I've been doing

> mobile interface design for a couple of years. 

>

> I think there's a couple of things - 

>

> 1) What the state of user interface design and usability in the mobile

> gaming industry?  From my observation, while usability and user

> experience is a big concern, there doesn't seem to be a lot of industry

> support for user experience design and usability in the mobile software

> development process.  The focus is on shipping ASAP, not taking some

> extra time, following a user centered design process, doing usability

> testing and shipping later.

>

> 2) Are mobile gaming companies employing UX designers? Most demos I've

> seen of products seem to be designed by a developer or a product

> manager, not a designer. A presentation at Mobile Monday comes to mind

> where a DChoc product manager with a development background designed the

> UI.

>

> 3) What are companies currently doing to improve the user experience of

> mobile games?

>

> Obviously there's many design issues and factors associated with mobile

> games, with multiple phones, multiple mobile OS's, porting, multiple

> development platforms, variations on the network experience (Verizon vs.

> sprint, for example) that can impact game design for multiplayer

> games.....I can go on -- there's so many, that impact the design of the

> game that it makes it difficult to design one usable user experience

> that can be utilized across all the phones and carriers.

>

>

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

>

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>   



-- 

*Don Diekneite*

*Sonaural Audio Studios*

(408)799-6123

Hear us online: www.Sonaural.com <http://www.sonaural.com/>

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