2. USER INTERFACE ELEMENTS
• Graphical User Interface (GUI) means that interact with the
graphics on the screen (such as icons and menus) to make
something happen instead of with text commands.
• Widgets : GUI elements with which the user interacts such as
elements as buttons, check
boxes, icons, menus, scrollbars, toolbars and windows and often
provide some sort of visual information or clue.
• User Interface (UI) means that interact with the graphics on the
screen (such as icons and menus) to make something happen
instead of with text commands.
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3. DESIGNING GUI
• Screen Location for information
Can used graphic tricks : making the artwork for the data display
transparent or only appear when the data changes.
• Information Presentation
The advantages of primarily using icons is that they can be used
for an international audience without having to be translated.
• Menus
One problem with data in games is presenting information to the
player quickly and easily, so that the flow of the game isn’t
interrupted by repeatedly having to bring up other screens for
relevant information.
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4. COMPONENTS OF GAME INTERFACES
1.
Score
2.
Lives & Power
3.
Map
4.
Character
5.
Start Screen
There are 2 group of screen in games :
1.
In-game Interface Screens : used during the course of play
2.
Shell Interface Screens : used outside the game
*But some screens are accessible both in-game as well as outside.
(eg: pause screen)
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5. IN-GAME INTERFACE SCREENS
• Include the main playfield, the
inventory, the combat screen, and
any windows or menus with lists of
items, spells, weapons, character
statistics and other relevant data.
• The amount of information
appearing on any interface screen
and how much the player interacts
with it should be based on where the
screen appears during play and what
functionality it serves.
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6. SHELL INTERFACE SCREENS
• It’s include the installation screens, the main title screen, the game
options screens, the pause screen, top scores screen and the end of
game screens.
• All these screens have important information about game, but they
aren’t directly used when the action begins.
• Players can stop the game action to bring up these screens to save
their current position or load a saved game or change the settings
for the game and these changes don’t directly involve how the
players interact with the gameplay.
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7. TYPES OF INTERFACE
• Manual interfaces : are the hardware-based controllers, keyboardmouse combination and other input devices that players interact
with physically to play the game.
• Visual Interfaces : are either displayed onscreen at all times, or can
easily accessed by the player through the manual interface
Active : Players interact usually by clicking items displayed in the
interface (eg: menu system and action interface)
Passive : Players cannot interact with the items displayed in
passive interface. (eg: : player’s status (score, lives, energy, time
remaining or strength))
Heads-up displays (HUDs) : overlay the interface onto the entire
game action screen and wrappers which display the interface in
a smaller area of the screen (usually in the corner).
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8. ACCESSIBILITY
• Accessibility is a branch of usability that focuses specifically on
users with disabilities.
• There 5 main disability categories addressed by accessibility:
1.
Visual
2.
Audio
3.
Motor
4.
Speech
5.
Cognitive
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9. EVALUATION
• Evaluation tests the usability, functionality and acceptability of an
interactive system.
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10. WHEN TO EVALUATE?
WHY EVALUATE?
1.
Understanding the real
world.
1.
Formative evaluation: during the
development
2.
Comparing designs.
2.
3.
Engineering toward a
target.
Summative evaluation: after the
product is finished
3.
Use and impact evaluation: during
the actual use of the product by
real users in real context
4.
Longitudinal evaluation: repeated
observation or examination
4.
Checking conformation
to a standard.
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11. EVALUATION APPROACHES AND METHODS
There are 3 main evaluations approaches :
1. Usability Testing
2. Field Studies
3. Analytical Evaluation
The method used in evaluation are :
1.
Observing users
2.
Asking users
3.
Asking experts
4.
User testing
5.
Inspections (Heuristic & Walkthrough Evaluation)
6.
Modeling users’ performance
Interviews and
Questionnaires
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12. USABILITY TESTING
Measuring characteristic of users’ performance on specific tasks. (User Test)
Time to complete a task.
Time to complete a task after a specified time away from the product.
Number and type of errors per task.
Number of errors per unit of time.
Number of navigations to online help or manuals.
Number of users making a particular error.
Number of users completing task successfully.
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13. FIELD STUDIED
• Field studies is done in natural settings with the aim of understanding
what people do naturally and how products mediate their activities.
• Field studies can be used in product design to:
identify opportunities for new technology
determine design requirements
decide how best to introduce new technology
evaluate technology in use
• Data is collected by observing and interviewing people; collecting
video, audio and field notes to record what occurs in the chosen setting.
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14. ANALYTICAL EVALUATION
• Normally conducted by experts or designers to inspect potential
design problems. (expert review method).
• There are a variety of analytical evaluation technique to chose
from:
Heuristic evaluation
Guidelines review
Cognitive walkthrough
Pluralistic walkthrough
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