Lourens Botha DNB601 Blog

Week 10
Lourens Adrian Botha
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Finding a new Direction:
The feedback we received Tutors and lecturers was more negatives than anything. They couldn’t see any link between the gamers and the input interaction. And overall could vision the concept and seemed to dislike the tail for a number of reasons. This left the group quite confused, and wondered if we had both presented clear or wether to carry on with this direction.

During the group discussions, I proposed abandoning the new context/ user group and continue to develop the public place interaction concept from project 1 due to the grim future and limited options we have for the Tell- tale design. However, even with all this confusion, the group still favoured the gaming context and remain hopeful of the possibilities that could be developed to this particular scenario. So the decision was made to stick with the context/ scenario, but the Tell- tale design was scrapped and the group started from scratch. The group used probes to break down the different services steam offers and narrowed down the user group to find links we can utilize.

Through the research probes the group aimed to discover:

Metaphors through interaction
connection of form
habits
needs
latent needs
priorities
exiting trends and subcultures

Also the group noticed how the lack of storyboards made it hard for us to communicate our scenario and what we aim to achieve with the tutors and other peers, by that point, the group realized the importance of a the design narrative greatly helps the audience to understand our user and context. So a story board is produced to show how an average gamer would interact with our product during the day.

Iteractive Puzzel Game

An interesting note, while consulting with the tutors, Leonardo gave some really good advice as to confine our range and to narrow down a specific type of gamer within the broad gaming context. Also to define steam and its meaning to the user.

I personally felt that this would narrow the target audience to much, but thought it would allso make it eaisier to design some meaningfull action input/output for our model.

Focussing on First Person Shooters.

The User

The gaming industry projects digital product behaviour like no other, therefore incorporating a physical interactive product that relates back to this digital world may result in everyday use outside of the gaming realm. As gamers have multiple sub categories ie; first person shooters, MMORPG’s (massively multiplayer online role playing games), strategy and action ect. It is important to target the specific user that will best be suited toward this interactive product. Research into the chosen demographic of computer gamers that of first person shooters, showed high levels of anxiety and reactive sensory viewed as competition. By Designing a product that integrates these factors the design will benifet the needs and existing problems for the chosen demographic.

Within the gaming community reputation ultimately underpins your success. Based on status within any given game, gamers will project the need to be valued due to accomplishments or milestones reached. These Values and priorities form the online component for gamers as they can reach this status behind a computer. When interacting in a public arena social barriers are formed due to lack of face to face conversation confidence. Current accessories in the gaming industry are vital to the development for the product, due to the stylistic and aesthetic approach. Through the use of a computer program ‘Steam’ refer to appendix 1, the concept was developed to tie this system into the physical world and act as both a benefit system and social system.