Assignment 3

Scenario

The scenario for the use of my interfaces is really simple. The user has just downloaded and installed the game, and created a new game world. He now wants to start a new game in the created game world.

Design prototype

The prototype can be found at

http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1328320/ for the adventure game creation interface.
http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1330185/ for the fortress game creation interface.

The accompanying design notes can be found here.

QOC Documentation

The documentation diagram can be found at

http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1331054/

The accompanying documentation notes can be found here.

HTA Analysis

Because the diagram is large, please view it here:

http://www.gliffy.com/publish/1323750/

Cells in blue are optional steps that do not need to be performed for the task to proceed.

Cells in red represent complex tasks which will require a separate HTA.

Cells in green represent steps that are executed multiple times within a task.

Cells in yellow represent conditional steps that may or may not be possible depending on choices in previous steps. A rounded orangle rectangle beside the cell explains what the conditions are.

"Or" cells represent steps that exclude each other -- only one or the other step is performed for the task/subtask to be complete.

Assignment 2 (continued)

User Analysis

I have chosen to use user personas in my analysis because I think it will be easier to design a good interface with specific "people" in mind. However the end product is similar to the use of user profiles, because the personas will range over the different user profiles there are.

Persona 1 - Primary persona

Martin Chambers, IT Executive

Martin is a 27-year-old IT executive who lives in the suburbs of a big city. He has been playing computer games since the age of 12 and loves the old games that, in his opinion, are a lot more fun than the standard ones with pretty ribbons these days. He is a big fan of simulation games, having played all the "Sim" games such as SimEarth, SimCity and SimTower. Being married with 1 child, he does not have much time for games and therefore has little patience for overly complicated games for which manual reading is compulsory. He is looking for a game that has depth but is easy to pick up and play.

Persona 2

Samuel Dixon, High School Student

Samuel is 17 years old and a student at a local high school. He is an avid gamer who has over 200 games on his shelf. He enjoys his Counterstrike and Warcraft, and is also attracted by role-playing games where he can be a hero. His computer experience is limited to gaming and internet-surfing, and he cannot stand old games because they "look ugly". He has the short attention span typical of kids his age nowadays, and does not play games with a steep initial learning curve.

Persona 3

Jenny Lee, Undergraduate

Jenny is a 21-year-old undergraduate studying mathematics. She started playing games under the influence of her boyfriend. She does not like Counterstrike and Warcraft, preferring instead casual games such as puzzle games, massively multiplayer role-playing games (MMORPGs), and sandbox games where the player can just build/design/develop without having to worry too much about details and statistics. She is not very good with computers, but she has her boyfriend to ask when she needs help.

Comments

I have not included any negative personas because I feel that they consist of people who do not enjoy games of the same genre as Dwarf Fortress and therefore will not pick it up in the first place.

After this activity, I realise that creating user personas is not an easy task for people with limited life experience such as me. Therefore the personas I have created are very stereotypical and I hope it does not offend anyone!

OLE Analysis

Organisation, business, cooperation and coordination

1. What concrete measures will you take in order to involve the real users in the design and construction of the IT SYSTEM?

There is a forum dedicated to this game. I will seek advice and opinions by posting my design on the forum.

2. What will you do in order to facilitate the cooperation between the users and the developers – in order to make it successful?

Once again, the game forum provides a very good avenue for the developers and users to communicate with each other regarding the game.

3. What will you do to make sure that the IT SYSTEM really improves the work situation, actions or behaviour of the users?

I will actively seek feedback from the users via the game forum.

4. If the IT SYSTEM will be used in an organisation, what will you do to make sure that it supports the users’ being in control of their work situation, i.e. their independence, responsibility and competence?

This is irrelevant because the game will not be used in an organisation.

5. What will you do to make sure that the IT SYSTEM will improve the cooperation between the user and other people involved in mutually depending work tasks?

This is irrelevant for a single-player game because each person's game is independent of the others'.

6. If the IT SYSTEM will be used in an organisation, what will you do to make sure that it will fit and support the formal hierarchy and structure of the organisation?

This is irrelevant because the game will not be used in an organisation.

7. What will you do to make sure that the IT SYSTEM will reduce the mental and physical workload of the user?

A large part of the mental and physical workload of the game stems from the use of non-intuitive ASCII graphics and the keyboard interface. I do not intend to change the key settings because that will cause confusion for existing players of the game, but the use of more intuitive graphics and the use of a mouse-driven graphical interface (in parallel to the keyboard interface) will make it easier for everybody to play.

8. What processes and work practices (organisational and technical) will you create for dealing with problems in the use of the IT SYSTEM?

The game forum is frequented by developers and players alike and will serve as an excellent platform for communication between developers and users, as well as an avenue for users to seek help from each other.

Training, learning and skills development

9. What will you do to make sure that the users will have a positive attitude to the IT SYSTEM?

This is beyond the scope of my task. Users who decide to play this game will already have the positive attitude required, my task is to create a user interface that allows them to play and enjoy the game easily.

10. What will you do to make sure that the users will get the knowledge and skills required for efficient use of the IT SYSTEM?

There will be tutorials and manuals available online, as well as the game forum where questions can be asked and help can be sought. The community has also started a wiki where information regarding the game can be found.

11. What will you do to make sure that the users will get the knowledge and skills required for dealing with situations and problems that may arise in the use of the IT SYSTEM regarding for instance, coordination or conflicts between users, relations to other people or groups involved, etc?

This does not seem relevant to the use of a game.

12. What will you do to make sure that the users get appropriate and adequate introductory training?

Users will be encouraged to either read a quick-start guide or the tutorial before they begin playing the game. There is no organisation of the users, and therefore no formal structures and procedures, so there is no way to ensure that users are adequately trained except to make training resources obviously and readily available.

13. What will you do to make sure that the users will have sufficient time to practice using the IT SYSTEM, on their own or together with other users, when the system has been installed?

This is not relevant for the system in question.

14. What will you do to make sure that the users can adjust and modify the IT SYSTEM when they need to?

The users will not be able to adjust and modify the game within the scope of the user interface.

15. What will you do to make sure that the IT SYSTEM provides the users with opportunities for continuous training and for testing and experimenting with the system on their own?

This is not relevant for the system in question. There are no issues of training and productivity for a game.

16. If the IT SYSTEM will be used in an organisation, what will you do to make sure that the organisation allows and encourages informal knowledge support, i.e. that they can ask one another for help and help one another with solving problems?

The knowledge support for such a small game by an independent developer is inherently based on informal knowledge support, via the game forums and fan websites/wikis.

17. What will you do to make sure that the online help and user documentation provide appropriate and adequate support?

By subjecting the documentation to review by users of different profiles and backgrounds, and making sure that all of them are satisfied with the quality of the documentation.

18. What will you do to make sure that there is appropriate technical support easily available to the users – either experts, other users or colleagues?

This is not really relevant to the system in question. As long as the user has internet access there are game forums and wikis that provide help for the game in general. Within the user interface I will include links to these websites.

Ethics, internal relations and relations to society at large

19. Will there be any ethical problems or conflicts in the organisation where the IT SYSTEM will be used?

There might be a problem if players cannot stop playing..

20. Will the IT SYSTEM cause any ethical problems or conflicts?

I do not foresee any such problems.

21. What groups, individuals, organisations, etc, will in any way be affected by or have a stake in the development, use or mere existence of the IT SYSTEM? (Including society at large and the environment.)

There are no effects from the development and use of the game.

22. What values, interests, duties, standpoints and attitudes are involved in the use of the IT SYSTEM?

The game is still in its early embryonic stages and is about entertainment and relaxation. It is the high-tech, adult equivalent of a set of toy building blocks. There are no major issues involved in the use of the game except for the danger of addiction.

23. What effects will the IT SYSTEM have on each of these values, etc? Will the IT SYSTEM fit certain values and conflict with others? What values and how?

Such issues are largely irrelevant when considering the use of a computer game.

24. What will you do to make sure that the use of the IT SYSTEM will be optimal with regards to ethical aspects? For instance, adapt the design of the product, user training, organisational changes, inform stakeholders, etc? How exactly are you going to succeed with this?

Ethically, it is bad if users spend too much time playing the game and not enough time on their duties and responsibilities. One idea I saw in another game is to display the current real-world time in the main window -- it serves as a reminder to the user that time is passing while he is playing the game.

Assignment 2

Introduction

Dwarf Fortress is a free game developed by Bay 12 Games, an independent game developer. It creates persistent gameworlds where players can choose to be an adventurer or choose to manage a group of dwarves who are building a new fortress. It is currently still under development, and the developers have chosen to neglect the user interface and concentrate on adding new gameplay features as well as refining existing ones. Therefore, the game is played solely by the keyboard, with different keys representing different commands. The game's use of ASCII graphics and archaic keyboard interface makes the game daunting for new players to pick up, however Dwarf Fortress has gathered a small fanbase due to its innovative gameplay. It is refreshing to find a game with such interesting gameplay in an time dominated by cookie-cutter games that merely seek to distinguish themselves in terms of graphical detail.

Proposal

I propose to design a new interface or Dwarf Fortress, that is visually appealing and easy to learn and use. The new interface will allow existing users to play the game with greater ease, and allow new users to start enjoying the game more quickly. However, due to the complexity of the game, I will limit myself to designing the interfaces for only a few parts of the game, namely the game creation screens for the adventure and fortress modes.

Screenshots of Dwarf Fortress: