hooray for ux!

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@cattsmall @cattsmall Hooray for UX!

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A presentation for General Assembly's UXDI course in the spring of 2014. I discuss UX, game-making, and how I got involved with both fields. I then share advice for those who are interested in UX and/or making games.

TRANSCRIPT

Page 1: Hooray for UX!

@cattsmall@cattsmall

Hooray for UX!

Page 2: Hooray for UX!

@cattsmall

I’m Catt Small.I’m in love with user experience,

coding, and games!

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

● Product Designer at SoundCloud

● Game player and maker

● Organizes events via Tech Under Thirty

● Teaches women to make games via The Code Liberation Foundation

Me in a nutshell:

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

● How I became a user experience designer

● How I began making games

● Advice for game makers

● Advice for UX designers

We’ll talk about:

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@cattsmall

User ExperienceAnd how I got into it

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

User goals

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Business goals

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

UX Designers come frommany backgrounds

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Made blog templates

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Became a web designer

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Learned about IA

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Hired as an Interface Designer

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Hired as a Product Designer

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Now at SoundCloud!

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

What did you do before UX?

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@cattsmall

Making GamesMy path to game development

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Game design is aboutcreating systems

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Good games are well-designed

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Played games as a kid

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Made dress up dolls

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Collaborated with friends

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Made game jam games

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Joined Code Liberation

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

How many of you want to make games?

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@cattsmall

Advice for game makersNYC is a hub for game makers. Be a part of it.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make as many games as you can.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make games alone

Zora Ball. Photo by Curtis Ball

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make games with friends

Buttered Toast Studios team

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Go to game jams & hackathons

https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2014/01/28/global-game-jam/

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Prototype before you go high-fidelity.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Sketching

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Paper prototyping

http://mondaybeginsonsaturday.com/2012/02/29/paper-prototyping/

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Pseudo-code programs

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Be your ownproject manager.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make the important parts work

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Evaluate each nice-to-have feature

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Remember that games don’t have to

be “fun”.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Fear

Amnesia, © Frictional Games

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Joy

Rayman Legends, © Frictional Games

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Sadness

Contrast, © Compulsion Games

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Excitement

Prism Shell, © Brooklyn Gamery

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Games are about

Memorableexperiences

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Be relevant.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Share your knowledge

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Remember names and faces

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Converse via Twitter

#gamedev & #screenshotsaturdays

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Attend local events

NY Game Makers Meetup NYC Indie Games Facebook Group

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Attend conferences

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

How many of you go to industry events?

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

How many of you can’t afford to go to

industry events?

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

In summary:● Make as many games as you can.● Prototype ideas before jumping in.● Manage your time well.● Don’t let feature creep kill your project.● Don’t worry about fun, but rather

engagement and satisfaction.● Go to local events and conferences.

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@cattsmall

Advice for UX DesignersSome things I’ve learned over the years.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Use data to inform your decisions.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Read design books

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Talk to your demographic

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Design based on logic

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Accept imperfection.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Failure helps you learn

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Iterate designs constantly

Ideate

PrototypeTest

Learn

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Collaborate with others often.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Involve other teams

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Ask for feedback

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Make things often.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Experiment with new ideas

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Share your projects

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Go to events.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Local events

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Conferences

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

In summary:● Research and use data to inform decisions.● Accept imperfection.● Collaborate and ask for feedback.● Make things as much as possible.● Share your work with others.● Go to events and socialize.

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@cattsmall@cattsmall

Thank you! Questions?Think of questions later?

Tweet @cattsmallEmail [email protected]