hooray for ux!
DESCRIPTION
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
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Hooray for UX!
@cattsmall
I’m Catt Small.I’m in love with user experience,
coding, and games!
@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:
@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:
@cattsmall
User ExperienceAnd how I got into it
@cattsmall@cattsmall
User goals
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Business goals
@cattsmall@cattsmall
UX Designers come frommany backgrounds
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Made blog templates
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Became a web designer
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Learned about IA
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Hired as an Interface Designer
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Hired as a Product Designer
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Now at SoundCloud!
@cattsmall@cattsmall
What did you do before UX?
@cattsmall
Making GamesMy path to game development
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Game design is aboutcreating systems
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Good games are well-designed
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Played games as a kid
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Made dress up dolls
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Collaborated with friends
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Made game jam games
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Joined Code Liberation
@cattsmall@cattsmall
How many of you want to make games?
@cattsmall
Advice for game makersNYC is a hub for game makers. Be a part of it.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Make as many games as you can.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Make games alone
Zora Ball. Photo by Curtis Ball
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Make games with friends
Buttered Toast Studios team
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Go to game jams & hackathons
https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2014/01/28/global-game-jam/
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Prototype before you go high-fidelity.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Sketching
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Paper prototyping
http://mondaybeginsonsaturday.com/2012/02/29/paper-prototyping/
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Pseudo-code programs
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Be your ownproject manager.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Make the important parts work
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Evaluate each nice-to-have feature
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Remember that games don’t have to
be “fun”.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Fear
Amnesia, © Frictional Games
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Joy
Rayman Legends, © Frictional Games
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Sadness
Contrast, © Compulsion Games
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Excitement
Prism Shell, © Brooklyn Gamery
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Games are about
Memorableexperiences
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Be relevant.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Share your knowledge
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Remember names and faces
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Converse via Twitter
#gamedev & #screenshotsaturdays
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Attend local events
NY Game Makers Meetup NYC Indie Games Facebook Group
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Attend conferences
@cattsmall@cattsmall
How many of you go to industry events?
@cattsmall@cattsmall
How many of you can’t afford to go to
industry events?
@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.
@cattsmall
Advice for UX DesignersSome things I’ve learned over the years.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Use data to inform your decisions.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Read design books
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Talk to your demographic
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Design based on logic
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Accept imperfection.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Failure helps you learn
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Iterate designs constantly
Ideate
PrototypeTest
Learn
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Collaborate with others often.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Involve other teams
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Ask for feedback
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Make things often.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Experiment with new ideas
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Share your projects
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Go to events.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Local events
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Conferences
@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.
@cattsmall@cattsmall
Thank you! Questions?Think of questions later?
Tweet @cattsmallEmail [email protected]