Summary
This is a short experiment to test the feasibility of my area of interest and to identify initial areas and sources of research.
I will be finding a game with subjectively poorly designed UI. I will then carry out research as to whether other people find the same issues that I did and ways to improve the issues identified.
I have laid out a week-by-week plan below in order to structure this project properly.
Week 1 – UI Research
To start off this project I will be researching what makes good UI design:
– what works?
– how does it work?
– what doesn’t work?
– why is good design important?
Once I have understood these concepts, I can begin to evaluate what makes poor UI design.
Week 2 – Game Research
I will review games that I have previously played from a more critical point of view – looking for issues that I found in UI during my time playing them.
I will then research games that wider groups of players have had issues with.
I will then check these against each other and hopefully I will find a game that, based on multiple opinions, has poorly designed UI.
This game will be ideal to look into as I will have both primary research and secondary research to back up my opinions, evidence and conclusions.
Week 3 – Prototypes
Having found a game with poorly designed UI, I will create concepts for HUD layouts or menus that reflect and improve upon the issues found by the players.
I am aiming to create my own version of the improved UI in order to explore potentially better layouts or colour schemes.
Week 4 – Conclusion
I will write a short (200 – 300 word) summary of the project and reflect on my findings. In my conclusion I will discuss:
– what I found
– what I need to research further going forward
– how my understanding of UI has evolved