[game_edu] Game interface design class?

[David Farrell]

Hi,

Here at Glasgow Caledonian, I teach a class on game UI.  I put all my slides
up on slideshare <http://www.slideshare.net/unthank/presentations> (anything
tagged comu346) and you can download my coursework specification somewhere
on the course blog ( http://comu346.com )

We had a similar problem in finding good resources online.  We ended up
mixing in some non-game-specific UI stuff (traditional UI + some design
focus from Norman's Design of Everyday
Things<http://www.amazon.com/Design-Everyday-Things-Donald-Norman/dp/0385267746>,
Duarte's Slideology<http://www.amazon.co.uk/slide-Science-Creating-Presentations-Presentation/dp/0596522347>and
Tufte's
work<http://www.amazon.com/Envisioning-Information-Edward-R-Tufte/dp/0961392118/ref=sr_1_2?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1308130427&sr=1-2>amongst
other stuff) alongside the gamey stuff.  I couldn't find a single
great resource for the game stuff and so ended up using traditional UI
teachings and hunting for examples from games myself that used the technique
in question.

The class goes a bit beyond game UI in the traditional sense and talks about
data visualisation with the aim of promoting better ways of presenting data
to players.

The course syllabus this year covered:

   - Menus (using Brent Fox's
book<http://www.amazon.co.uk/Interface-Design-Premier-Press-Development/dp/1592005934>'s
   approach to flowcharts)
   - UI components (including using Krystian Majewski's excellent Mass
   Effect UI<http://gamedesignreviews.com/reviews/mass-effect-interface-fail/>breakdown
alongside traditional 'here is what a radio button is good for'
   stuff)
   - Use of text (fonts etc)
   - Use of Colour (mixing game examples, some colourblind stuff and Tufte's
   work on this )
   - Use of layering and separation (Tufte's techniques mapped onto games)
   - Micro and Macro design (Tufte again)
   - Immersion through UI (heavily based on Fagerhold's brilliant Masters
   Thesis<http://www.google.co.uk/url?sa=t&source=web&cd=5&ved=0CDIQFjAE&url=http%3A%2F%2Fpublications.lib.chalmers.se%2Frecords%2Ffulltext%2F111921.pdf&ei=3nr4TbWlLIW2hAfYnqjyCw&usg=AFQjCNEX0-OnTKT_zHSML1z3MfuDaEwIkg>on
diegetic UI - as mentioned in this gamasutra
   article<http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/4286/game_ui_discoveries_what_players_.php?print=1>
   )
   - Semiotics and Icon Design
   - Prototyping Techniques (wireframes / card-sorting / digital prototypes)
   - UI evaluation techniques (heuristic evaluation / cognitive walkthrough
   / think aloud protocol)
   - Platform constraints (use the iPhone HIG document - I tried to get a
   hold of the guideline docs for XBox and Playstation but couldn't)

The coursework assignment last year was to redesign the Dwarf Fortress UI
for XBox and this year the assignment was to redesign the UI for Solium
Infernum for the iPad.  Both of these PC games have oodles of data and game
verbs that the game struggles to present without resorting to endless
menus.

We use Flash for the technical component of the class and the student
digital prototypes are a mixture of working Flash UI and static game
screenshots.

If Jose (or anyone else here) has any ideas on how to improve this (beyond
the links already shared) please share them.

HTH

David

On 14 June 2011 22:12, Ian Schreiber <ai864 at yahoo.com> wrote:


> Thanks for the callout! I also addressed the topic in my online course from

> 2009 based on the book:

>

> http://gamedesignconcepts.wordpress.com/2009/08/24/level-17-user-interfaces/

>

> The primary focus in that blog post is on the UI of nondigital games, not

> video games, but I think there are a number of overlapping concepts between

> the two.

>

> - Ian

>

> ------------------------------

> *From:* Dan <danc at narrativedesigns.com>

> *To:* IGDA Game Education Listserv <game_edu at igda.org>

> *Sent:* Tue, June 14, 2011 3:52:31 PM

> *Subject:* Re: [game_edu] Game interface design class?

>

> While not a book focused on UI, Brathwaite & Schreiber's "Challenges for

> Game Designers" has a chapter on it. They write some excellent exercises in

> their book and the ones on UI are definitely worth looking at.

>

> That's the only resource that sprang to mind.

>

> --Dan Carreker

>

>

> -----Original Message-----

> From: Jose P. Zagal [mailto:jzagal at cdm.depaul.edu]

> Sent: Tuesday, June 14, 2011 12:30 PM

> To: IGDA Game Education Listserv

> Subject: [game_edu] Game interface design class?

>

> Hi,

>

> I'm currently developing a 10-week course on game interface design and I

> was wondering if anyone on the list wouldn't mind sharing

> resources/syllabi/assignments/etc. I'm surprised by the lack of

> resources I've found online...

>

> thanks,

>

>

> Jose

>

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

>

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

>

> _______________________________________________

> game_edu mailing list

> game_edu at igda.org

> http://seven.pairlist.net/mailman/listinfo/game_edu

>

>

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://seven.pairlist.net/pipermail/game_edu/attachments/20110615/7bf12a4f/attachment.htm>