Interface Design For Games: Week 5: Critiquing UIs

Lecture slides are in the repository.

Midterm is next week. Review your readings, quizzes, and the lecture slides to prepare.

Homework Readings:

Ridiculous UI in film http://gizmodo.com/5418342/ridiculous-user-interfaces-in-film-and-the-man-who-designs-them/
Summary of Principles of UI Design http://www.sylvantech.com/~talin/projects/ui_design.html
GameSpy - Designing a good interface editorial (strategy games) http://www.gamespy.com/articles/491/491801p1.html
Usability First defines "User Interface Critique" http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_440.txl

Term paper: due 3/23/10

From the Usability First definition of a UI Critique: http://www.usabilityfirst.com/glossary/term_440.txl

A user interface critique may come from any number of theoretical perspectives, including historical, psychological, sociological, ethical, philosophical, economic, and artistic concerns. Deeper criticisms are often meant to be part of a long-term dialogue with society about the various impacts of our design decisions. Practical critiques are often intended simply for quickly improving our design of software and improving our purchasing decisions, based on the practical expertise of the critic, and in a more cost-effective fashion than most formal evaluation methods.

From UNC Art History handout http://www.unc.edu/depts/wcweb/handouts/arthistory.html

Instructors may want you to talk about how the formal or stylistic qualities of the object reflect or affect the time in which they were made. More specifically, you may be asked to look at the object's relationship to ideas about gender, class, artistic creation, culture, or politics associated with that time. Or you may be asked to connect artworks with the theories of a particular person.

Deep criticisms are often meant to be part of a long-term dialogue with society about the various impacts of our design decision. Criticism can be framed from different perspectives, such as:

Historical
Psychological
Sociological
Ethical
Historical
Psychological
Sociological
>Ethical

Criteria:

Write a deep criticism about 2 games focusing primarily on the UI. Use at least 2 of the Perspectives to frame your discussion. You may include practical criticisms or art history-style critiques as well, but be sure to focus on the perspectives commentary.
You must include 2 screenshots for each game. If you can not get these screenshots (screen cap, photo from tv, internet reference), you can not use the game in your essay. I need to have a visual reference on what you are discussing. Cite any images you include.
You may turn this in as a MLA style paper or you can create a web page for your text and images. Present it however you wish, focusing on a professional style.
Your essay will probably be between 750 and 1,000 words, but let the content be your guide in thoroughness.
Include a MLA style citation for any references or images you include in your paper. Also, use the References section for help with Modern Language Association citations.