Day 10 + Day 11: Weekend Reflection 2

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This week, I have been researching the principles and psychology behind UI/UX design by reading books and watching a variety of GDC Vault talks exploring topics such as the Gestalt Principles, negative space, the Golden Ratio, Cognitive Load and accessibility.

I found Jim Brown's talk, Bridging the Gap Between Game Design & UX especially useful as it explored the impact UI/UX design has on gameplay and player engagement, and how designers can observe player behaviour to control challenge and fairness. For example, the Active Reload mechanic in Gears of War allows the player to get a weapon boost if they hit reload when the marker is within the sweet spot of the reload bar. If the player hits reload outside of this sweet spot, the weapon will jam and take longer to reload and the player won't receive a weapon boost. This risk and reward mechanic led to advanced players reloading early to deal huge amounts of damage and new players avoiding using the mechanic and instead emptying their clips. To balance the power of the mechanic, the design team increased the health of enemies to counteract the behaviour of advanced players and boosted the damage of the last few bullets in the clip to help new players. This decision made the reload mechanic more useful and fair for players of various skill levels and play styles while maintaining a sense of challenge.




My research into UI/UX design has led me to become more interested in it and I have decided to create UI designs for my diagnostic project. I am also considering specialising in UI/UX design for my master's and possibly my career, as during my graphic design studies I was most interested in branding and motion design, and UI/UX design enables me to combine both of these interests and apply my problem-solving skills, since I have to consider factors such as player engagement and Cognitive Load.  


Initial Project Ideas

- Redesign an existing UI system within a video game.
- Convert a TV show or film into a video game and create a UI design concept.
- Create a UI design concept for an original game concept. 
- Move an existing game to another platform (for example, PC to VR) and create a UI design concept.
- Remaster an old video game and create a UI design concept. 
- Explore accessibility in UI design. 
- Create a UI design concept for a VR game. 
- Use UI design in a unique way, such as breaking the fourth wall.
Location: Preston, UK

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