Starting this project, I had to read Designing with the Mind in Mind : Simple Guide to Understanding User Interface Design Guidelines by Jeff Johnson. To help understand the theory given for me, I had to make a prototype design. In my theory, a main focus to it had to do with memory and attention.
To help other’s understand my theory, as much as showing my own understanding of it, I created this memory game prototype. It’s intentions were to focus both on the amount of attention a user had to put towards the game, as well as challenge their memory based on their amount of attention given.
The First Steps
After reading the chapter provided, I had to begin writing down and sketch ideas of how to best build a design to help explain the theory. A few memory game ideas were thrown around. One option had been finding the difference between two illustrations on a time limit. The other was a ‘Simon Says’ style game. A flash card color memory game (which is where this current prototype came from). Then it was deciding between a order of colors or randomly choosing colors. Once I changed my approach, however, that became more clear.
Once the decision was made to do the color memory game, I had to decide the best approach. At first I had been planning to build it in the form of flash cards. However, I had really wanted to bring it to a digital format. With very little knowledge of how, I began to review what options I had available. I could create an animation, a video clip, and create it that way. That had been one option, but then I came to realize what Adobe XD had to offer.
Building the Game
I had absolutely no experience with Adobe XD. However, I did not let that prevent me from learning and trying to build my game in it. So I went to work, testing how the program worked and looking up YouTube videos to help in teaching me the basics. Once I came to a quick understanding of some of the tools, I went to work.
It took only a couple hours to make the quick prototype. From there, I tested it multiple time’s to make sure it was just right. I didn’t need anything extravagant, just something to get the point across. I then had a friend test it for me, to see how many times she had to play before she succeeded in the game. A total of three times it took her before she won.
A Success
With a small handful of people testing it, it has come clear to me that it was a successful prototype as I had hoped. The colors had just been long enough to challenge the memory. With attention so focused on trying to remember the colors, and with the colors flashing quickly between multiple options, it became more and more complicated. This helped prove the theory I had been given, and as well had been a fun project to test.
If you want to try the game out for yourself, click here!
