Developing a New Major

chapter on prototyping – interface part starts on p. 235

interface conveys info to the player, how player controls the game, needs to be as easy to understand as possible

need to think about what special  – let form of interface derive from the function/the gameplayformal features your game has – then design accordingly – don’t wnat it to look just like every other game – (or do we – familiar genre-specific controls can help user get started quicker)

interfaces are metaphors – example of the desktop as metaphor on computers, helps user figure out what they’re supposed to do. could be related to the theme of the game – circus game has a ringmaster, rings, popcorn, performers. COuld use metaphors like a mall, a train, a farm. interface can get in thte way if it has distracting elements — exercise to do in clas s- take a metaphor possibility like farm and list all the elements and how they might fit into a game 9what part of hte metaphor might we use for the help system, for reporting their score)

natural mapping – making the game thing look like something we know from the real world (nad it works the same way to convey info – like needle moving down or to the left like needle in a gas gauge to show decreasing gas/power. Quake has a face to show health state – as health decreases the face becmes bloody and bruised. naturla mapping makes it easy for user to scan the thing and get hte  info quickly

group related interface elements on the screen and always put them in the same place on the screen so player knows where to look from screen to screen

interface needs to provide some kind of feedback that an action attempted by the player has been accepted – feedback could be visual or aural

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