So here's a surprise - I found myself amidst a sea of enthusiastic gamers at a game con. This unexpected journey into the world of gaming helped me discover how the UX principles I work with every day have found a home in an industry I'm not so familiar with 🎮
This weekend, a friend invited me to ExileCon, a gaming event for fans of Path of Exile. Although I'd never played the game or any similar games like Diablo, I thought, why not? Let's jump in and see what happens. To my surprise, I stumbled upon some intriguing applications of UX principles in the gaming world.
🧠 Let's start with cognitive load - that's the mental effort required by your users to process and understand the information in your product. Given that our cognitive capacity is a limited resource, we, as designers, need to make information clear and easy to understand.
This principle was executed brilliantly in Path of Exile. For instance, when designing the game items, the team ensured that all the shields faced the same direction. This meant that even with a quick glance, gamers could identify an item, reducing their cognitive load. Considering there are hundreds of different items in the game, ordering them in a way that's easy to recognize and choose is a fantastic way to keep the cognitive load low.
Next, let's talk about reducing friction. When you're playing a game, unexpected obstacles or confusion can throw off your whole experience. Path of Exile made some smart moves to avoid this. In the upcoming game version, Path of Exile 2, the developers have come up with an inventive way of introducing new information without disturbing gameplay.
Let's say a gamer arrives in a new environment and needs information about that location. Instead of popping up a notice board or having the gamer return to an information center, the game allows you to summon an NPC (a non-player character, like a bounty hunter) who can read the scenario and provide you with the info you need. This ingenious solution helps gamers understand the story without pausing gameplay or disrupting the narrative flow 🗣️
These gaming moments may seem trivial to non-gamers like me, but to see the crowd's reaction to tiny details - cheering and clapping - was quite an experience. Whether it was the option to pet a puppy in the game, or the ability to create unique gemstones to customize character skill sets, every little enhancement was met with jubilation. To me, this was a powerful demonstration of knowing and listening to your customers - the bedrock of good UX 👏
ExileCon was a great reminder that the principles of UX design apply far beyond apps and websites. It's not just about arranging pixels on a screen, it's about understanding your users and creating an environment that responds to their needs. Whether you're designing a software interface or a fantasy world, the principles remain the same 💡
#UXDesign #GamingIndustry #UserExperience #PathOfExile #ExileCon #beartalk
我惊奇地发现自己在一个游戏展会上，周围是数千名热情的玩家们。这次意想不到的游戏世界之旅让我发现，我每天工作中用到的用户体验原则在我并不熟悉的行业里找到了应用🎮
这个周末，一个朋友邀请我去ExileCon，这是一个为《流放之路》游戏的粉丝举办的活动。虽然我从来没玩过这个游戏，或者类似的游戏，比如《暗黑破坏神》，但我想，为什么不呢？去看看会发生什么。令我惊讶的是，我在游戏世界中发现了一些有趣的用户体验原则的应用。
🧠 首先来谈谈认知负荷——这是你的用户处理和理解你的产品信息所需要的心理努力。考虑到我们的认知能力是有限的资源，我们作为设计师需要让信息清晰易懂。
这个原则在《流放之路》中被精彩地执行了。例如，在设计游戏物品时，团队确保所有的盾牌都面向同一个方向。这意味着，即使只是快速一瞥，玩家也能识别出一个物品，从而减少他们的认知负荷。考虑到游戏中有数百种不同的物品，按照易于识别和选择的方式来排列它们，是保持认知负荷低的好方法。
接下来，我们来谈谈减少摩擦。当你在玩游戏的时候，意外的障碍或混淆可能会破坏你的整体体验。《流放之路》做出了一些聪明的举动来避免这个问题。在即将上线的新游戏版本《流放之路2》中，开发者想出了一种创新的方法来介绍新信息，而不打扰游戏玩法。
假设一个玩家来到一个新环境，并需要关于该地点的信息。游戏不是弹出一个公告板，或者让玩家回到信息中心，而是允许你召唤一个NPC（非玩家角色，比如赏金猎人）来读取情况并提供你需要的信息。这种巧妙的解决方案帮助玩家理解故事，而不需要暂停游戏或打断叙事流程🗣️
这些游戏时刻对于像我这样的非玩家可能看起来微不足道，但看到人群对细节的反应——欢呼和鼓掌——真是一种体验。无论是在游戏中有选项可以抚摸小狗，还是能够创造独特的宝石来自定义角色技能集，每一个小的增强都引发了欢乐。对我来说，这是了解和倾听你的顾客——良好用户体验的基石的有力展示👏
ExileCon提醒我，用户体验设计的原则远远超越了应用程序和网站。这不仅仅是关于在屏幕上排列像素，更是关于理解你的用户并创造一个能够满足他们需求的环境。无论你是在设计软件界面还是奇幻世界，原则都是一样的💡