Ok so this is a little late but better late than never.
So this week we got introduced to a makeymakey, which allows us to turn almost anything (that is conductive) into a keyboard. For example play dough can represent and replace the arrow keys on a keyboard.
Using makey makey we were tasked to adapt a simple online game from keyboard to the makemakey, using whatever conductive materials we can as the controllers.
Firstly, our group got the game "Kiba and Kumba jungle run" so we decided to theme off that.
(Link if you ever wanna play its an adventure)
We decided firstly we wanted our controls to be themed. For example we made a crown, a play dough banana, a metal banana which tie into the themes of Kiba.
With this design, we found that despite it fitting the themes of Kiba, our controls were very difficult to use and confusing to figure out. Not many people tried to play our game and despite having instructions it was overall too overwhelming for the user.
We then learnt about simplicity, and how games shouldn't be overcomplicated just so then its themed. Simple designs, colours and symbols that everyone can universally reconise will make interacting with the game easier.
Taking this lesson on board we decided to change everything up a little. I made us origami samurai hats which we pointed in different directions to indicate which arrow key they represented. We made it conductive by putting a strip of copper tape which we would hook up to the makeymakey. We also implemented a wrist band the user could put on, instead of having to hold the crocodile clip or piece of tinfoil for conductivity. We also changed our game to a more reconisable; Snake. By doing this it makes it easier for someone to sit down and play our game, as the only thing they need to learn is the controls because they may already be familiar with the game.
If I was going to adapt this further, I could develop a samurai version of snake, so the controls and the game had a visual link. (As snake and samurai dont really go well together)
I decided to stay around our table during the playing of the game to get some feedback on it. People enjoyed playing, but the controls were difficult as the copper pads were too small to press, so sometimes when you hit a 'button' it dosent connect properly and messes up the game play.
To fix this issue I would have to make the copper pads/ connections / buttons larger, to avoid someone mis-pressing the button.
Overall, what I learnt from this project is that simplicity tends to be more appealing and inclusive. As if a young child got given our first game, it would be extremely difficult for them to understand. Whereas our second game they would (hopefully) have a better understanding. The use of globally reconised symbols, colours and shapes helps a product become more visually appealing and overall better for the user.
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