Week 3

user experience (UX) is: 

• the look 

• the feel 

• the usability 

it is concerned about the overall experience of the use in how the players interact with a product or service. It requires a lot of research (this can count as a reference for assignments).  

it is the engineering of the player's experience during play 

• input devices can include controllers, microphones, mice and keyboards, etc. 

• output devices can include monitors, haptics, sound, etc. 

user interface (UI) is the information that is present on the screen 

• examples: health bar, armour stats, maps, inventory, ammo, adrenaline etc. 

non-diegetic is info that is not present within the game world e.g. cinematic music 

diegetic is info that is present within the game world e.g. music playing from a radio in-game 

spatial is info that exists in the game world but is only visible to the player e.g. a hovering object pick-up icon 

meta is info that is not shown in the game space but exists in the world e.g. blood splatter on the screen, dialogue and subtitles

• once some part of the story is removed from the 3D game space (see graphic) 

UI can change the feel of a game dramatically, for example the difference between The Witcher and World of Warcraft (see below)

audio is vitally important to a game and cannot be overlooked! 

audio immersion is created with ambience, sound effects, etc. 

developers should try to give players the option to adjust the audio as they need, such as turning off background music or SFX 

a zone is the in-game sounds, such as a crackling fire or the sound of a jungle. It isn't generally affected by the player 

an effect is a sound that is generally connected to the player's action, such as dialogue, footsteps, weapon sounds etc. 

an affect is the non-diegetic sound, such as atmospheric music 

an interface is the sounds that are triggered when information is changed, e.g. a clink when a coin is picked up, or inventory interaction