Author: sharritt

HCI, Psychology, Usability

The Extra Effort for Great UX


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One of the best books I’ve ever read on User Experiences is titled “The Elements of User Experience” written by Jesse James Garrett. In the book, he begins by telling the story of a man who wakes up and wonders why his alarm clock never went off. He goes to make coffee, but struggles with

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Development, HCI, Usability

Good UX Is Good Business: How To Reap Its Benefits


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User experience (UX) design focuses on enhancing user satisfaction by improving how we interact with the websites, applications and devices in our lives. In other words, UX makes complex things easy to use. While the term “UX” is relatively new, the concept of user-friendly design has been around for generations. “Good design is good business,” the

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Gaming, HCI, Psychology, Usability

UX Without User Research Is Not UX


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Summary: UX teams are responsible for creating desirable experiences for users. Yet many organizations fail to include users in the development process. Without customer input, organizations risk creating interfaces that fail. A website’s (or product’s) success depends on how users perceive it. Users assess the usefulness and ease of use of websites as they interact with

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Gaming, HCI, Psychology, Serious Games, Simulations, Usability

Study Reveals Real Reason Behind Gaming Aggression


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A new study has revealed that gamers are more likely to experience feelings of aggression from playing a game when it is too difficult or when the controls are too complicated to master. In comparison, the research found there was “little difference” in levels of aggression when the games themselves depicted violence. Overwhelmingly, the deciding

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Gaming, HCI, Psychology, Serious Games

This Video Game Knows When You’re Scared–And Gets Scarier


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The director behind the innovative video game Nevermind tells us why biofeedback is the new frontier in gaming. In the future, horror games will know when you’re scared. And then they’ll get scarier. Proof: the currently-in-development horror-adventure game Nevermind, which just launched a Kickstarter campaign last week. The game pairs classic first-person exploration with biofeedback

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Gaming, Usability

A Football Fan’s Take on the Xbox One


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If you love the PS4 and can’t stand Xbox stuff, enjoy your romance. While I will make some references to both machines, it is not meant to be derogatory but informative. BLUF (Bottom Line Up Front) – The Xbox One is a great machine with a ton of potential. It will eventually realize said potential

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Gaming, HCI, Psychology, Simulations, Usability

From Myst to GTA V: Rockstar Nails the Branching Narrative


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What stands out about the latest release in the Grand Theft Auto series is the overwhelming size of the game’s map and storyline. However, after playing the game for a while, it becomes apparent that Rockstar Games has done an excellent job at balancing the game by utilizing multiple characters to provide just enough open-endedness

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