Andres analysis of Marlyz's Unity 3D Prototype Game „Panda”:
Marlyz's game features three scenes and starts with an Intro scene that displays a "Play" button to begin the game. Upon clicking the "Play" button, users are taken to a menu where they can choose Marlyz’s panda scene among the scenes of the other students that are not included at this stage. In the panda scene, users can interact with a 3D model of a panda using directional buttons to move it, a button to rotate it, and a grow button to upscale it. There is also a reset button to revert changes and a back-to-menu button. In the following, I highlight some pros and minor nitpicks I noticed while playing.
Pros:
- Button click indication: The game provides visual feedback through colour changes when buttons are clicked, indicating that the user's action has been registered. This follows the UX principle of affordance, making it clear to users how they can interact with the buttons.
- Instant movement feedback: The panda control buttons provide instant feedback by immediately moving the panda when clicked. This follows the UX principle of responsiveness, ensuring that the system responds quickly to user input, enhancing the overall user experience.
- Labels on buttons: The buttons are labelled with text describing the action they perform, such as "Left," "Rotate," and "Grow." This is a good practice for learnability, as it provides a clear description of the buttons' functionalities, making it easier for users to understand and use the game mechanics.
- Reset button: The presence of a reset button allows users to revert all changes made to the panda and start over. This follows the UX principle of error prevention, providing a safety net for users to undo changes or recover from unintended actions, enhancing the overall usability of the game.
- Consistent design: The game demonstrates a consistent design, including the main menu scene, buttons and the background that features a greenish Asian-themed ambient with bamboo and grass. Consistency in design helps users build a mental model of how the interface works, making navigating and understanding the game's functionalities easier.
- Background ambience: The game's background ambience, featuring bamboo and grass, creates a fitting and immersive atmosphere that complements the panda scene and adds to the overall aesthetic appeal of the game.
- Use of main menu scene: Marlyz's game utilises a main menu scene, which is a good example of reusing existing components, saving development time and effort. This follows the UX principle of efficiency, maximising usability by leveraging familiar elements across different game parts.
Nitpicks:
- Small control buttons: All buttons in the game are noted to be small, which may make it hard for users to see and click on them (especially on mobile devices). This could potentially affect the game's usability and accessibility, as users may struggle to interact with the buttons effectively. This could be improved by increasing the size and spacing of the buttons, ensuring they are easily clickable and usable, in line with the UX principle of accessibility.
- Lack of visual cues for button purpose: While the buttons are labelled with text, they could also benefit from visual cues, such as icons or symbols, to further clarify their purpose. This would help users quickly understand the functionalities of the buttons, especially for users who may not read or understand the text labels, following the UX principle of clarity.
In conclusion, Marlyz's Unity 3D prototype game demonstrates good examples of following UX principles such as affordance, responsiveness, clarity, error prevention, consistency, and efficiency. She understands how to create a simple 3D game prototype and applies the core principles of UX Design, making the game more immersive and enjoyable. The game provides feedback, uses labels for buttons, includes a reset button, maintains consistency in design, and reuses components like buttons. However, there is a potential issue with small control buttons that may affect usability and accessibility. Overall, Marlyz's game shows promising aspects of UX design, with opportunities for improvement in terms of button size and spacing.
Well done, I love it!
PS: Great work on the Panda; very impressive and cute! :)