Games and having fun with interfaces is a trend only accelerating, how nuances of gaming and physical gesture UI’s are coming to smartphones and console tasks for non-game type activities. There is much to be learned from how game designers play with experience, emotion, set-up for play/fun, and then stage it carefully so you always want more. Sometimes it’s the simplest concepts and experiences, reduced to the most basic units of fun and interactivity that are the most rewarding in a great game.
I’ve been trying out some casual games on my phone lately, seeing what elements of that experience create that “gotta play it” twist that keeps you coming back for more. The magic formula is something simple and easy to learn, hard to master. (Tetris, anyone?). Randomly, I’ve stumbled into a category of strategy games known as “tower defense”, where you set up various towers that try to slow/stop your oncoming opponents siege, wave by wave. Retro Defense from Larva Labs is one game for Android phones I like, and actually worth the few bucks I paid for it. The sound design details are great too.
Talking to a friend who also likes this style of game, he tipped me to this review of George Fan’s “Plants vs. Zombies” – a twist on the old tower defense formula. Looks fun, DIY / independent game developer, and the irreverence and use of humor in a game that battles the hyper-cute vs. undead is a great juxtoposition.
via WIRED | GameLife: Review: Masterful Plants vs. Zombies Proves Less Is More.
Blending the classic image of the rotting, ambulatory dead with adorably irreverent humor, Plants vs. Zombies is a textbook example of how to hook a wide swath of gamers with easy-to-learn, difficult-to-master gameplay. [...]
One part chess, one part “tower defense” and one part World of Warcraft, the latest creative stunner from PopCap Games is an addictive whole that’s much more than the sum of its parts. Corpses are rising from their graves, and your army of militant plants is the only line of defense between the unholy mob and the delicious brains to be found inside your suburban home. Peashooters fire deadly legumes. Cherry bombs explode. You get the idea.
It is a very funny game. You’d think that slaying hundreds of reanimated bodies would be somber or terrifying, but every level of the game offers something to laugh about, like hilarious commentary from the game’s eccentric cast: During one level, the zombies themselves send you a crudely scrawled note offering a “midnight znack” of “ice cream and brains.” By Earnest Cavalli
Why this matters: Experience designers constantly wrestle with this question: How can you keep a user experience utterly simple, yet still differentiated in a crowded market? This game works all the angles, cuteness, zombie meme (still raging), and a simple formula of fun and addictive game mechanics — but with a completely new twist visually and theme. Sometimes it comes down to a creative execution, transitions/animation, and the overall feel that’s so much greater than any single piece. It’s the little details, the ones everyone else looked over in a rush to be bigger, more powerful or “fully featured”. Catching those details, and carefully editing your offering, making people chuckle with delight – that’s the secret sauce of experience design.
Anyone played it yet?
Update: recently found a nice talk from Marcos Weskamp and Remon Tijssen at Adobe XD group on the topic of Playful Design, a thoughtful and fun presentation about exploring what makes a design fun, what are the ways to play and get an emotional response in an interface.
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