What can we learn about the ease of use of gambling interfaces?
The way gambling interfaces have changed over the years is quite interesting. The industry went from pull down handle slot machines to button machines to now even offering autoplay features. The gambling interfaces must be easy to use by everyone, no matter their experience with gambling machines. The machine has to be easy to use, including the buttons and how what is on the screen relates to those buttons. As a game design student, it is important to remember the importance of user interface based on your target audience. The machine designers noticed that gamblers didn’t want to be taken out of their zone by a winning animation, so they shortened it and just added music as an incentive to continue playing and stay in the zone. Learning to adapt play for every player is important when you want that player to continue playing.
What can we learn about designing for efficiency from gambling experiences?
Some gamblers were upset about the speed of play just like I stated above. This i why there are some machines that adjust to gamblers’ speed of play, so the interface will change slightly as they continue playing. If someone is going at a moderate speed the card flip animations will show, but if an experienced gambler is playing at supersonic speed the cards will only pop up on the screen without any extra animation. The designers specifically included this so players can just continue pushing their button without being interrupted by anything that would slow them down. This is also why slot machines went from handles to buttons, so the player can continue playing without having to take the time of pulling down a handle. Designing for efficiency means getting the most out of your player. You can get the most out of your player by making sure they have the resources to stay in the zone of the gameplay.
List 5 other experiences that would benefit from ‘pruning’ time:
Designers for these gambling machines want to prune time so they get the player to play more with ease. This is why machines went from handles to buttons and why some have the autoplay feature. One experience that could benefit from pruning time is the filing of paperwork at HR when you get a job. Most of the information is just repeated over and over, and it takes a long time. If HR could just have a system of getting the minimum from people they are hiring and have it automatically go in the system, the process would fly by much quicker and be easier on HR’s end. Ordering shake shack on their app before you get there also prunes time from your wait. There are also services now where you can get your groceries sent to your door so you don’t have to go hunt them down in the supermarket. Another task that can benefit from pruning time is buying shoes at the shoe store. Not all stores have their stock in an electronic system, so workers will have to go to the back and have the customer wait until they find the shoe in the right size. If these stores can expedite the processing of getting shoes to the customer so they can try them on and fall in love with them, the customer would be happy, come back, and the employee can see even more customers in a timely manner.
Discuss Nathan Leland’s quote, “Positive reinforcement hides loss.” As a game designer, how can you use this?
If you tell your player that they lost, it can get the player feeling down. “Positive reinforcement hides loss,” means that telling the player that they are almost at the castle as opposed to telling them they lost the game is going to get the player to keep playing. Same goes for helping students in school; teachers want to help students succeed in their academics but they can’t do that if they are constantly belittling the students. As a game designer, making sure you put a player’s loss in a positive light means they are more likely going to be determined to continue playing until they win.
