Mischief Theatre and the Contract of Play

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TT Mischief Theatre and the Contract of Play

The last year or so has been pants to say the least. Personally it has taken a huge toll on my already dubious at times mental health! However, there has been one shining light since the later stages of 2020 – Mischief Movie Night In from Mischief Theatre.

Mischief Theatre is a group of very talented actors who are incredible improvisation performers. In the Movie Night In shows they take ideas from the internet and audience (Zoom and live when available) and create an improvised one hour movie. The story, characters, direction and even the music is all made up as the go along. I’ll be honest, I have never laughed as much in my life as I have at some of these shows! Read More ...

Relationships Between HEXAD Types

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It’s been a while since I wrote about the HEXAD user types, but the world does not stand still and I keep seeing them turning up in academic papers – which is amazing, so I thought it time to say a few words on things that have repeatedly come up!

I was inspired by a recent paper by Ana Cláudia Guimarães Santos, Wilk Oliveiraa, Juho Hamari and Seiji Isotani called “Do people’s user types change over time? An exploratory study ” You can grab a copy here.

Without spoiling too much, they come to many conclusions about the types, but one that stuck out for me was Read More ...

Confirmation Bias and How to Embrace Being Wrong – #UX

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When we design anything, be it user experiences, gamified experiences or even just Lego buildings – we become emotionally involved with what we are doing. We invest ourselves in the process and the outcomes of the process.

Because of this, it can be very hard for us to accept someone telling us that they think we may be wrong. When they tell us you should really have used a 4 block not a 6 block on that side of the wall to make it stronger, but we have already finished the wall – the last thing we want to accept is that they may be right and taking apart the wall would lead to a better end model! So we engage our Confirmation Bias to help us justify continuing on what may well be the wrong path. Read More ...

6 rules for surviving and enjoying social media.

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1. Don’t believe everything you see or read.

Social media has no filter, so anyone can post almost anything and they don’t always post the truth. From politicians to socialites, very often what is put out is tweaked in some ways be it the facts or the flawless texture of a models skin. Be alert to it.   

2. Do your research.

This goes hand in hand with the first rule. Sadly you can take everything at face value. It takes very little time to fact check, but use reliable news sources and websites, not gossip rags or other social media sources.

3. Don’t over share.

If you wouldn’t tell your gran don’t tell social media publically. Public social media sites like twitter, Tik Tok or Instagram are great places to share what’s on your mind, your latest talents and so on. It’s fun and can be very rewarding. However, some things just don’t need to be shared to the world, doing so can come back and bite you in the future. Many celebrities have fallen foul of drunken tweeting one day and losing their job the next!   

4. Do use the report features.

The report features on social media are their for a reason. If you see things that are inappropriate, harmful, hurtful etc, report them. It is anonymous and there to protect everyone.

5. Don’t obsess.

It can be all to easy to get hooked on social media. That’s how all the apps are designed, they want your attention for as long as possible as that’s how they make money. If you find yourself unable to sleep because you are worried you might miss something, or are anxious because you only got 1 like, it may be time to take a break or even seek some advice and help.   

6. Do have fun.

Social media is meant to be fun, so use it in a way you enjoy. It may be just reading the latest happenings in your fandom, it may be sharing your singing or photography skills etc. You can make good friends through sensible use of social media and have a great time.   Be sensible, be safe, be alert and when it stops being fun, take a break.

Final Fight and Relative Progress Bars

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Progress bars

During lockdown and thanks to our newish dog, I’ve been playing a lot of Xbox in the early mornings. I try to play games when I can, but until recently have not really had time to invest much of my life into them. But, I’ve always maintained that to understand what makes games work, you need to play them!

Anyway, I decided to have my annual play through of Final Fight, one of the greatest games of all time (I’m my opinion anyway!). As I was playing, I was analysing what was making it enjoyable (the curse of a gamification designer) and realised one small but key element. The health bars of the bad guys. Rather than just the main boss fights having a health bars every baddie has one, no matter how weak. Read More ...

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