I’m sure lots of us know what this is, but let’s explain it for the people who came in late:
1. Someone starts a story
2. Someone else retells it after ONE exposure to said tale
3. Lather, rinse and repeat for X iterations
4. Gather the mutations and laugh at the results
I don’t want my saggy pallid fiz on YouTube or anywhere else, so I figured - why not some other forms of creativity as well? I’m a writer, there’s artists out there who like to draw comics, etc. So... why not mutate it through different creative BS?
I’m just the kind of creative goblin who thinks this is an excellent idea at 3AM so here goes:
RULEZ:
No cheating/copying [You can copy the rules and explain the game, that’s cool]
No reblogs because that can look like cheating
You can read the story(or comic) ONCE, but you can take notes if you need them for your version since some things take time
TAG ME (internutter) and @ me when you post your finished version. I have no idea which will reach me, but I’ll be looking for both. Also tag “narrative telephone” minus the quotes
If you can, tag which iteration of the story this is [eg: this one is iteration1]
No deadlines, this is supposed to be a game
When it gets to ten (10) iterations, I shall make a master post for everyone’s amusement
To keep it short(ish) I’m keeping the story under the cut. I encourage my fellow players to do the same
Have fun :D
The Tiefling who would become known as Kosh was only twelve when he started to lose his belief in miracles. He had just begun training in the martial arts and was losing his faith in his fellow students, the people around him, and those who were supposed to care for his continued wellbeing. He would not lose any faith in his Master until he turned twenty, but that was a long time from now.
His master had given him a basket, some written instructions to follow, and a specific fungus to find and fetch back. He had no idea that he was being sent into the Feywild, betrayed by the Master he trusted. He was told it was a day trip, so he packed provisions for a day. He was not warned and never would be about the Feywild.
Some hours into his fruitless search, Kosh began to mutter to himself. He. had found plenty of red-capped fungi, but none with yellow spots, blue stems, and pink frills all together. He didn’t want to fail his master and therefore kept to the task until he couldn’t think for hunger and thirst.
Just as he sat, there was someone watching him. A wizened old crone who seemed made out of knots. “Do you know what they say about people who talk to themselves, boy?”
“I know,” he said. “But nobody wants to talk to a Tiefling, so I might as well talk to a fool.”
“You’re a Tiefling?”
He was hungry and tired. and grumpy about both, therefore, he was more disrespectful than he should have been. “The horns and the tail are usually a dead give-away. But in case you missed it, there’s also the blue skin, pointy teeth, and yellow glowing eyes. Lots of people have pointy ears, so they don’t count.” He carefully unwrapped his rations. They had spoiled. “...typical.”
“Do those glowing eyes work, boy?”
He looked, and saw that she was blind. “Oh. Sorry. If it’s worth anything, I’ve had a set of bad days. I shouldn’t have been so rude.”
“What have you to eat there?”
“Mulch, apparently. Compost.” He sighed. “If you know a good tree to bury it under, I’d thank you for the knowledge. I’d rather something gets some use out of this than waste it.”
“I’ll have it for my garden,” said the crone. “You help me get to my house and perhaps I can help you.”
At first, he loaned her his arm, and helped her traverse the path riddled with hazards. Next, he carried her heavy pack. Finally, he carried her. The further he went, the heavier it all was, until he was forced to crawl. Despite it all he never gave up.
“Why are you all the way out here on your own?” she asked.
“My master sent me to find a fungus,” he told her. “Red cap with yellow spots, a blue stem and pink frills. I can’t return without it.”
“Silly boy,” she announced. “Your basket’s already full of them.”
The next thing he knew, he was standing before his Master with the basket in both hands and only the cloudiest memory of what had just happened.
“You’ve only been gone a handful of minutes,” growled the Elven Master. “Did you forget something?”
Kosh checked, the basket was full of exactly the fungus he was sent to acquire. “I got them, Master.” There was also a slip of paper addressed to his teacher. “And... there’s a note?” He got to read it before the Master snatched it out of his hand.
Do not send a good boy to a bad end, or it shall come for you.
It was the only time Kosh had ever seen the Master fear anything.
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The Seven Deadly Scenes - I'm going to be posting a few development sketches for the project, enjoy! #iteration1 #drawing #plan #process #concept #art #black #white #sketching #handdrawing #keerthigan #architecture #seven #deadly #scenes #surveillance #hidden #pure #imagination https://www.instagram.com/p/B37Xr5pHFNs/?igshid=1ky8hutfim629
Current status of icon clearly indicated: I had the idea of giving an indication for the icons however in the paper prototype it isn’t consistent. This is because it felt repetitive, and I thought that not doing it would be indicative. However this is something I would need to keep consistent in the next round of designing.
User control
Accidental activation (lack of back button): I had the idea of using back buttons on the top left, however it isn’t consistent in the paper prototype.
Can users set their own system?: Users can change the theme, and in some cases the formatting of their note, but that’s it – not much else with personalisation.
Flexibility and efficiency of use
Is there any advanced search option?: Users can filter results, but use the advanced search options because I have not thought of it.
Red Marks
Visibility of system status
If pop-up windows show up – does it show users their errors?: I did not design for this or think of this because I thought these would be indicative enough.
Is the logo meaningful?: I have not designed the logo nor any of the visual design for the app yet.
Is there a link to detailed information about the creator?: No – Have not thought of this – but will add to the settings page
Match between the system and the real world
Are the icons concrete and familiar: Have not designed this yet.
Do selected colours match the real world: Have not designed this yet
Is there a consistent icon style: Have not designed this yet
for question and answer interfaces, are questions stated in clear, simple language?: No – have not chosen the body copy yet
is the language used the same target users speak?: No – have not chosen the body copy yet
User control
are users prompted to confirm commands that have drastic, destructive consequences?: Have not designed this yet
can users easily reverse their actions?: Have not designed this yet
Consistency
is there a consistent icon design scheme and stylistic treatment across the system?: Have not designed this yet
Aesthetic and minimalist design
Has excessive design been used in icons?: Have not designed this yet
are all icons in a set visually and conceptually distinct?: Have not designed this yet
Help users recognise, diagnose and recover from errors
To signal an input error in a form, mark the textbox that needs to be changed: Have not designed this yet
Help and documentation
is it easy to access and return from the help system?: Have not designed a help system
Pleasurable and respectful interaction
protect users’ work, also as “For data entry screens with many fields or in which source documents may be incomplete, can users save a partially filled screen?”: Have not designed or thought about a draft section.
Privacy
are protected areas completely inaccessible?: Have not designed this yet
can protected or confidential areas be accessed with certain passwords: Have not designed yet
In summary:
Most of the red marked areas of the app come from the little details, a lot of consistency issues (such as back buttons/confirmation screens etc). There are also issues around the visual design of the app (most about the icons and its style) which I haven’t gone through yet. There were some parts of the test that gave me good ideas for the next iteration, which was having a draft section, and emphasising the security/passcode lock to help with the users who value their privacy. I also haven’t really thought of a help system for the app, but I had thought about having a help system for the final prototype that is going to be shown in the exhibition – have not really thought of it to the extent that I’m happy with. Next plan: research for design systems to help me with the visual design, and improve on the screens using the results from this test.
I found that documentation took a bulk of the time, especially optimising the information I found for my blog.
Research:
I jumped right in to looking at existing applications to see where I could situate my own app, before surveying participants. I think this hurt me more than helped me, because I already raised some ideas in my head of what features I want in the app, without thinking of the needs and requirements of users. However, doing the surveys allowed to ground my research on real data. From then on, creating the personas, stories, maps, journeys flowed on.
To do for next time: Further visualise how users will use the product to give more ideas about requirements in terms of the environment they would use the app in. Also look at the history of note taking, diary and planners to give more weight and dimension to the research.
Design:
From the user journey apps, I quickly drafted the wireframes. Afterwards, I drafted the Information Architecture (twice). And this was all hand done, to get my mind away from the screen. I did a mini test on the IA using the 8 principles of Information Architecture, so I could iterate and improve my designs. I proceeded to use paper for the prototypes as it is a low fidelity, low cost way of testing for later on. However I found that it became quite tiring and repetitive which may have been my undoing for the Heuristic Test.
To do for next time: Move on to the computer for a (little) high fidelity prototype, to give a bit more care and weight to the design. Also, decide on visual designs to get tested by participants.
Testing:
I had no goals with the testing, I just wanted to go through the paper prototype using the tasks from the user journey maps. I also had the Heuristic List next to me to tick off what I had or hadn’t done. Having done the heuristic test, it overlooked the tasks, requirements and the usability in terms of users, but it did look at the more minute details which all add up to a more pleasant experience for the users.
To do for next time: Test with participants! and have goals in mind. Formalise the test by having a formal document about the goals of the study, the format, the metrics, etc.
Evaluation:
Going through the list, I did notice that there were a lot of minute things I had to take care of before going to the participants to test my app.
To do for next time: The same thing with the results from the participants. However, add in the graphs from the questionnaire.
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Goals: Find areas of improvement, no focus on any tasks or features – this is because I wanted to catch the little things and details I need to look at before getting real participants to test the app.
Format: Using a heuristic test derived from Nielsen’s heuristics for HCI, done by me, at home, with the paper prototype – this made sense to me as I already am familiar with the heuristics and finding an extended list allowed me to nit-pick at my own designs – even the ones I may have missed. Having the paper prototypes allowed me to see the flow and feel the flow for the users.
Task + Questions: I used an extended list of heuristics for me to go through after going through my paper prototype. Before evaluating using the heuristics, I had gone through the screens using the customer journey maps and the tasks that the personas take on.
Metrics: I simply had gone through the heuristic list – I did not time myself, or monitor myself as I didn’t think it was needed because I felt like it wasn’t part of the goal of the test.
I tried to create flows between each task taken from the wireframes. Afterwards, I tried to group pages which seemed logical and efficient. I found that the homepage would hold the enter entries, atlas, memories, settings, search pages.
Principle of Objects
a. The different types of content for each day is shown on one page. The user can click on those to edit the entries. The different types of content in the app is also separated by the tabbed navigation at the bottom. For the stats page, the data is separated by category, and same as the search feature.
Principle of Choices
a. Each tab in the navigation is focused on its own thing and will therefore have features that only support the tasks that it is meant to do.
Principle of Disclosure
a. Users can edit entries once they tap on the entry – it will take them to a new screen. On the stats page, users can find more information in the different categories by tapping on said category.
Principle of exemplars
a. Appropriate icons will be used to be intuitive and indicative of what happens when the user taps on it.
Principle of front doors
a. The tabbed navigation will be fixed at the bottom everywhere in the app, so when the user gets lost, they can look at the navigation to orient themselves. There will also be back buttons and exit buttons to allow the users to get out.
Principle of multiple classification
a. The users can manually find events by looking through the days. There is also a search feature that would allow users to enter in anything. There are also separate buttons for the user to look through all of their notes/pictures/events/doodles.
Principle of focused navigation
a. The tabbed navigation holds the main tasks users can do. In the search screen, the content is split up into different categories, and same as the settings page.
Principle of growth
a. If users add more entries, the app will accommodate to this and simply add more pages when necessary.
Looking up the principles of IA help me set up a framework to design an IA that is effective for the app. This also allowed me to, in a way, test the IA and improve what I had. This also gave some depth to decisions, as I understood why one way would be more effective than another.
