Project #1
In this project, you will be developing the concept for a mobile gaming app that organizes players from all over the world to promote global social networking in an entertaining format with and a social media / messaging system to support it.
In this assignment, you will:
- Develop your understanding of the design process and all that that entails.
- Become familiar with the special constraints and advantages of mobile apps.
- Develop your skills with a prototyping tool.
Scenario
You wish to develop a mobile game, Planet Apes, which allows players from around the world to form teams, and essentially solve a puzzle, involving clues to various landmarks and scenic landscapes around the world. Games could be organized into tournaments, and “ladders” could be created to allow teams and / or players to progress to more difficult tournaments.
For example, the answers to a puzzle might be:
- Angkor Wat, Cambodia
- Lake Louise, Canada
- Victoria Falls, Zimbabwe
- Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh
- Machu Picchu, Peru
- Prague Astronomical Clock
Appropriate clues to these places would then be specified.
The game would likely allow participants to:
- form groups (5 might be a good number) to solve games – the home country of members should be identified, so that teams can make advantageous choices
- groups could be recruited from relationships from previous games but should also require the recruitment of at least one new member
- join these events
- organize games into tournaments
- communicate with participants during, and between, games
- encourage friends to join
- allow an organizer to create a game – i.e., create the puzzle and set up the start and end dates
- alert the administrators to improper uses
- earn points for participation (question: what would be the rewards?)
You may assume that the web will be generally be accessible to participants.
Module A
Description (10 marks)
Provide a description of the app, and its various purposes, including its purposes – both business and social. Provide a more refined description than you have been given in this document. Delineate the ideas that you are bringing to the app. Also explain future goals for the app – in other words, if you were to develop the idea beyond this course, what new features, extensions or purposes would you add to it. Provide:
- a refined description
- a preliminary list of desirable features for the app (might change)
- possible revenue streams
- future goals
Research (10 marks)
Research should be done to investigate the field of application. Do such apps already exist? Provide links, and screenshots wherever possible. What might people use now to accomplish the same goals? Are conventional social media sites such as Facebook able to serve the same purpose, or as well? Describe the features needed by your app and explain how yours would be different form existing apps. Why does it make sense to develop this app?
Technical Issues (5 marks)
- What special device hardware features would the app require?
- What special input controls or display features would the app need?
- What constraints or advantages to do with context are involved in this app?
Personas – Part I (10 marks)
Develop three persona descriptions to represent the target market for the app.
Deliverables for Module A:
Bundle the answers to these questions into a Word document. Include a table of contents, page numbers, and citations.
