Skilled games like Spot-the-Ball feel rewarding because they are asking the players to use their skills - precision and accuracy - in a fair competition. Even more precision is required from the team of skilled games developers to create the conditions for that fair competition.
The above can only result from the user experience and user interface designers’ harmonious work and crystal-clear understanding.
So, how can you achieve that and why is it important? Also why do you need to ensure that both your competition site’s UX and UI should both be perfect?
UI - User Interface, is the graphical layout of an application. Metaphorically speaking, it is the bridge that the user crosses to solve their problem. It consists of the layout composition and its elements - buttons, text, images, sliders, entry fields, and all the rest you can see and click. Add to that the transitions, interface animations and every single micro-interaction and you get a full understanding of what the UI is.
In digestible terms – UX, the user experience, is the feeling the user gets after crossing the above mentioned bridge. Good UX is the feeling of smoothness and comfort that you get when all the functions of the skilled game site easily connect, are easily accessible, and “everything just works”.
UX encompasses the entire experience the user has with the piece of software; the UI is the visual part of that interface.
Research is vital for both UI and UX designers – definitely more than one person. For example, Tentacle Solutions has separate team for UX and UI to gather as much information as possible to assist them in crafting appropriate designs and create a unified approach. Depending on how well communicated, planned, tested, how much feedback was collected and incorporated into the UI and UX design, crossing the bridge can be a pleasant walk or an uphill battle.
When UI and UX have been thoroughly planned, designed, tested, and developed by separate teams of professionals, they both start to really shine. Without the distractions of a clumsy interface and counterintuitive layout, players engage with your company’s brand and engage with your competition.
A skilled game is enough of a challenge and placing a ball is enough of an adversary for the players to manage, there is no reason to make their experience more difficult by not investing in a great UX and UI design. When you, as an organizer of a skilled game, ask your players to invest their money to participate in the game and use their precision and knowledge to win prizes – the same precision and investment are expected from your company.
Depending on how well communicated, planned, tested, how much feedback was collected and incorporated into the UI and UX design, crossing the bridge can be a pleasant walk or an uphill battle.