The Game Search

Client Problems

Developer Problems

User Problems

User B

User A

User A is a parent to teenagers

User B is a gaming enthuisiast.

Actively plays video games on a variety of gaming consoles

Actively involved within gaming community and therefore actively communicates with other gamers

Would like to be able to be see current popular games along with being able to access information about older game titles

Would like to prevent exposure of inappropiate content to her children and therefore, requires the application to be child-friendly

User A only has a only one particular console and would like to be able to filter games that are able to be played on that particualr console, and therefore requires the application to be able to filter by consoles

User C

Time Frame: 4 Weeks

Requirements

Competition

User C is a non-gamer who wants to enter gaming in order to socialise more with her friends but is unsure where to find games that suit her interests and would like to filter games by genre

Prefers multiplayer games in order to be allowed to play with her friends

Impacts

As the application widens the gaming community, a rising interest in games will also occur and therefore lead to an increase within video game sales

An increased interest within video games can lead to increased usage of gaming systems and lead to video addiction

Allows communications between people interested in gaming and allows gaming to be more accessible for a wider demographic by providing access to information about games

IGN

Gamespot Now

Application should engage
students in gaming through the ages

Key Algorithms

Search Function

Parental Control

Sort Function

Data

IGN.csv

Data Storage & Retrieval

Video-games.csv

Coding Environment

Language: Swift

Xcode IDE

Designed for iOS

The database will be stored in an SQLite3 database

Pros

Cons

Cons

Pros

The database will be stored in an SQLite3 database which will be known as "games.db"

Dataset chosen is the video-games.csv

Usability Principles

Layout must be consistent, simplistic and must feel intuitive to the user (utility and effectiveness)

Help Screen - provides information about how to use the application(effectiveness and learnability)

Simplistic and Consistent Colour Scheme - allows users to become familiar with application(learnability)

Black and White contrasting Text - improves Text readability for the Colour Blind (accessibility)

Commonly used icons eg. Home,Settings etc. in order to allow the user to develop a sense of familiarity with the app(learnabilty)

Easy to read font in order to improve the user's ability to understand and perceive information(learnability,)

Grid - Like Design in order to develop a level of visual hierarchy and classify information accordingly(effectiveness utility )

Close Button - allows easy reversal of actions(utility )

Utilises swiping gestures ( learnability, utility)

White Space will be used in order to highlight dominant information( accessibility and effectiveness )

Shortcuts Bar in order to allow frequent users to use shortcuts (utility)

Provides users with general game information, reviews, gaming news

Provides users with a final game score, allowing a point of comparison between games

Allows users to filter by game console, providing users with information relevant to the console that users use

Allows users to filter by editor's choice, allowing users to be able to see highly rated games

provides users with a "Top 10" list, allowing users to see the biggest and popular stories of the day

Does not allow users to specifically filter by game console and utilises a search bar

provides users with important & recent gaming news, reviews and opinions

Allows users to be able to sort through games based on certain factors such as genres, game scores or game platforms

Allows users to filter games based on ESRB rating, which will be utilised in order to prevent children from accessing adult-rated and inappropriate games

Allows users to search

Popular Games Function

Allows users to easily be able to access games that are popular with other users

Has less irrelevant information, in terms of the application requirements, than that of the ign.csv dataset

Considerably more data fields than that of the ign dataset, indicating that the video-games.csv dataset provides a wider range of data on a game

The video-games.csv dataset has a ESRB rating, which is utilised within the parental control algorithm

Focus on gameplay styles, which is utilised within application eg. 3rd Person, first person etc...

Does repeat certain data values in different forms, in both varchar and binary form

Consists of 16853 less records than that of the ign.csv, indicating that a larger amount of game information is present within the video-games.csv rather than the ign.csv, suggesting that this particular dataset has a substantially less records than that of the video-game.csv dataset.

Consists of 18625 records,indicating that the dataset has a substantial range of games

Does not have any empty fields, indicating that the dataset can be considered as complete.

Consists a field with a URL, allowing users to start the game directly from the application or link to an image

Has 11 fields, indicating that the dataset has a limited range of information regarding each specific game

Does not have any field highlighting the ESRB rating, which is utilised within the parental control algorithm

Required App Data

Popular Games

Sort By

Search

Parental Controls

click to edit

Game Title

Game Style

Sales

Maximum Number of Players

Console

Genre

ESRB Rating

Year

Application Features

Game Recommendations / Game List

Search/Sort By Function

Popular Game Function

Multiplayer Game

Provides users with videos, providing users with similar information in another format

Does not provide game recommendations based on inputted user information

Provides wikipedia guides and walkthroughs providing users with in-depth support for playing games

Parental Control function

Simplistic and minimalistic application layout

Does not provide users with specific game information, rather just reviews and opinions

No Empty Fields, suggesting a complete dataset

Mobile application should uses game
data in an interesting and innovative way