This document contains advice from Catt Small on how to become a user experience (UX) designer and game developer. Catt discusses her own background in UX design, starting from making blog templates and becoming a web designer. She then provides advice for aspiring game makers, such as making many games, prototyping ideas before development, and attending local events. Finally, Catt gives recommendations for UX designers, like using data to inform decisions, collaborating with others, and sharing work by going to events.

1. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Hooray for UX!

2. @cattsmall
I’m Catt Small.
I’m in love with user experience,
coding, and games!

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● Product Designer at SoundCloud
● Game player and maker
● Organizes events via Tech Under Thirty
● Teaches women to make games via The
Code Liberation Foundation
Me in a nutshell:

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● How I became a user experience designer
● How I began making games
● Advice for game makers
● Advice for UX designers
We’ll talk about:

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User Experience
And how I got into it

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User goals

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Business goals

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UX Designers come from
many backgrounds

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Made blog templates

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Became a web designer

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Learned about IA

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Hired as an Interface Designer

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Hired as a Product Designer

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Now at SoundCloud!

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What did you do
before UX?

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Making Games
My path to game development

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Game design is about
creating systems

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Good games are well-designed

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Played games as a kid

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Made dress up dolls

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Collaborated with friends

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Made game jam games

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Joined Code Liberation

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How many of you
want to make games?

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Advice for game makers
NYC is a hub for game makers. Be a part of it.

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Make as many
games as you can.

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Make games alone
Zora Ball. Photo by Curtis Ball

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Make games with friends
Buttered Toast Studios team

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Go to game jams & hackathons
https://technical.ly/brooklyn/2014/01/28/global-game-jam/

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Prototype before you
go high-fidelity.

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Sketching

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Paper prototyping
http://mondaybeginsonsaturday.com/2012/02/29/paper-prototyping/

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Pseudo-code programs

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Be your own
project manager.

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Make the important parts work

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Evaluate each nice-to-
have feature

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Remember that
games don’t have to
be “fun”.

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Fear
Amnesia, © Frictional Games

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Joy
Rayman Legends, © Frictional Games

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Sadness
Contrast, © Compulsion Games

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Excitement
Prism Shell, © Brooklyn Gamery

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Games are about
Memorable
experiences

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Be relevant.

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Share your knowledge

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Remember names and faces

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Converse via Twitter
#gamedev & #screenshotsaturdays

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Attend local events
NY Game Makers Meetup NYC Indie Games Facebook Group

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Attend conferences

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How many of you go
to industry events?

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How many of you can’
t afford to go to
industry events?

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In summary:
● Make as many games as you can.
● Prototype ideas before jumping in.
● Manage your time well.
● Don’t let feature creep kill your project.
● Don’t worry about fun, but rather
engagement and satisfaction.
● Go to local events and conferences.

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Advice for UX Designers
Some things I’ve learned over the years.

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Use data to inform
your decisions.

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Read design books

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Talk to your demographic

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Design based on logic

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Accept imperfection.

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Failure helps you learn

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Iterate designs constantly
Ideate
PrototypeTest
Learn

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Collaborate with
others often.

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Involve other teams

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Ask for feedback

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Make things often.

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Experiment with new ideas

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Share your projects

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Go to events.

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Local events

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Conferences

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In summary:
● Research and use data to inform decisions.
● Accept imperfection.
● Collaborate and ask for feedback.
● Make things as much as possible.
● Share your work with others.
● Go to events and socialize.

70. @cattsmall@cattsmall
Thank you! Questions?
Think of questions later?
Tweet @cattsmall
Email catt@cattsmall.com