This session builds on the foundation established in past Little Hands, Foul Moods, and Runny Noses sessions. Children have unique intellectual and physical needs, which designers must take into account in order to create engaging gaming experiences. This session provides development guidelines for mobile game design for children (ages 0 to 12), with particular emphasis on developmental milestones, usability, and interaction design findings that are relevant to game developers. Findings are grounded in industry and academic research. Participants will take away findings from existing research on kids and games that can be incorporated into their own game development projects. The discussion will be focused on mobile games, but most findings can be generalized for any child gaming project, regardless of platform. The findings will address children's gaming needs (which are significantly different from older audiences), developmental psychology, UI and input design considerations, usability, and use of storytelling devices. Additionally, participants will have access to a summary document with a list of recommended resources, which includes books and research articles.
3. Overview
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• Child Development
Basics
• Design Principles for
Children’s Mobile
Games
3
Resources
• tinyurl.com/runnyNoses
• tinyurl.com/kidsMobile
• kidscreen.com Kids Got
Game blog Lentini
• @NoCrusts
6. • Novelty wins
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• Enthusiastically use all 5
senses
• Early gross motor skills
developing
• Language skills: grunting
speaking single words
simple word combinations
6
• Basic pattern recognition
Infants & Toddlers (0-2)
@NoCrusts
7. • Learn through exploration
No Crusts Interactive 2013
and imagination
• Language takes off
(pronunciation, sentences, s
emantics, conversation)
• Focus on the basics –
shapes, colors, numbers
• Ego-centric and literal
7
woodleywonderworks
Preschoolers (3-5)
@NoCrusts
8. • Refine motor skills
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• Use complex
grammar, develop
independent reading skills
• Increasing attention spans
• Early complex mathematical
thinking
• Develop social network
8
outside family
USAG-Humphreys
Early elementary (6-8)
@NoCrusts
9. • Enjoy problem-solving
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• Reading becomes a method
of learning
• Understand
multiplication, division, and
logic
• Advanced gross motor skills
• Develops self-expression and
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self-worth
stevendepolo
Tween (9-12)
@NoCrusts
10. Children 0-8 (Common Sense Media 2011)
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• 17% play console video game
once/day. 36% once/week
• Access to
– Smartphone (41%)
– iPod with video (21%)
– and/or iPad (8%)
• 16% multitask while using
10
media
Scott & Elaine van der Chijs
Games Use
@NoCrusts
11. Elementary-Aged Children
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• Children ages 5-9 play video games 39 min (weekday) and 45
min (weekend)
• Lower income children, Hispanic, and African-American children
consume more media than white and middle class children
(Baranowski & Frankel, 2012)
• K-5 teachers report using digital games 57%. Middle school 38%
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• 95% use games that were created specifically for educational use.
• Only 18% of teachers report adapting commercial games for
classroom use. (Joan Ganz Cooney Center, 2012)
Games Use
@NoCrusts
12. Design Guidelines
Flickingerbrad
@NoCrusts
12 No Crusts Interactive 2013
13. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Child-focused apps are increasing presence in App Store
(Cooney Center, 2012) @NoCrusts
14. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Many topics are saturated (i.e., ABC, matching, flash cards)
@NoCrusts
15. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Early learning and math are most covered topics.
(Cooney Center, 2012) @NoCrusts
16. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Co-play opportunities support children’s natural learning styles.
@NoCrusts
19. • Be sensitive to older generations
No Crusts Interactive 2013
unfamiliarity. Leverage it into
design
• Engage parents with exchange of
expertise. Don’t allow them to
just sit back and direct action.
• Co-play often requires different
avatars
19
Neeta Lind
Intergenerational design can be challenging
@NoCrusts
20. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Neeta Lind
Opportunities exist to design for mixed skill levels
@NoCrusts
33. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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Take steps to avoid another “smurfberry” situation
@NoCrusts
34. Letters with Pooh 785MB
The Adventures of Captain Underpants 769MB
No Crusts Interactive 2013
Nick Jr Draw & Play HD 642MB
Don’t Let the Pigeon Run This App 257MB
Team Umizoomi Math: Zoom into Numbers HD 196MB
The Monster at the End of This Book 165MB
Super Why ABC Adventures: Alphabet for iPad 160MB
Mickey Mouse Clubhouse: Mickey’s Wildlife Count Along 126MB
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The Math Tree 90.7MB
Toca Hair Salon 2 35.1MB
Daniel Tiger’s Neighborhood: Play at Home with Daniel 34.2MB
Keep an eye on file sizes
@NoCrusts
35. No Crusts Interactive 2013
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A smartphone is not just a little tablet. It’s often a different user experience.
@NoCrusts
37. Other things to consider…
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• COPPA
• User testing, repeatedly
• Analytics (and COPPA…)
• User generated content (and COPPA…)
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• Marketing and distribution
• Android vs iOS
38. Thanks! Questions?
No Crusts Interactive 2013
• carla@NoCrusts.com
• @NoCrusts
• Kids Got Game on Kidscreen.com
38
Roundtable in 30 minutes!
Follow me to Room 114 North Hall
Notas del editor
rosenblum68In order to have an informed discussion about design principles for kids, we need to be on the same page about kids’ abilities. So these next slides are a quick basics of what kids are able to do at various ages. Caveat: guidelines, not absolutes. Lots of factors affect development, from gender to sibling order to environmental situations.