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My favorite childhood games were...Sim City 2000
SimCity The Sims
RollerCoaster Tycoon Zoo Tycoon
Kim Hurley
They’ve upgraded a little bit, but the principles are the same.
Kim Hurley
SimCity Sims
RollerCoaster Tycoon Zoo Tycoon
These games relate to UX design because they are Management and Construction Simulations.
SimCity is my favorite simulation video gameand it is a good training tool for UX design.
Building the perfect SimCity is very similar to the UX design process.
The principles of a good city and the principles of a good web product are achieved through the same problem solving formula: Learn, Design, Build, and Test
Kim Hurley
DESIGN & BUILDLEARN TEST
1. You do research to determine the needs of your citizens (users) and plan based on that data.
Analytics
On the analytics dashboard, you analyze data, graphs and tables to figure out how users engage, flow and behave.
Persona
You define key characteristic and demographics of your users.
Interview
In SimCity and in UX Design, you interview stakeholders, advisors, and users to find out what they need.
A/B Testing
vs.You might also conduct A/B Testing to see which one works better.
DESIGN & BUILDLEARN TEST
2. After finding out what is missing, you start working on design.
Sketch and Wireframes
You sketch and create wireframes designing your favorite layout.
Build
After you carefully finalize your plans, you can start building.
In SimCity all construction is done automatically based on your layout, in UX design we deliver the final design to the engineering team.
SimCity BuildIt Mockup by Zegerman
DESIGN & BUILDLEARN TEST
3. After everything is built and has gone live, it is very important to monitor your user’s feedback.
Monitor User Feedback
Even though you spent plenty of time learning about your users, you can’t assume you are always making the right choices.
Disasters are Natural
Improvement
All products have shortcomings, and every SimCity has natural disasters. Mistakes are natural, though not always as disastrous.
It is important to be humbled by nature and remember there is always room for improvement. If something doesn’t go the way you planned, you can always repeat the Learn-Design-Build-Test steps again.
Kim Hurley
To be able to purchase the structures your people want,
you must generate revenue.
To become a successful mayor, you will need great attention to detail in your budget and your layout.
Cash management is a top priority to maintain a stable government.
Even though people may want a college and police station in every neighborhood, you simply can’t afford to do that.
Understand that user goals and business goals may conflict.
For example a business may want to set up a paywall but users may be outraged by that proposition.
Analyzing feedback will help you make the best decisions for your product.
You have to weigh the pros against the cons of each design decision.
Kim Hurley
If you ever dreamed of becoming a UX Designer or Product Manager,
try playing SimCity!
Try SimCity BUILDIT for free. {Thank you EA, this game inspired me to write this post.}
If you ever dreamed of becoming a UX Designer or Product Manager, try playing SimCity!
The best thing about it about using SimCity as an experience design learning platform is that the money isn’t real, and neither are the people.
If you let down everyone and lose all the money, you can always start over.
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Kim Hurley
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Kim Hurley @[email protected]
Thank you for reading!
