1. Interface
Player influence and control: The only way to influence Chadʼs movements in any way
in “Chad” is to press the space bar to jump. The space bar, the largest and most prominent
on the keyboard, is an efficient and convenient control, ideal to trigger the jump
mechanism. As the game requires quick reactions and an engaged player, the jump
control needed to be prominent and needed to feel natural. The spacebar doesnʼt require
a glance from the player at every press as itʼs pretty hard to miss. For infant players, the
spacebar is ideal as it can be pressed with multiple fingers. The spacebar is adjustable to
physical ability as well as mental ability.
Game signals: When the player collides with an
obstacle, the player will clearly be notified of their
failure by the cloud of blue smoke the will arise as a
result. It quickly alternates in size in a alarming
animation and, paired with the sudden halt of the
background and buildings movement and the fact
that no new obstacles spawn, this freezes the
players control and makes it clear to them that their
game is over. On the game over screen, the game
will restart after 3 seconds. These 3 seconds are
counted down in a large, clear font in the middle of
the screen. Their black colour, masked across the
white background, present a clear, simple
projection of this information to the player.
Audible feedback: The player will hear the sound of Chadʼs voice exclaiming the positive
statements, “yeah” or “alright”, whenever the player clears an obstacle to communicate a
small element of praise over to the player to provide encouragement and to further convey
the aim of the game. In contrast, the alternative sound of Chad yelling in dismay or even
pain will be heard if the player strikes an obstacle to
enhance the effects of the failure animation and to
amplify the negative in game effects of the playerʼs
failure.
The impact of the playerʼs failure is also enhanced by
the fact that when Chad crashes, the motivational,
active music stops immediately and the game is
thrown into silence and the plain, blunt, game over
screen appears. This stops the player in the tracks
and conveys a harsh attitude towards the player and
their failure. Most players use this as further
motivation to get a higher score as the dull effects of
the game over sequence frustrate them.
Positive feedback is shown similarly in the major tone of the jump noises that trigger whenever the
player jumps, praising the player on their effort to clear an obstacle. The power up noise and the
death sound contrast positive and negative influences on the player with the fact that the power up
sound uses a high pitched ascending scale to create a positive vibe whilst the death sound uses a
short, low pitched descending scale to convey a negative undertone.