1. BetterGameDesign
withObject-Oriented
UserExperience
(OOUX)
Caroline Sober-James
Director of User Experience

2. Hi,I’mCaroline.
DevotedandpassionateUXer
Practiceandpeopleleader
Formerserver-sidedev
OOUXfangirl
Getshitdoneperson
Nintendokid
@wildwend

3. ThisisSophia.
Creator, chief evangelist,
and patron goddess of
OOUX
www.rewiredux.com
@sophiavux

4. Theoriginstory.

5. WhatisOOUX?
Design methodology
Mental model mapper
Design declutterer
Developer whisperer
Game changer
Cool way to use stickies

6. Crossovermethodologyhypothesis:
IbelieveOOUXcanhelpwith
gamedesign.

7. WhyuseOOUX?
Sharedlanguage
Definedstructure
Enforcessimplicity
Enablesscale
Easiermaintenance
Matchesplayermentalmodels
Establishesconnectionsthatsatisfyour
lizardbrains

8. OOUXinfourparts
1 Analyze the domain
2 Define requirements
3 Prioritize
4 Sketch / Prototype

9. Round1:
Analyzethedomain

10. Roughobjectmapping
1 Extract objects
2 Sketch initial relationships
3 Call out the actions
4 Define initial attributes

11. Extracttheobjects
Objects go on a
blue sticky
What are the things in the game that
would represent things in a physical
environment? Those are our objects.

13. Mega Man 2 stars a young robot named Mega Man, sent by Dr. Light to defeat Dr. Wily and his
team of Robot Masters. His objective is to travel through eight themed worlds, surmounting
obstacles and fighting enemies before defeating the Robot Master boss stationed there. After
defeating all Robot Master bosses, Mega Man goes to Dr. Wily’s fortress, making his way
through additional stages and defeating additional bosses before ultimately confronting and
defeating Dr. Wily.
• After defeating each boss, Mega Man takes possession of that boss’s weapon. Strategic use of weapons is
important, as certain enemies and bosses are more vulnerable to certain weapons
• Mega Man also has his own weapon, the Mega Buster
• When you kill an in-stage enemy, it may leave you a power-up item that will help you restore life energy or weapon
capacity (or sometimes even a 1-up)
• Some power-up items (like the life-recharging E-tanks) are left for Mega Man to find within the stages
• Defeating some bosses results in Dr. Light giving you a special transportation item. These are not weapons, but are
critical to help you navigate tricky parts of some stages

14. robot
Dr. Light
Dr. Wily
Robot Masters
worlds
obstacles
enemies
bosses
fortress
stages
weapons
items
energy
capacity
1-up
Mega Man

15. Stage Boss Enemy Weapon Item Mega Man

16. Sketchinitialobjectrelationships
This is our Core Object
Relationship model.
Mapping these relationships
starts to set up interaction
rules.
Object
Object
Includes 1:n
Object
Hasexactlyone
Creates0:n

17. Mega Man
Enemy Stage
Boss
Item
Weapon
Travelsthrough
Collects
Isgiven
Defeats
Hasa
Isvulnerableto
Takespossessionof
Uses
IsfoundonDefeats
Is found on
Isneededtobeat
Isvulnerableto

18. Callouttheactions
Identify the most obvious and
critical actions that can be taken
on or by each object. Put actions on a
green sticky
Object
Fight
Rescue
Collect
Use

19. Mega Man
Enemy Stage
Boss
Item
Weapon
Travelsthrough
Collects
Isgiven
Defeats
Hasa
Isvulnerableto
Takespossessionof
Uses
IsfoundonDefeats
Is found on
Isneededtobeat
Isvulnerableto
Collect
Use
Collect
Enable
Use
Complete
Defeat
Defeat

20. Initialcorecontentandmetadata
Core content goes on a
yellow sticky
Core content are attributes that belong
exclusively to the object, like name or
description
Metadata are attributes that could also
be shared with other objects
Metadata goes on a
red or pink sticky

21. Primary objects
Actions
Core content
Metadata
Object
relationship

22. Round2:
Definerequirements

23. Addinmoredetail
1 Build the object guide
2 Explore relationships with an object matrix
3 Stub out scenarios with an action inventory
4 Keep going with object mapping

24. Buildtheobjectguide
What is each object?
What role does it have?
Why is it important?

25. Mega Man Stage Boss Enemy Weapon Item
Mega Man
Stage
Boss
Enemy
Weapon
Item
Createobjectrelationshipmatrix
Explore every possible relationship.
Extends our core object
relationship diagram.
Helps us identify and prioritize the
object relationships to expose.

26. Mega Man Stage Boss Weapon Enemy Item
Mega Man
Stage
Stages similar
to this Stage
Stage where
this Boss is
found
Stages where
you will need
this Weapon
Stages where
you’ll find this
Enemy
Stages where
you use this
Item
Boss
Bosses found
on this Stage
Bosses similar
to this Boss
Bosses that are
vulnerable to
this Weapon
Weapon
Weapons
required to beat
this Stage
Weapon this
Boss has
Weapons that
behave like this
Weapon
Weapons to
use against this
Enemy
Enemy
Enemies found
on this Stage
Enemies
protecting this
Boss
Enemies that
are vulnerable
to this Weapon
Enemies similar
to this Enemy
Item
Items needed
to navigate this
Stage
Items needed
to defeat this
Boss
Items that help
you defeat this
Enemy
ParentChild

27. Actioninventory
Begin to stub out user stories or
scenarios
Describe the who, what, why,
when, where, and how for each
interaction
Mega Man engages the
boss at the end of the stage
in battle so he can defeat
him, collect his weapon, and
move one step closer to
reaching Dr. Wily.

28. Moreobjectmapping
Continue core content and
metadata structuring
Convert priority nested objects
from object matrix to object map
Can continue to use stickies, or…

29. OOUX Trello
One lane/list per object
Easy prioritization/reordering
Can use labels for tagging
Custom fields power-up
Allows collaboration via comments
Allows attachments
Mega Man 2 Trello board

30. Round3:
Prioritize

31. Startmakingcriticaldecisions
1 Rank objects by their importance
2 Create storyboards that illustrate key relationship flows
3 Decide which actions you’ll enable first
4 Reorder object attributes by importance

32. Ranktheobjects
Which objects are absolutely
necessary for game play?
Have users and stakeholders
both do ranking
Also worth evaluating competitive
space.

33. Buildstoryboards
Use relationships in nested
object matrix and
user/stakeholder object
ranking to determine what
makes the first cut.
Object
Object
Includes 1:n
Object
Hasexactlyone
Creates0:n

34. Rankactionsforimplementation
For each object, consider cost/benefit for
implementing each action, and prioritize.
User input can help support these
decisions.

35. Prioritizeobjectattributes
Reorder your Trello cards or stickies.
Use dot voting, user research, game
objectives, and competitive space.
Helps to delineate MVP or phased
approach.

36. Round4:
Sketch/Prototype

37. Crossovermethodologydisclaimer:
I’mnotsurehowdirectlythese
stepsapplytogamedesign.

38. Here’showwe’ddothiswithweb…
1 Package objects into modules and detail screens
2 Show how a user would navigate from screen to screen
3 Map out and test task flows
4 Create list and landing pages

39. Digitalpackagingthat’sconsistentandrecognizable.

40. Howgooddigitalpackaginglooksontheweb

41. Containersletusjumpintoobjectdetailviaconsistentmodules.

42. Howpeopleandprojects
benefitfromOOUX

43. OOUXbenefitstheprojectteam
Easy to understand tool for documenting systems.
Allows common understanding and vocabulary.
Facilitates improved and more collaborative relationships.
Allows significant participation and buy-in in the design process.
Facilitates accountability for prioritization decisions
Makes it easier to focus on the “whats” before the “hows.”

44. OOUXbenefitsyourprojects
More natural to scope out entirety of the project.
Enforces focus on structure before design.
Creates a strong scaffolding for design documentation.
Allows early testing and validation of player’s mental model
and prioritization decisions.

45. SomeOOUXreading
“Object-Oriented UX”
https://alistapart.com/article/object-
oriented-ux/ “UX for Lizard
Brains”
https://alistapart.com/article/
ux-for-lizard-brains/
“OOUX: A Foundation
for Interaction Design”
https://alistapart.com/article/ooux-a-
foundation-for-interaction-design/

46. Thankyou!
Caroline Sober-James
Director of User Experience
cjames@acumium.com
608.709.7560
—Collaborate. Transform. Solve.