Interface Research

I investigated other children's game interfaces similar to what I am thinking of. It is interesting to see the layout of buttons and how accessible all the buttons and actions are for children.

First I looked at what I think to be the most similar to mine, that is the "Tamagotchi". Although it is an extremely basic black and white pixilated screen the layout is important for my research. As shown the button icons for the actions are lining the top and the bottom of the screen and the central focus is the creature in the middle

The second interface I looked at was the "Zoombini" one. In particular the customisation screen. The important thing to look at here is the simple layout of the options in rows that read from left to right, up to down and this is easily navigated by children. The interface acknowledges when the different options are selected and this is also important to understand to apply to my interface.

The layout of my interface needs to be SIMPLE. Children adapt better to new things if they are simple and easy to read. I will remember the basic principle of reading; left to right and up to down, when I am making my interface, yet make it eyecatching and interesting for the user.