Question

You are asked you to compare the experience of playing the game of Slither snake on a PC with playing on a cell/smart phone. For this assignment, I want you to consider the pros and cons of playing the same game using different interfaces. (e.g. tangible, wearable, and shareable) and describe how the game could be redesigned for each of these, taking into account the user group being targeted. For example (just examples, you can think of more) the tangible game could be designed for young children, the wearable interface for young adults, and the shareable interface for elderly people.

1. Define each type of the interface taking into account the type of user group it is targeted for (tangible, wearable, and shareable)?
2. Consider specific design issues that will need to be addressed. Input devices, interface, output, platform (PC or cell phone)? What rules must be added to achieve the purpose of the game?
3. Compare the pros and cons of designing the Slither snake game using three different interfaces with respect to how it is played on the cell phone and PC. (you may use a table to build your comparison analysis)

Submission Guidelines:

1. Maximum three pages of report answering the above questions each in one section.
   1. Definition
   2. Design issues
   3. Pros and Cons
   4. Conclusions
2. The below evaluation rubric will be applied in this assignment.

Answer 1

Why's everyone playing it? Well, because it's nestled snugly between caffeine and World of Warcraft on the life-swallowing addiction scale. It's a high score chaser, it's fiercely competitive, and when you die the first thing you'll want to do is enact vengeance on the cursed snake that ended you.

In case you've never even seen a smartphone before, here's how it works. You play as a snake and have to slither about gobbling up glowing orbs. These orbs increase both your size and your power. Meanwhile, other snakes in this tiny arena are doing exactly the same thing, and if you accidentally bump into one at any time you'll explode in a shower of - you guessed it - glowing orbs.

You can use this to your advantage though, and try to kill bigger snakes then steal all the orbs they've collected. It's not easy,

Anyway, just because Slither.io is really addictive doesn't make it good. In fact, that's what I'm here to argue today. So read on for seven reasons why Slither.io sucks.

It's slow

Play Agar.io (Slither.io's primary influencer) and you'll know exactly what we're getting at here. Slither.io just feels sluggish in comparison.

That's partially down to the slow movement speed generally - even when you're a fresh snake just starting out - but it's also down to the turning circle. You feel more like a tank than a snake, which are fast and lithe in real life. It doesn't make a whole lot of sense.

"hi" steve, today's longest snake with a length of 4491 #1 Faux #2 ender #3 Jojo Crossfade #5 owwe #6 Blip #7 Rusty 8 Zeno's Paradox Mase 10 Amok 1340.9 1207.8 1030.1 1024.8 1017 1010.9 9879 B 901 Happy Has Your length: 289.3 Your rank: 275 of 498

If you're the type of player that prefers to use their wits instead of their reflexes, you could argue that the slower pace is a positive. But you'd be wrong. We want faster, more nimble snakes, and we want them now.

It's ugly

Slither.io is not a looker. What's with the black honeycomb grid background? Why are the custom skins so dull? Why don't the snakes have mouths?

Stop to think of the opportunities that we're lacking. We could have been in a lovely forest environment. Our snakes could have had tongues that gobbled up various different creatures instead of random orbs.

Then your mind starts going wild. What about a desert? A jungle? An icy tundra? The list is endless, and we'd have been way more inclined to explore each area and stick around a while longer.

Instead we got an ugly honeycomb grid. Dull dull dull.

It lacks depth

There are some strategies you can employ to gain the upper hand over your opponent, and we've covered a few of them. However, most of it just boils down to speeding in front of your opponent to create a snakey roadblock or coiling hapless little snakes like the fork-tongued fellas do in real life.

"hi - Steve, today's longest snake with a length of 4491 Faux #2 Crossfade 23 Owwie 14 Blip #5 Rusty Zeno's Paradox 7 Happy Hardcore 28 Mase Amek 10 nine 1340.9 1024,8 10198 1010.9 987.9 976.7 8 9200 Mancow 37.1 8 Your length: 364 Your rank: 232 of 513

Going back to our previous point about the boring honeycomb grid, think of the possibilities that more exciting environments could have held?

Imagine if there was grass you could hide in then leap out of to attack an unwitting snake? Or icy terrain that made your snake skid around wildly? The possibilities are endless. And far more interesting.

Then there's features lacking from similar games, like the ability to split yourself in Agar.io. This actually kind of makes sense here too, as worms can split themselves in half and survive. Snakes are basically worms, right?

No sound

The lack of music is fine as, chances are, you'd just switch it off anyway. But where are the slithery snakey sounds? Where's the creepy rattlesnake sound to scare you silly? Why not a full-scale explosion when you inevitably crash into a bigger snake?

It's not a deal breaker by any means, but some sound to make proceedings feel a little more interesting wouldn't have gone amiss.

The controls are horrible

This is kind of a personal preference but your finger (or thumb) tends to traverse the entirety of the screen while playing Slither.io and it can impair your chances of victory. That's an issue.

7 Hungary michrope leo molecule enterpreneur cel bus water cel big brother Soakeid dongas) 1 Joystick Control

Many times I've found my thumb obscuring a snake who managed to get the jump on me, and I end up having to perform some thumb acrobatics to right myself.

No one wants that - particularly when the competition has finely-tuned control schemes in comparison.

Lag

This isn't a massively common occurrence but you have to admit that it totally sucks when you're about to beat your high score and you die because of that rotten lag.

It doesn't strike often but when it does it's usually damaging. Curse you, lag!

It doesn't contribute to valuable research that saves lives

Hey, quit laughing. Yes, you! Many mobile games these days contribute to research that cures diseases and save lives. The most recent example of this being Sea Hero Quest, which has helped scientists perform valuable dementia research.

I prefer smart phone or laptop?

When looking for a computing device, there are many options out there. Today, a decision you may have to think about is whether to purchase a computer or a smartphone. Both can provide computing capabilities, run software and perform other tasks, but there are many factors to consider between the two options. Below is a chart to highlight some of the important factors to consider, including the pros and cons of each.

Power

More powerful computing processors typically require greater amounts of power and cooling. Computers are equipped to provide these requirements for processors, thus being able to feature higher computing power overall.

Smartphones are more compact and do not have the capability of providing the amount of power and cooling that more powerful processors require. They are limited to lower voltage processors, although processors of this type are becoming more advanced and powerful.

Cost

Prices for a computer (desktop or laptop) can vary widely, depending on its capabilities, storage, and features. A more powerful computer will be more expensive, but computer prices can range from $300 to $2000.

Cell phones, specifically smartphones, can vary in price based on power and various features, but not as much as computers. Prices can be $100 to $500 in most cases with a contract.

Screen size

Desktop computers use monitors with large screen sizes. Standard monitor sizes are between 17" and 24" in most cases, but larger displays can be used. These include a TV or projector. Laptops typically feature screen sizes up to 17".

Smartphones, due to their smaller size, feature smaller screen sizes ranging from 2.5" to 4.8", with a few exceptions. To get a bigger screen size (up to 10"), you would have to venture into the tablet market, which can sometimes feature phone call capabilities, but that is not standard.

Portability

Desktop computers are not considered to be portable. They are not easy to move around. Laptop computers are portable, lightweight, and easy to place in a backpack. However, laptops with larger screens (17"+) can be bulky and more difficult to carry, weighing up to seven or eight pounds.

Smartphones, while a bit bigger than a standard cell phone, are still more portable than any computer. They are very lightweight and can fit in a purse or pants pocket with ease. They are designed to be taken everywhere with you, thus the very definition of portable.

Storage

Computer hard drives are already over one terabyte (TB) and continuing to increase in size. Even the most basic computer comes with a 250 gigabyte (GB) hard drive today. This applies to both desktop and laptop computers. For most people, storage will not be an issue, since even 250 GB is more than enough for many users.

Some smartphones come with built-in storage, ranging from 8 GB to 64 GB. In some cases, an expansion slot may be available for adding an additional memory chip for more storage capacity. Smartphones, in general, will offer less storage capacity than a computer, but for most users, the storage provided is more than adequate. As memory chips increase in size, so will the storage capacity of a smartphone.

Connectivity

Although a computer can connect to a 3G, 4G or other phone network, computers do not come with the necessary equipment. Most laptops rely on a Wi-Fi signal to connect to the Internet.

Smartphones have a data plan that allows them to be connected to the Internet at all times, as long as the phone is receiving a signal from a cell phone tower.

Operating system

Computers come with a more fully featured operating system due to having the computing power and memory requirements. Both desktop and laptop computers can run a fully featured version of an operating system, with the option to choose the operating system on PCs.

Tablets come with a more slimmed down operating system due to having more limited computing power and memory. The Android OS and Apple iOS are adequate operating systems for tablet users, but not the fully featured operating system found in a computer. Even the Windows operating system found on select smartphones is a slimmed down version of that found on a computer.

Data Entry and user input

A computer uses a keyboard for data entry that most users are familiar with and comfortable using. The mouse is also available for easy scrolling and clicking.

Smartphones feature an on-screen touch keyboard that is much smaller than that of a standard computer. The smaller keyboard can make typing more difficult for users, especially for those who have big fingers. Some smartphones feature a slide-out keyboard, with actual keys to press. Again, this keyboard is much smaller than a standard computer keyboard and can still be difficult for some users.

But I prefer laptop.