User Experience Portfolio Highlights of Andrew Lichtenhan
Alpha Morph is a 3D space shooter, developed by the hatching disaster team, and a production of the UNCC Game Design and Development Program. Many different responsibilities came further than the role of Lead Artist initially demanded. As an active team member of an indie team: writing of the GDD, TDD, game play mechanic design, and audio assistance were all requested demands. I was not just an artist of the team, but a key member in helping design and bring a game to life.
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The player controls a space ship from a third-person perspective view or cockpit view. The ship has six degrees-offreedom and physics-based spaceship control. The player must destroy enemy ships in space-based dog-fighting combat. Energy stored in the ship's core powers the Alpha Morph's capabilities. Each stage has a celestial object in the center that provides the Alpha Morph with enough power for the beginning level functions. Player must collect energy in order to power up. Straying too far or taking to many hits will drain energy from the Alpha Morph. The battles in space can be single player or friends can gather and play dogfight style multiplayer via splitscreen.
Alpha Morph was not only a great success as a video game production but a great joint collaboration effort between the College of Computing and Informatics and the College of Art+Architecture. 2 major events and collaborations resulted from Alpha Morph; a gallery exhibition first, and digital media degree track fulfillment. A unique way to unveil the collaboration was a special gallery exhibition. The colleges came together with my team at the helm and presented the game for a weekly gallery showing for the public to enjoy. The experience, though not a digital undertaking, is a key project in understanding space, in addition to the digital work, as a medium of behavioral interaction.
Many different areas of production, whether designing a game or making a great gallery space, took many area of creativity and understanding. Creating a very enjoyable, stable, and successful user experience takes talents, knowledge, and skills beyond just the role of an artist can provide. Designing the game mechanics, hectic feedback, artistic theme, computing requirements; all while learning how to develop a strong team-building relationship with a new programming and development team. A new forefront to the collaboration was the presentation to the public. The involved bring the team together and creating a new experience in the viewing gallery. Very rarely do computer science and art come together and much less so inside a gallery. Making an immersive experience on a new front was a challenge but paid off greatly. We had for the time the highest attendance for a gallery opening and showing. Interest from the digital media instructors were the basis of the future collaboration projects were a large result of the show and production. Whether it was in a game or in a gallery; an easy to navigate, easy to read, enjoyable to play, and cohesive experience was a result of hard work by many. Alpha Morph was made successfully possible through printed layout, digital design, virtual implementation, physical space exploration.
While gaming for entertainment is the dream for many, it is only one of the many outlets for software development. Educational Gaming is thought of in general as an untapped outlet for making engaging environments and enjoyable experiences. Noah’s Arkstraction was a research software title developed for the Game2Learn program. I was tapped as Lead Artist based from on my previous ventures with the Game Design and Development program development. The concept was simple: develop an easy to use and play software that taught the beginning concepts of object orientated programming. Designing the art style, interface, and feel of the game required more than just a good sense of layout and design. Working with the team helped branch out what levels the design needed for the whole project. Though art was the spearhead of my work it took a much greater ambition, skill set, knowledge, communication, and experience to help bring a project as Noah’s Arkstraction to an effective life. Bringing Noah’s Arkstraction was not just a piece of software to design, but an experience in which to teach and learn.
The ever growing demand for information on mobile platforms had me wondering what I could propose for WIX Filters and its growing business. One platform at the time was a response to many inquires for a mobile app or quicker access to information on the current website. At the time out page was still Flash based and was very cumbersome on any platform other than desktop browsers. I proposed using CSS3 based methods to re-skin the site for a re-render to occur. This special designed page would occur if a mobile or tablet based browser was detected. By minimizing the layout I knew users would be able to access the most clicked and most visited portions of our webpage. The design was based around the current web theme (2011) and rendered with minimal graphics for quicker speed and minimal bandwidth use (tiered data plans were on the rise). Though not implemented, I felt the proposal was a great solution and a great fix that many users would have used. Mobile apps, while convenient, I felt would not be needed so long as an internet connection (through carrier or wi-fi) was made. With a browser based solution, there would not be a need for a separately developed app that would need OS maker approval, updating, and have to face numerous other hurtles for development. It would keep resources down while making a great product, our website) significantly better.
When WIX Filters overhauled their website many opportunities came along to try and improve functionality and user experiences. Being a content producer of many visual assets I felt a big change was needed in the video presentation areas. An issue I noticed was videos were not organized by their year, subject, or part number affiliation. Users often complained too that our videos were all grouped together and were not separated by marketing or technical service information subjects. I proposed and constructed a mock-up of one way we could organize this information. With the use of YouTube embedding I felt the videos could be organized in an easy to navigate playlist. YouTube also eliminated the need for hosting costs on our own servers. The development would require some work in the ASPX structure of the site but would make navigating much easier. Though the proposal was not implemented, it was praised by many around for its organization and practical application.
A crucial feature of the WIX Filter’s website is the product information page and catalog information. Here there are many stats listed for fit, form, and function. These are all fed via databases. Many users wished however more information were presented when certain part numbers were searched. Information such as bulletins, introductions, instructions, and more. I made a prototype layout of how this information could be presented in this way. My proposal takes the current layout and adds new features and information presentations. When a number is searched an extra field would then appear with any content related to the search. Information such as bulletins, videos, in-box instruction sheets, and more would then be easily accessible to users. The proposal was welcomed in open arms and was rooted into the current production of this service. Though not the main kernel of implementation, my proposal was an inspiration to the web development team in enacting a new service to the website.
In the prototype I place information most requested by the attendees of our 3 most current hosted seminars at the time. These information bullets were bulletins, inbox instructions, and technical bulletin videos.
Design Statement I believe the root of my work stems from a perfect blending of art, design, and technology. My use of creativity and ever growing knowledge of computing tools has made my work very unique. As interactively changes I believe the desire to learn new skills and methods for implementation grow as well. Being an artist and designer that is very invested in technology changes, my focuses are often on how interactively and immersion grow in forever evolving digital fronts. The works and projects in all my processes might lack in technological implementation or be hindered by outside leadership, but, I know every opportunity also presented a new learning experience and challenge. Learning and improving my work means taking critique, revising if possible, and making every experience one of learning. The word “like” will never be used in my critiques as I strive to maintain a hard stance on my professional critique versus my own bias. I will always view my outlet of design as one without borders; art, landscape, architecture, industrial, theatre/film, fashion, engineering, and technology. When a theme becomes a premise there is more than the scope of my own work in a project. Technology in my works does not mean I stand rigid, but flexible, to my teachings and base-applied skills. Even digital methods can benefit from analog means and working with tools or problem solving methods of my predecessors. Knowing more and seeing a gestalten perspective means solving beyond the problem with graphical communications. As technological communication grows in the world I am honored that I maintain a well-rounded position in understanding, comprehending, and consistently learning to improve myself, my skills, and my personal abilities to match or exceed any expectation.
“A major difference between art and design is while great artists use creativity to ask questions, great designers will know how to answer them”. — Heather Freeman, Associate Professor of Digital Media, UNCC