# data[].attributes.headline
Don Norman: The Design of Everyday Things

# data[].attributes.subject
Don Norman: The Design of Everyday Things

# data[].attributes.body
I dove into this particular book by Don Norman as my specific question required me to understand and explain signifiers and affordances. These two terms were crucial to better understand and create proper structured arguments about the effectiveness of visual signifiers for interactive elements

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
Don Norman, 2013

Even the smartest among us can feel inept as we fail to figure out which light switch or oven burner to turn on, or whether to push, pull, or slide a door. The fault, argues this ingenious - even liberating - book, lies not in ourselves, but in product design that ignores the needs of users and the principles of cognitive psychology. The problems range from ambiguous and hidden controls to arbitrary relationships between controls and functions, coupled with a lack of feedback or other assistance and unreasonable demands on memorization. The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.

In this entertaining and insightful analysis, cognitive scientist Don Norman hails excellence of design as the most important key to regaining the competitive edge in influencing consumer behavior. Now fully expanded and updated, with a new introduction by the author, The Design of Everyday Things is a powerful primer on how - and why - some products satisfy customers while others only frustrate them.

Watch Don Norman explain why he wrote the book and what he thinks about the way it has been received (2 min. video):

Buy on Amazon

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
The Design of Everyday Things: Revised and Expanded Edition

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
The Design of Everyday Things shows that good, usable design is possible. The rules are simple: make things visible, exploit natural relationships that couple function and control, and make intelligent use of constraints. The goal: guide the user effortlessly to the right action on the right control at the right time.

# data[].attributes.headline
Jakob Nielsen: 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

# data[].attributes.subject
Jakob Nielsen: 10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

# data[].attributes.body
After forming the groundwork in terms of terminology and understanding of concepts for my essay using Normans work. I dove into Nielsen's heuristics, which showed me exactly what can be caused by ineffective signifiers and what are the outcomes of effective signifiers that are. Essentially trying to better understand the type of engagement that is supposed to be between the user and the game itself (while yes, the article doesn't explicitly talk about signifiers in games, these methods can still be applied to visual cues in games).

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
10 Usability Heuristics for User Interface Design

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
Jakob Nielsen’s 10 general principles for interaction design. They are called “heuristics” because they are broad rules of thumb and not specific usability guidelines.

# data[].attributes.body
I found it personally challenging to form an interesting guiding topic for my essay, so I decided to look back at the games I played recently, and I immediately thought about how I found Star Wars Jedi: Survivor really difficult just because as a player I couldn't visually identify the interacting elements infront of me. So I decided to take that experience and link it to one of the topics that were presented in class (I wasn't there, but I did go through the presentations on Moodle). And that is how I ended up looking into visual signifiers in interactive elements in games and their effectiveness.

# data[].attributes.body
For the essay i wanted to dive into an article that I read online years back, the inclusion of hindu gods in the MOBA game Smite. As a person from a Hindu family, I found this topic intriguing and wanted to use the articles that I read for the topic of inclusivity. While yes I am from a Hindu family I don't have any biased opinions on the matter.

# data[].attributes.body
This particular article by a popular indian news media Times of India was well structured and had quotes from Rajan Zed who is the President of Universal Society of Hinduism. This particular point of view was crucial as I wanted to see both the pros and cons of the addition of the Hindu gods in Smite.

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.readable_text
AMRITSAR: US based President of Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed has demanded from Alpharetta headquartered developer Hi-Rez Studios to immediately remove the Hindu gods from the video action game SMITE being created by a Georgia developer in which the players assume the direct control of some Hindu gods including Kali, Vamana and Agni.
A scantily clad image of Hindu goddess Kali is posted on the SMITE page of the company said he on Wednesday.

He argued that reimagining Hindu scriptures and deities for commercial or other agenda was not okay as it hurt the religious sentiments." Controlling and manipulating goddess Kali and other Hindu deities with a joystick/ button/keyboard/mouse is denigration as these deities are meant to be worshipped in temples and home shrines and not meant to be reduced to just a "character" in a video game to be used to combat in the virtual battleground" he said.
He said, " Hindus welcomed entertainment industry to immerse in Hinduism but it is important to take it seriously and respectfully and not for refashioning Hinduism concepts and symbols for mercantile greed. Hindus will gladly provide genuine entertainment industry seekers the resources they need for their study and research regarding Hinduism"

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.keywords[]
president of universal society of hinduism

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.title
Online video game denigrating Hindu deities | India News - Times of India

# data[].attributes.attachment_link.description
India News: US based President of Universal Society of Hinduism Rajan Zed has demanded from Alpharetta headquartered developer Hi-Rez Studios to immediately remov

# data[].attributes.body
While I did not exactly find a credible article about the developer's views on the matter, it was clear that they were attempting to create a game that has a diverse set of gods from as many pantheons as possible. So I decided to use that understanding as a counterargument. Which I then followed up with a point by using a quote from Rajan Zed, which states that using Hindu gods in forms of entertainment is encouraged, but with proper guidance from custodians, which is probably the best way to go about bringing any important cultural figures into a fictional setting.