DESIGN APPROACH

It was the authors decision to look at popular cartoon shows that most people are aware of directly or indirectly, shows like the Simpsons, South Park and Reccess, the main reason for this decision was that the author believed the user would engage with the software more easily if the colour scheme, look and feel seemed familiar to the user.  Hopefully finding the system non-threatening, this would help improve their motivation to use the software.

The authors thoughts for the avatar menu system, was to design a system that would seem familiar to the user, the main purpose for this was so the user could efficiently navigate the menu system with ease.  Another advantage for a familiar menu system with regards to the user would be that the user would find the system less threatening and improve the chance for the user to engage with the application.  It was also considered that the system layout should be consistent so not to frustrate the user.  To research character selection menu systems that the target users recognised, the author investigated popular games that were available and which the user may have seen or played.  The author’s findings seem to suggest that a pictorial menu system maybe useful, with pictures of the faces of the characters.  The user would benefit from this with quick navigation and access to the character they wished to select.