The Feedback Loop: Creating Stronger Design

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The Feedback Loop: Creating Stronger Design

Maggie Duvall, Sr. UX Designer; Rebecca Wallace, Sr. UI Artist; Beth Beinke-Schwartz, Level Designer

Our three speakers will provide mini-talks on how high-value user feedback shapes deliverables in UI, UX and Level Design in game development, and the importance of gathering and incorporating this feedback in order to create a superior final game product.

SPEAKERS:

Maggie Duvall, Sr. UX Designer, Certain Affinity

What is UX? Maggie’s talk will focus on how User Experience is defined, what the process looks like, when to conduct user research, and how the feedback shapes the design

Maggie has 16 years of experience in designing intuitive navigation systems tailored to specific digital platforms and interfaces. Before joining the games industry to work on multiple game products, Maggie worked with Fortune 500 clients including: Delta Air Lines, AT&T, Southwest Airlines, Wellpoint, Dell,Nokia, and Blackberry. Maggie's specialties include user-centered design, information architecture, interaction design, and user research.

Rebecca Wallace, Sr. UI Artist, Certain Affinity

Using Feedback to Address UI Concerns Becca will discuss UI design issues and solutions, including how toto ask the right questions, conducting research and testing for similar solutions, giving users options and reaching agreement on a design.

Becca has 7 years of experience creating and designing UI for video games across multiple platforms. Becca has worked for such companies as Activision, 2K, and Warner Bros. Interactive Entertainment. Becca is currently working as a Senior UI Artist for Certain Affinity and has worked on Halo: The Master Chief Collection, the flag ship Halo title for the Xbox One.

Beth Beinke-Schwartz, Level Designer, Certain Affinity

Level Design Iteration and Feedback Pipeline Beth will focus on pipeline differences between Single Player and Multiplayer, how to gain the most out of play tester feedback, and determining valid feedback and how to react to that feedback.

Elisabeth has 5 years of experience designing for a variety of genres and game platforms, including both single player and multiplayer. She is currently a level designer at Certain Affinity, having moved to Austin fresh off of her work on Bioshock: Infinite at Irrational Games in Boston. Previously, she worked at Turbine and Demiurge Studios.

We meet on the 2nd. Thursday of each month at the Capital Factory, Austin, Texas at 7PM. Topics will be announced as the date grows nearer.