Games design principles for improving social web applications

Abstract

Most young people (at least in countries were social communication technologies are established from a long run) carry mobile devices, surf the Internet and download music. They are always connected and live in a world where the distinction between virtual and real fade. The design of new interfaces becomes, in this context, a complex activity that involves a series of methodological problems. To one side designers have to create interfaces using basic HCI principles, on the other side they have to merge them with others ICT principles able to support social aspects, bearing in mind that they are addressing the above described generation of younger. Is our opinion that designers can find useful suggestion in game design strategies. Looking at games interface design choices, in fact, can help software engineers to improve the usability of other types of - more conventional - applications. In order to demonstrate this we will compare two social web applications: the new Facebook website and a French online game, Hordes. © 2009 Springer Berlin Heidelberg.