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Video games are defined as electronic games that involve interface interaction so as to generate some visual feedback on the player’s device. The earliest video device was Cathode Ray Tube files for a patient as an amusement device in 1947. Since then, video devices have been improves and today, games are played even on mobile phones. The transformation of video games has gone from platforms, PCs, console, handheld, arcade to web browser. The largest numbers of video gamers are between the age of 25 and 40 years in the United States of America. 41% of active gamers are women. Average gamers are considered to be 30 years of age and have played for at least 12 years. 91% of children between the age of 2 and 17 years play games. Games are categorized into three main groups which are casual games, serious games and educational games (Eichenbaum, Bavelier, & Green, 2014).

Games are known to have some benefit on the gamer. The benefits include; improving their basic visual processes by improving the visual contrast sensitivity and treating the amblyopia. Secondly, games improve their attention and vigilance. This is done by reducing impulsiveness, improving the ability to track moving objects and overcoming dyslexia (Chiappe, Dan, Mark, Janet, Caldwell, & Kim-Phoung 2013). Thirdly, gaming improves executive functioning. For instance, it enables people to multitask and make decisions faster. They also increase mental flexibility and reverse mental decline that is associated to aging. Lastly, games are known to improve job-related skills especially those that require attention, eye-coordination, quick decision making and memory (Basak, Chandramallika, Walter Michelle & Arthur, 2008).

My capstone project aims at coming up with a design of a computer generated program meant for smartphones and other mobile devices for video game lovers. Video gamers are known to spend time playing for various reasons such as entertainment, competition and interaction among themselves. The social networking mobile application that I want to design aims to bringing gamers together to connect, compete and support one another from all around the world. I will include a range of games from different times and also ensure that the popular ones such as FIFA and Call of Duty are on the frontline. Also there will be features such as the download and upload features and people can share their views. The Call of Duty franchise has now been the best-selling series in North America for seven years in a row (Makuch ,2014).

Before the whole process of designing the social networking applicationbegun, I identified the way the app will look like. To make this something simple, it was necessary to have a Smartphone so as to download some of the existing applications then decide on how I will design my application. With a Smartphone and with some of the applications, it will be easy to get to know the needs and the problems regarding mobile applications. Preparation will mainly focus on the widely used operating systems which are the IOS and Android. From my research before embarking on the designing of this application, I got to know that there is a difference in design of desktop application and websites. Each application in the phone serves a specific purpose on a specific time and also at a specific place (Allsopp, 2013).

There is need to compare the applications on different phones so that it will be easy to know how to design the applications, this is important because by comparing the applications on different phones, it will be possible to note the differences, and it will help on designing one which will fit into different phones. After comparing the applications on different phones, the next thing is to consult official documents on the guidelines to follow when designing an application. The information regarding the guidelines can be inquired from the IOS Human Interface Guidelines, Android User Interface Guidelines and also the User Experience Design Guidelines for Windows Phones. After taking the information from these designers, comparison is done so as to know the most convenient.

Determination of the guidelines to use while designing is followed by consideration of the visual inspiration. This is necessary because all the applications will have their own visual appearance , so for the case of this application, there was the need to have an appearance which is unique so that it can easily be identified. When deciding on the visual style, there were some factors which were put into consideration basing on the objective and the context of the application. When designing any app, it is important for any designer to improve the visual knowledge. This is because with time, there is the development of new phones and therefore it is necessary to ensure that in any phone emerging, the app which had been designed earlier will be easy to install the app on that phone. To have a better knowledge regarding the visual style, it is necessary to be watching and analyzing other designs especially the design of the application that mostly concerns video gamers’ usage so as to design useful features that will suits every user's needs.

During the process of researching the best way to design the app, there was inspiration from the great mobile apps which are being created. There are a lot of high-quality screens of mobile applications. The importance of the visual inspiration is that apart from the looks of the app, it is also because one will get to know how the user interacts with it. It is necessary to know how the user will want to interact with that application and then determine the easiest way to accomplish this action (Neil, 2012). Also, there is the need to have innovations in this area.

When making the patterns, one has to be conversant with the patterns, studying and analyzing of various kinds of interfaces, menus and navigations. They serve as the foundation for the mobile app design basing on the content and the app objective (Hoober, & Berkman, 2012). In accomplishing the same mission in mobile, there are several ways which can be used and the way to be accomplished is decided by the designer. So, since there are different ways of designing, the designer will have to choose the most effective way. The design patterns are very important since it can be seen in a simple way the solutions which are already in existence and the way they will affect the interface. At this point, it marks the beginning of the designing, through mentally testing these layouts and coming up with what will be adequate for the app. Before the real designing of the app, there are some factors which should be clear which include; the main goal of the app, the most important sections in the app and the type of actions which should be available to the user throughout the process which the app is in use. With these questions in mind, then it will be easy to come up with the patterns and to define the app base layout (Powers, 2011).

The remaining thing is to prepare the app and clearly sketch the design of the application. I have decided that I will create a design for IOS users only. All the information which has been collected will be used to ensure that the iPhone app which is going to be designed will be useful for IOS users. I decided to name the application Gamer’s for Life. I will design the application using the website shoutem.com.

In conclusion, the app will make video gamers use this app for entertainment and to easily find once the app will out on for use, it will be used by majority of those who like playing the phone games since with it, it will enable them to have a platform where they can compete even though there are far from each other. Also, the app will ensure that video gamers will be able to watch, share, and comment on their favorite video games and able to see each video game with a list of the 100 top gamers on the game. Generally the app is important since it will provide something interesting to those who like video gamer.

References

· Allsopp, C. (2013). Designing mobile apps: Tips and techniques. Freiburg, Germany: Smashing Media GmbH.

· Hoober, S., & Berkman, E. (2012). Designing mobile interfaces. Sebastopol, CA: O'Reilly.

· Neil, T. (2012). Mobile design pattern gallery. Beijing: O'Reilly

· Powers, D. (2011). Adobe Dreamweaver CS5.5: Designing and developing for mobile with jQuery, HTML5, and CSS3 : studio techniques. Berkeley, CA: Adobe Press.

· Basak, Chandramallika, Walter R. Boot, Michelle W. Voss, and Arthur F. Kramer. (2008). “Can Training in a Real-Time Strategy Video Game Attenuate Cognitive Decline in Older Adults?” Psychology and Aging 23:765–77.

· Chiappe, Dan, Mark Conger, Janet Liao, J. Lynn Caldwell, and Kim-Phoung L. Vu (2013).

· “Improving Multi-Tasking Ability through Action Videogames.”Applied Ergonomics 44:278–84.

· Eichenbaum, A. E., Bavelier, D., & Green, C. S. (2014). Video games: Play that can do serious good. American Journal of Play, 7, 50-72.

· Makuch , E. (2014, January 12). Top Ten Best-Selling US Games of 2015 and December Revealed. Retrieved March 31, 2017, from https://www.gamespot.com/articles/top-ten-best-selling-us-games-of-2015-and-december/1100-6433845/