Instructions:
For this task, work your way through the game by clicking the link above. While you do, notice the ways in which the GUI is designed to manipulate your attention and responses, you will use this information as a prompt for your reflection on this task.
This task will be considered complete when you get to the end of the game and post a screenshot of the final screen in your webspace, along with your reflection. If you fail to reach the end of the task, don’t worry, just add the reasons behind this in your reflection.
Reflection
When completing this assignment, I will admit, I took a long time to get through it. The time shown is not a true reflection of the time it took. I attempted this task a minimum of five times before moving past the password section. At one point, I had to walk away to take a breath, as I had thought I was following all the directions but was not moving beyond the first screen and prompt. This assignment reminded me of the pen and paper “quiz” teachers would give, so students followed instructions. For example, the one where it said, “read all the instructions first,” and then the last instruction was “write your name on the top of the page and then turn it over.” Once I managed to get past the password section, I took my time with all the instructions and read them very carefully.
Doing this, and ignoring the clock, allowed me to focus more on the task. As I went through it, I realized how easy it is for website and interaction designers to manipulate one’s attention away from what they are reading to steer them towards another article or clickbait. I now see similar distractions daily when surfing the internet or signing up for an account on any given platform. So, I began to wonder if the website or interaction designers’ job is getting easier or more challenging? I wonder this, as it takes a lot more to grab a user’s attention but also, many of the teenagers I teach quickly scroll through sign-up steps with minimal reading. I would also be curious if website and interaction designers must “work harder” to achieve these interactions when their particular website is geared towards a different generation of individuals.