Screenshot
Reflection
“Deception appears in various guises in user interfaces on the web today” (Brignull, 2011, para.1). I did not realize how disastrous a user interface with many deceptions could be before playing User Inyerface. Now, I have a greater appreciation for well-designed user interfaces.
User Inyerface is an intentionally frustrating and challenging online game that put me through counterintuitive tasks, leading to helplessness and irritation. After playing the game, I could not agree more with Brignull’s claim that it is pretty easy to “take our understanding of human psychology and flip it over to the dark side” (para.4). Humans use top-down processing a lot to perceive things by utilizing existing knowledge, experiences, and expectations (Cherry, 2023). User Inyerface takes advantage of human’s top-down processing to design tasks that go entirely against common design principles to get players in trouble.
However, I indeed found this game amusing precisely because of its intentional absurdity. Also, this game encouraged my critical thinking and pushed me to think outside the box, preventing me from relying on a single method or metric to solve problems.
Analysis of User Inyerface
User Inyerface is filled with traps or challenges that subvert common user interface conventions. These traps are meant to confuse players and test their patience. Here are some of the “annoying” designs I found in the game:
(Please click on all the interactive elements for full text, images, and GIFs.)
References
Brignull, H. (2011). Dark patterns: Deception vs. honesty in UI design. A List Apart, 338.
Cherry, K. (2023). What is Top-Down Processing? Verywell Mind. https://www.verywellmind.com/what-is-top-down-processing-2795975#:~:text=Top%2Ddown%20processing%20involves%20perceiving,to%20interpret%20new%20sensory%20information