The instructions for this task were to navigate through a confusing GUI game – User Inyerface, designed to distract and manipulate the user by employing what Brignull (2011) refers to as “dark patterns,” essentially, deceptive practices involving online interfaces. I gave up at the CAPTCHA after a lot of frustration and much laughter. 

Great user interface design should be invisible and seamless, but when bad design choices arise, it can create frustration and complication in an otherwise simple process. This is perfectly exemplified by User Inyerface, a short web game created by Bagaar, which throws every frustrating element of user interface design into one game. From buttons that don’t work, to dropdown menus that are sorted incorrectly, to devilish pop-up windows that can shut down the entire site if instructions are misread, the game is maddening and brutally funny to those who spend a prodigious amount of time on the internet.

The game only becomes worse as you progress, with each new page highlighting a design element that can be confusing if not designed well enough. For instance, the game’s several CAPTCHAs that need to be filled out are an excellent escalation of this concept. While the purpose of CAPTCHA image recognition tests is to confirm that the user is a human, User Inyerface perverts this challenge by demonstrating how one simple word can complicate the whole function of the test. Players have to choose images with “bows” in them, but since “bow” is an English word that can refer to different things, such as a tie, a weapon, or a greeting, it becomes a nightmare to figure out which images to choose. This is where I gave up out of sheer frustration.

Despite being a simple marketing tool for a design agency, User Inyerface effectively showcases how much effort goes into making every online interaction as smooth as possible. Clever designers use a host of patterns to encourage users to move through their websites and apps with ease, making the experience seamless. However, as User Inyerface proves, one bump can unravel the whole system, and designers should be mindful of this when creating user interfaces.

Overall, User Inyerface is an excellent example of a game that uses UX design principles of what you are not supposed to do. 

References

Bagaar. (2019). User Inyerface [web game]. 

Brignull, H. (2011, November 1). Dark Patterns: Deception vs. Honesty in UI Design. A List Apart. https://alistapart.com/article/dark-patterns-deception-vs-honesty-in-ui-design/