There is no IAP, but there is an in-game currency easily obtained during play. I was able to get all the items in a few hours.
There’s a lot to love about Alto’s Adventure. It’s a fun endless runner for iOS with amazing artwork, and the ability to unlock a llama. What more could you want? There are already a vast number of reviews for the game, so I’m not going to review the game play. I want to talk about why Alto’s Adventure is so good from a UX perspective.
The folks at Snowman nailed a number of details throughout the app that make for an experience far better than your average iOS game. The first is their pricing model. Instead of going ‘freemium’– where you download the app for free, but are endlessly badgered into countless micro-payments in order to extend play — they went with a pay-for-download, aka ‘premium’ model. While this could hinder total number of sales, I reckon the audience they wished to serve is perfectly fine with paying the $2 entry fee. There is no IAP (In-App Purchase) in the game, although there is in-game currency, which is easily accumulated during play. That choice alone creates a cello-like legato vibe for the game. It says “we want you to kick back and enjoy the ride”. It’s so refreshing to not be harassed at every opportunity.
There is no IAP, but there is an in-game currency easily obtained during play. I was able to get all the items in a few hours.
User Experience practitioners often talk about “affordances”. These are the little hints an object gives the user based on its physical characteristics and context. For example, a handle can be pulled, whereas a button is pressed. The physical properties and context allow you to create a mental model of how that object works, before manipulating it. Affordances alert users to context changes, and the potential for interaction.
Alto’s Adventure does a delightful job informing you what to do, without paragraphs of text, or a series of overlays and coach marks. It starts on the title screen, where there are three areas of interaction. The top two are secondary areas which have both iconography and text labels. While they are not traditionally shaped like a button, the icon in combination with their label allows you to guess as to what would happen if they tapped on either area. The primary call to action is an imperative: “tap to start”. This can be done from anywhere on the screen, not just the text label. Having a nearly infinite tap target reduces user error in achieving the primary goal of starting the game. The screen isn’t perfect, as their “change player” icon is difficult to see, as it’s in a busy portion of the screen, and is lacking in a text label. I’ve mis-tapped that icon more than once.
Icons with labels, and a nearly-infinite tap area for the main call to action are welcome affordances. Not so great is the “change character” button.
During play, there are a few welcome affordances. One set is when you encounter the dreaded chasms. The first warning is a signpost stuck in the ground. It’s in the shape of a triangle, which is the international symbol signaling a warning. However, often you are high enough in the air that you can’t see the sign. It’s here where the game does something rather clever. The camera pulls back and downward a moment before you get to the chasm. This allows players an instant to prepare for the jump.
Just before the chasm, the camera zooms out and down warning the player of the dangerous chasm. The camera changes back to the default position once you have cleared the chasm.
As you play, the environment changes from day to night, and from clear to stormy. This can make it difficult to see dangerous rocks in your path. Very often, a trail of coins will be set in an arc over an obstacle, giving you plenty of time to jump.
One of the things that makes this game such a joy is that unlike many games, it’s forgiving of your imprecision. You don’t need to be as precise in your actions. You don’t have to nail a perfect landing, unlike the similar game Tiny Wings. In fact, your character will naturally level herself if you bail on a backflip midway through. This makes the game much more like a beautiful leisurely cruise down the mountain than a hard-core racing physics simulator. That isn’t to say the game isn’t challenging — it is quite difficult in places — but the makers want you to enjoy your journey just as much as they want you to accomplish the level’s objectives.
Even those pesky rocks and bonfires have some leniency. Many a time I should have eaten snow by jumping a wee too late. Instead, I find my board kicked up just high enough that instead of crashing, I bounce off the obstacle, and continue my journey. If I’m really lucky, I can chain another backflip before I land.
The items I’ve covered in this post aren’t exhaustive, but it should make you think how affordances can make your app better. Often when we build something, we think it through, collaborate with others, and iterate dozens of times before the final product. Decisions are made based on what seems to be a logical path. Unfortunately your users haven’t been in all of those meetings, and their mental model of your app isn’t yours. They can’t make the logical leaps you did, as they don’t have context. You must supply that context, and allow them to apply what they do know to your app.
Be forgiving. Your users come from a variety of different backgrounds, and perceive things differently. Most users are scared to try things for fear of messing something up, breaking something, or not being able to return to where they were. When something goes wrong, they blame themselves. When something goes wrong, remember, they haven’t made a mistake — your app simply didn’t meet their desire. Allow your users to recover easily from their unintended actions. If you must throw an error dialog, don’t ever blame them for their actions.
Editorial Note: This entry was the result of a conversation on twitter with @davemark and a few others who wanted to know more about getting quality music for use in marketing videos for apps. —CMH
A promo video goes a long way in showing people why they should buy your app over the competition. At the core of every well-produced promo video is the inclusion of high-quality music. Successful feature films rely on their background music, or music beds to bring the viewer to a desired emotional state. Your app promo video is no different. Adding music to your video creates an emotional bond between your app and your audience, but it doesn’t have to be expensive. The key to not racking up outrageous expenses is royalty free. That doesn’t mean it won’t cost you money to get it, but it does mean you don’t have to keep paying every time someone watches your video.
A few things to think about when choosing your music:
Here are five sites that have really great royalty free music — some of which have no cost at all, other than a “music by” credit.
The Free Music Archive is my go-to for royalty free music. They have quite a variety of styles, and artists. One artist in particular, Kevin MacLeod is so prolific, I am not quite sure when he sleeps. I’ve used a lot of his work in the past, and will do so again in the future. Just as the title says, all of their music is free of charge. Don’t forget to read the licensing agreements to see if a credit is required.
Pond5 has seemingly endless resources of music, sound effects, as well as stock footage, and motion graphics. While they do have a cost-free section, most of their material does cost a nominal fee ($2-$100 USD). You can however, fully preview the music before you buy it. The only downside to using Pond5 is that you’ll hear the Pond5 lady in your head for eternity. Don’t be put off, she’s only in the previews, not the paid versions.
Premium Beat is one of the largest players in the royalty free music scene. Their library is very high quality, with prices to match. Music starts at around $40. I like them because they offer not only full-length music, but small loops of those songs in lengths of 15, 30, and 60 seconds. On top of their loop feature, Premium Beat also offers variants of most songs. These have the same base rhythm, but add interest by adding and subtracting instruments and additional rhythms to combat loop fatigue.
Audio Jungle and I go way back. Their collection is eclectic, and interesting, but fairly no-frills. They are also fairly inexpensive with songs averaging around $14-20. I rather like their search capability, as you can search by a variety of metadata, including price, tempo, and if it can be looped. I do think though, their competitors have passed them in recent years. That said, I used one of their loops in a project two months ago, so they still have value.
One giant caveat before I go on with this. I am affiliated with, but not employed by, THAT Studio. They did not sponsor or otherwise compensate me for this post. I’m mentioning their product here because I’ve used it, and found value in it.
THAT Studio has recently ramped up their production tools, and one of their latest is their Atmospheres Bundle. If you happen to use Adobe Premiere Pro CC 2014, or Adobe After Effects CC 2014 you can install their panel for free, and preview all of the music options in your composition. This makes testing out music options a breeze. Unlike the other options above, you don’t pay per song, you pay for the bundle at $199 for just the music, or $249 for everything they offer. The music is unique in that it doesn’t have that ‘royalty free music sound’ that plagues so many other choices. It also offers a good mix of genres and tempi. If you don’t want to install the panel, they have an intro video linked on their site.
I had a blog post to write, but nowhere to put it… so I learnt a few new things, built a few more, and here we are.
I’ve been working this idea for awhile now. Whenever I chat with developers, and designers, the thing I notice is they don’t speak the same language. Consequently, we prioritise different things. I think this is one of the biggest roadblocks a team has for creating truly exceptional digital experiences. I want to use this platform to discuss how to make better experiences for our audience, and for ourselves.
You can follow MVC on Twitter, where you can ask questions, or comment on a post. You can also hit me up on Twitter directly.