Behaviour and Response Evaluation

The brief for this project was to create an interactive Flash-based sample player with original recorded sound. The sample players I found during my research varied in purpose and look. I found that many flash players were pieces of art that happened to play sound, and others were very simple in design the sole purpose being to sample music rather than look attractive. I wanted my sample player to be aesthetically pleasing and for the sound to have a purpose. Throughout the project I kept a sketchbook and added to my online journal, this helped to structure, plan and record the work efficiently. (See appendix; Online Journal Entries)

My Flash-based sample player would be an interactive story of Sleeping Beauty and would contain an option for the user to mix the sounds themselves. I would have to keep the design and interactive elements simple, as the target audience would be a young age group, children aged between five and ten. When creating the player in Flash I struggled with action-script and simple things such as making buttons, this was due to a long break from using Flash and it took a few days to get used to working in the program again. Once I had got past these initial problems the project went well.

I used different methods to create my sounds, some were created in a sound-editing program and others were recorded from live voices. Unfortunately this mixture did not work as well as I had hoped, as some of the sounds were higher quality and louder than others that sounded slightly amateur and fuzzy. On reflection it would have been better to use one method of creating sound and sticking to it throughout the project. Unfortunately due to the tight schedule of my time plan I did not give myself enough time to re-record the sounds.

The script for the player is very simple, but, as the player is aimed for young children I did not want to over-complicate things. Although I used straightforward action-script commands I did challenge myself.

I received some peer feedback that was positive, unfortunately, because I had chosen a young target audience it was difficult to find children to test the player. I had two ten year old girls test it who said it was very easy to use and all the instructions were easy to understand. They also said the text was fine to read, they liked the clouds in the background and the colours. I observed both children using the player and neither needed prompting on what to do, it is often important for children to feel independent and not have to ask for help.

I know for future that I need to plan out the testing for projects just as much as the rest of the work, if not more. On reflection it would have been easier to create a flash player aimed at a target audience of young adults, as there is an abundance of this age group on a university campus.

Project Update

I have finished my flash player and I'm really pleased with it. There were some hiccups along the way but overall it's come out well. The script for the player is very simple but because the player is aimed at a young age group. The pages are simple both to look at and to use. The instructions are clear and easy to understand. Both of these points are key when creating anything interactive for a young age group. Although I used simple action-script commands I did challenge myself as I find the whole scripting thing a mystery. It feels like I have achieved something and I am proud that I have now grasped action-scripting, even if it is only the basics.

I have received some peer feedback which has been good, unfortunately because I have chosen a young target audience it is difficult to find children to test the player. I have had two ten year olds test it who said it was very easy to use and all the instructions were easy to understand. They also said the text was ok to read and I was worried the text of the story may be too small.

I know for future that I need to plan out testing for my work just as much as I plan the rest of the project if not more. I would love to say that it had been tested on a range of 4 to 10 year olds and the feedback was all positive but this would not be truthful. On reflection it would have been easier to create a flash player aimed at a target audience of young adults and students as there is an abundance of this age group on a university campus. I now need to spend this week concentrating on writing my evaluation and preparing for my presentation next week.