Design Considerations and Best Practices for Mobile Applications

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Design Considerationsand Best Practicesfor
Mobile Applications

• David E. Figley, Jr
• Programmer, C2 Technologies, Inc.

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(No Transcript)
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Patriot Missile System Training Apps

• Connecting Soldiers to Digital Applications
• Deployed on iPhone 4 and desktop web browsers
• Runs on iPad 2, new iPad, select Android devices
• Developed in Unity

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Design Considerations
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Considerations

• Platform (iOS, Android, Blackberry OS, etc)
• Different development environments
• Device diversity
• Device Limitations
• Memory and storage
• Accelerometer, gyroscope, camera, multitouch

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Considerations (cont.)

• Target Audience
• Apptitude
• Accessibility, 508 Compliance
• Deployed Environment
• Network availability
• Device management / updates

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Platforms
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• Predictable hardware configurations
• Relatively few resolutions and aspect ratios
  (480x320, 960x640, 1024x768, 2048x1536)
• Closed platform

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Ios Resolutions
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• Diverse hardware (CPU, GPU, memory, storage)
• Numerous device resolutions and aspect ratios
  (240x300, 320x240, 320x480, 360x640, 480x640,
  480x800, 480x854, 540x960, 640x960, 800x400,
  800x600, 1024x600, 1024x768, 1280x720, 1280x800)
• Disparate UI experiences limitations

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Android Resolutions
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Audience
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Considering The User

• Apptitude
• Gamers instincts
• Hold my hand
• Feedback fallbacks

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Deployment

• Network availability
• Updates
• Device management
• Testing

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Best Practices
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Development Approach

• Core Framework
• Base classes (UI screen, controlled obj, utils)
• Interaction behaviors (character controls)
• Content management (Scenarios, activities)
• Bundled assets
• Externalized content

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Framework

• Modular design
• Reusable chunks
• Encapsulated behaviors (independent code)
• Objects inherit attributes
• Applies to graphical assets

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Framework (cont)

• Interactive elements
• Character controls (joystick, touchpad, hybrid)
• Touches and collisions
• Camera controls (followers, look at objects)
• Create realistic models, figuratively and
  literally
• Open-ended, immersive environments

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Framework (cont)

• Content Management
• Scenarios
• Activities
• Steps

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Asset Workflow

• Bundled assets
• Core framework separate from scenes
• Load as needed, reduce load times
• Scalability
• Reusability

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Asset Workflow (Cont)

• Future-proofing for new devices
• Scaling assets
• Levels of detail
• Working in percentages, not pixels
• Polygons vs. Textures

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Content

• Externalized, editable, extensible
• Runtime content building and testing
• Push pull content from a database
• Create an activity and test without rebuilding
• Eliminate guesswork

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Thank you