FLASH: form vs. function

[Laura Hamilton]

Ken Grygienc wrote:

I mean do you like to mess around and try to find stuff or do you like to

get straight to the point?

-----------------------------------------

It really depends. If it's FUN to find stuff, then yes. But I don't like to

spend time just clicking around trying to figure out how the hell the thing

works. I really don't.


Make it a game for me, give me clues, be clever about it....don't just hand

over some poor navigation (or lack of it)and call it art. That drives me

nuts.


I like http://www.nosepilot, for example. There really is no navigation to

deal with. You're on a wild beautiful ride and you're not sure where it

might lead to...but it's not frustrating, it's not confusing, it's all fun.

No matter what path you take you are entertained.


I really don't like sites with a bunch of moving lines and dots and squares

that might be links and might not, and you just sit there click on random

things until you become bored and pissed off and go somewhere else. I hate

playing "find the link".


Don't make me hunt around if it's not FUN at every step. I don't mind

working to find out what else you have in store for me, but make it exciting

and interesting at every step, so that no matter what direction I take there

is something cool to interact with.


One of my favorite sites in this vein is Superbad (http://www.superbad.com).

They always have some wacked-out stuff going on there, it's always changing,

it's always fresh, none of it makes any sense, but it's all fun. They do

play "find the link" on their site, but they make it like a game. And no

matter what you do you get something interesting, not just spinning things

and dots and lines and rectangles.


Just my two cents,

Laura Hamilton







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