John Ferrara John Ferrara is a user experience designer at Vanguard and the author of the new book, “Playful Design: Creating Game Experiences in Everyday Interfaces,” published by Rosenfeld Media. John has worked in UX design for over thirteen years,
designing web sites, desktop software, and video games. In 2010 he co-founded Megazoid Games, which focuses on creating mobile, social, and educational player experiences. John’s nutrition education game “Fitter Critters” was a top prizewinner in the 2010 Apps for Healthy Kids contest, awarded by Michelle Obama’s “Let’s Move!” campaign. He lives in the Philadelphia area with his wonderful wife and superhero daughter.
I sincerely believe that the user experience community should add game design to its toolbox of competencies. If we’re truly committed to creating satisfying user experiences, then there’s no reason why games, which can satisfy people so richly, should be excluded.
Operating successfully in the games domain means learning a new set of competencies, and I don’t want to oversimplify the... Read More
