Homework 5, Chapter 6

I want to discuss principle 6.2, The Tofu Burger Principle. I think one of the biggest challenges that app developers face is designing a game that is both easy to get a hold of and comprehensive. Particularly with mobile apps, I and most others become skeptical when the onboarding process and initial screens look crowded or overly complicated. If the app overwhelms you, it becomes much less fun, useful, etc. When I started playing Call of Duty Mobile a few weeks ago, I had a similar initial experience: I saw a million buttons and options and had no idea what to do. Call of Duty Mobile started up and I immediately saw a bunch of popups, one offering a free weapons crate using “C” currency and another a clan invitation. I had no idea what any of this was or meant and was pretty sure I was going to close the app and not play again. But I decided to play a game. I found that before having access to the many multiplayer game modes, you had to complete a tutorial and then play against robots for a few matches. I managed to go through this process in about 20 minutes and immediately felt like I had somewhat of a handle on game. 

While I found that the very beginning pages were jarring and not optimal for a completely new user, I believe the mobile app was able to successfully accomplish an onboarding process that would pass the Tofu Burger test.  I am currently a little addicting and am enjoying the game. I look back on the first few games I played against the bots and compare the game play to my current matches against more competitive players. I strongly believe if it weren’t for the easiness of the earlier matches, I would not have kept playing. Ultimately, having an understanding of what you are doing and being successful at it is a necessity in order to enjoy most of life’s pleasures. If I started COD and was getting crushed over and over, I would not have had fun and continued playing. Likewise, if I started Unity without any simple task and was asked to program a game like COD, I would give up. Being tested can be fun, but being overwhelmed or helpless is far from an enjoyable experience. 

Most apps out today, whether they are social medias, video games, or utilities, have to grapple with the complexity of their app. App developers must decide before adding a feature whether it will complicate or crowd up the UI/UX, or will be appreciated and easily integrated into the experience. Usually, it is a mixture of both. Generally, the more well-known and developed a product is, the more it can sacrifice simplicity for greater utility. For example, a large percentage of the globe knows how to navigate the core functionality of Facebook. When they add new features like shopping, AI bots, etc, the changes are more easily integrated into the experience as people won’t be as overwhelmed. If Facebook started up looking the way it looks now, not focused on a particular niche and covering topics that range from movies, to stories, to job searching, to a venmo-esque payment system, I doubt it would get the attention it has now. People in the early 2000s were barely able to navigate a program that was limited to profile searches, statuses, and poking, so the current product would definitely be too much for a computer newbie. The Tofu Burger Principle is essential to keep in mind when designing an app: you should consider the onboarding process, the increasing features open to experienced users, and the expansion of the product as a whole (when the time comes).