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Analysis
Design 2
Design 3
Design 3 is a radically different way of choosing a restaurant to eat at. As we have mentioned, the target market is the set of people who are hungry but want cheaper food, and are eating simply to satisfy the biological need, not necessarily to have the "ultimate restaurant experience." In this design, we allow users to view restaurants in the area, but in the context of a game. This medium makes a lot of sense for a variety of reasons. First, since the game can be thought of as "competitive", restaurants could potentially advertise in a new way by rewarding winners. This way, people would be excited to use the app and find a restaurant that they could get a coupon for. Second, if we make the game itself compelling enough, people may be excited to use the app just because they enjoy the game. In this way, we may be able to interest users. Finally, by giving the user a gaming experience, people could gain an emotional attachment to the restaurant search experience. That emotional attachment would make it more fun for the user.
The concept of this game goes like this:
The user is in a car driving down the highway. Every exit is clearly marked with a restaurant and a couple of their "top hit" meals. When the user wants to exit, he uses the accelerometer, turns the device, and exits. Upon exiting, he has the choice of finding additional restaurants to compare or continuing the exit and comparing the restaurants he has selected. The user then compares the restaurants and chooses one. He can then see a map of how to get there.
The restaurants will be chosen at random from the set of restaurants within 1 mile of the user, according to GPS. This is an acceptable way to choose the restaurants to display because the user is simply searching for a bite to eat, so he may not know what type of food he wants, but is certainly not picky. In any case, he can quickly cycle through many restaurants just by "driving down the highway." See the following storyboard to understand the game on a deeper level:
IMAGE 1
1) Image 1 shows the first screen a user will encounter. It has two simple options. The user can either begin to "race", or cycle through the restaurants. Otherwise, he can choose "help" to learn more about how to play and choose restaurants. In our example, our user chooses to "start race".
IMAGE 2
2) The user has begun searching for restaurants. His car is driving down the road and sees a billboard at this exit for the restaurant "Hsin Hsin". If this restaurant is interesting to him, he can take this exit. To do so, he will simply tilt his device right was the exit approaches. If this restaurant is not interesting to him, he can continue traveling down the road and see the next restaurant. In our example, assume the user is interested in "Hsin Hsin" and takes the exit.
IMAGE 3
3) The user has taken the exit for "Hsin Hsin" and is faced with a crossroads. He can either choose to re-enter the freeway or exit fully. Re-entering saves this restaurant as a possible choice for the user, which the app will save to be compared later. Exiting moves the user to a screen where he can learn a bit more about the restaurants he is interested in. In either case, the user tilts the device to cause the car to turn in that direction. In our example, the user wants to see other restaurants in the area. He turns left and is back on the highway as seen in Image 2. He chooses to compare "Hsin Hsin", the restaurant he has already chosen, to a new restaurant he sees, "Pour House". This time upon exiting, he fully exits the freeway so that he can "Compare Current" as in Image 3.
IMAGE 4
4) The user now has found two restaurants he is interested in. He sees basic information on this screen about the type of food, rating, and popular dishes. When he finds the one he is interested in, he simply touches that restaurant. In our example, the user wants to go to "Pour House", so he selects it.
IMAGE 5
5) Immediately upon selecting the restaurant he wants, a map appears which leads to the desired restaurant. In our example, the user successfully arrives at "Pour House" and enjoys his meal.