I’ve been spending a lot of time with my PlayStation Vita lately. I thought it might be fun to see what an alternate version of the home screen for the operating system could look like, so I designed a mockup.
I’d love to see other people’s interpretations. Leave a comment or your own version below.
Just in case: The PlayStation Vita interface is not something I have any part of at Sony. Also there are lots of documents with my signature at the bottom that swear me to secrecy over design in my job so it’s fair to assume this is a fictional prototype just for fun.
1) Launch a PSP game and touch the screen for 2 seconds. 2) Edit the display and control settings.
There are several options you can change to make playing PSP games much nicer:
Bilinear Filtering
Will smooth out the sharp edges caused by upscaling.
Right Stick
Allows you to set the right anaolgue stick to mimic another set of controls, including the left analogue stick, the D-pad, or the 4x PS buttons. (Useful for moving cameras controlled by the D-pad!)
Camera
Sets the camera to use the front or back.
Colour Space (PSP System):
Uses vivid colours added with PSP 3000 (Read more here)
I recently watched the trailers for upcoming games, Sleeping Dogs and Far Cry 3 (see below). They were so well produced I was instantly excited for both the games release, despite the fact neither of the trailers feature any in-game footage.
When a new game is announced there’s always some inevitable debate among gamers and industry folk when the revealing trailer lacks any real gameplay footage. The most popular argument for those opposing the concept being that it doesn’t accurately represent the final product.
Perhaps the most famous example of this in recent times comes from Deep Silver’s 2011 game, Dead Island. The critically acclaimed reveal trailer took the internet by storm and within hours of being announced a previously unknown game was now steaming up gamer radars everywhere. Just over six months later and the game was released to a poor to average reception from reviewers. Perhaps the best analysis of the Trailer Hotness : Game Hotness ratio is demonstrated by this YouTube commenter:
Personally I enjoy CGI trailers. I’m of the opinion that as long as you’re open-minded enough to dissasociate the trailer from the actual gameplay then you can appreciate it for the mise-en-scène of the game it’s trying to promote. They can be so technically well-produced and visually stunning that you can appreciate them as artistic creations in their own right. Let’s not forget that reveal trailers are designed to generate awareness of the game and in the case of Dead Island the trailer fulfilled that job perfectly.
With that in mind, (in no particular order) here is my list of top game trailers from recent years that don’t actually show any of the game:
Your portfolio shows the world what you’re capable of and if you’re lucky will lead to offers of work. But what if you’re not looking for work? Maybe you’ve got a job you’re totally happy with and think there’s no point in keeping your portfolio up to date.
I recently went on the hunt for a web designer to take over my old job role. I found myself on dribbble, systematically opening profiles for all the UK designers I could find. I took into account that dribbble is somewhat in its infancy and shots may not fully represent the ability of the owner. If the quality of a person’s shots was promising enough I’d follow the link to their personal website for a more in-depth look at what they had to offer.
It surprised me to find at this stage just how many of these links went to either a dead URL or a “coming soon” page. From the perspective of someone trying to find out more about this person, I’d hit a brick wall and they never got an email.
It left me wondering how many of these people actually had great work to show off or indeed how many would welcome the chance to look at an exciting job offer. They would never know because I had no way to see the full extent of their work.
I think there’s a part in everyone that secretly imagines that one day a big man in a big expensive coat will turn up at your door, point his cigar at you and say “Kid, I saw your work. It’s good. It’s very good. I liked it so much I’m offering you a million clams to work for me in Funsville, USA.”
Okay, that might not be exactly how everyone pictures it but you never know who’s looking at your work and a dead link or a coming soon page isn’t going to impress anyone.
Your portfolio is your identity and it defines your entire ability to a complete stranger. Even if you have no interest in new job offers it’s a shame to think that by not having an up to date portfolio your work may going unnoticed or your reputation is not as strong as it could be.
The Wallee is a great invention that not only protects the back of your iPad it also acts as a fixture for many of their other accessories, including wall mounts, desk mounts and hand straps.
This simple and brilliant piece of iPad design consists of just 4x rubber dots that discreetly stick to the iPad corners to prevent scratches when you lie it flat.
GRID-IT! technology allows you to fix numerous accessories of your choosing into place using elastic bands. The Wrap 10 is an iPad and tablet version that features a pocket and Neoprene cover.
The Glove is another accessory from Wallee but unlike most of their products the Wallee case is not required for this beautiful wool sleeve to do the job.
Kicks form a full length strip along your iPad, which not only protects the case from scratches when you lie it flat but also stops the iPad sliding around when you prop it against something.
It’s unclear whether this accessory supports the iPad 2 but it made the list because it’s a great looking case that fully protects the iPad. The book design features a great outer texture and a soft inside.
