Dungeons and dragons and details, details, details — Baldur’s Gate 3 is one of the most anticipated role-playing games of the decade, and a clear contender for Game of the Year. For the uninitiated (roll for initiative!), this massive but well-polished game produced by Larian Studios is essentially a complete Dungeons & Dragons campaign. Players are thrust into…

When accessibility practices become standard, everyone benefits. — Do you watch movies with subtitles on? In a Preply survey of 1,260 Americans, 50% said that they use subtitles most of the time. This goes for more than just movies: most social media feeds that feature videos have features that allow for automated or manual subtitles. …

How even well-established, familiar user interfaces like Twitter can’t make up for lack of user trust. — Do you still trust Twitter? Do you feel like it is “the world’s most accurate, real-time information source and a global town square for communication?” Since October 2022, big changes have shaken up the company both internally and externally, which has led to an erosion of user trust in the…

In the case of the Netflix password crackdown, did ease of use win over user outrage? — In February, I wrote about the upset caused by Netflix’s announcement that they would be cracking down on password sharing, a practice that was previously encouraged. I thought that it was short-sighted by Netflix to presume that all users on a single account we’re part of a single, fixed location…

The latest Legend of Zelda title has both pleased and pissed off gamers when addressing certain user interface issues. — This article started as, and could easily end up, as a love letter to The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom. Its legendary predecessor, Breath of the…

Is endless scrolling evil? How can we balance ease-of-use with what’s best for humanity? — Scrolling without end has become standard in most social media feeds. On TikTok, there is no natural stopping point to a morning scroll other than the oft-ignored and strangely annoying “Tired Thumbs” promoted content encouraging users to take a break. But does TikTok really want you to put down your…

Inconvenience is the mother of invention. — We all know that AI is the new hotness, so it was only a matter of time before Google made strides in this new, and lucrative, space. On May 10th at Google’s annual I/O conference, Search Labs was announced. This experimental space–represented by a flask icon nestled between images and…

Hosting TTRPGs could help you become a better designer, researcher, and writer. — It should come as no surprise that there is a significant overlap between user research nerds and fantasy nerds. UX is a nerdy profession that requires in depth research, stepping into the shoes of users and personas, improvising interviews, and thinking outside of the box. …

Why was JARVIS the only male-coded AI in Tony Stark’s arsenal? Why is it that most fictional, and actual, voice assistants are female-coded? — In science fiction, one of the main indications that the characters are living in the high-tech future is an insanely smart, AI voice assistant. Star Trek’s Enterprise had the omnipresent Computer and Tony Stark famously traded quips with JARVIS (Just A Rather Very Intelligent System) before the AI became the…