An arrow aiming towards the next/closest question

[PatriciaMoller]

After user testing, we noticed that there might be need for a compass or some kind indication show where the next question is. Especially for activities where the question were unevenly spread. Having an arrow indicate the direction will help them understand that more questions can be outside the area shown on their screen and they need to zoom out to see them

We suggest an arrow aiming towards the question closest to the player:

Depending on purpose of trail, maybe there could be an option in the Activity creation whether the aim should be towards the closest question if the order they are taken in doesn't matter, or the next Activity Item if the trail aims to be a predetermined walk in the park.

[pjotrsavitski]

Currently, the Items within an Activity do have some order, yet it does not have any meaning (there is no "next item"). Although it could be added and even enforced.

We could also connect the current player marker with the closest marker by a line that has an arrow element inside of it. Current triangle on the image attached seemed to be pointing in any direction.

There is also this one: https://github.com/SmartZoos/Toolset/issues/91 This one either supplements or offers a different solution.

Number of unanswered questions could be seen at the top of the screen. This gives an overview of how many are left.

This is the solution that is within the codebase right now, it connects points with lines and has direction arrows in them. It is currently disabled.

[PatriciaMoller]

My bad for not checking the other issues.

I like the idea of having a line between the player and the next marker. Having the whole route marked at once may feel a bit overwhelming or cluttered. We have the opportunity to test with another school group on Wednesday morning. Do you think it's possible to implement by then?

If not: connecting the marker should be sufficient to keep the players on the right path. We experienced a group had gone far from the expected path and thus did not manage to finish the activity within the timeframe mention in the Activity description. It would be interesting to see if having a direction pointer like that changes how the players behave, and if it's a functionality worth iterating.

[pjotrsavitski]

@PatriciaMoller I am sure that I will be able to implement the line to the closest marker on Monday. It might not be perfect and would have to be updated each time player marker moves (position changes). But apart from possibly imperfect visuals, it is rather doable.

I will let you know once that has been updated to the server.

[pjotrsavitski]

@PatriciaMoller Did this one work for the players or was it still confusing?

[PatriciaMoller]

It was helpful and understood by the players. It became distance measure: If it grew longer, you were walking in the wrong direction.

Th negative response was that some felt somewhat controlled by it, as if the question the arrow pointed towards was the one you HAD to get and seemed to discourage exploration.

Maybe the arrow should be an option for the player, rather than always visible?

[pjotrsavitski]

It could be made optional. Arrow could be removed and only line added. We could also display the distance in meters (somewhere somehow).

What would be the condition based on which it would be enabled/disabled? The top menu is getting a bit too crowded on the small mobile screens.

I mostly need concrete information on the: condition and visuals.

[kaimikael]

Could we have it come up as a suggestion after a certain period of player inactivity?
Hm, it shouldn't be impossible to keep track of where questions are, and pop up the arrow if the player is moving away from them?

[pjotrsavitski]

@kaimikael Define inactivity? We could keep tack of things and then try to be not that intrusive (although I need a detailed solution before providing implementation). In any case, if there is not way to disable it, then some might feel offended by the guidelines.

[kaimikael]

I was going to define inactivity as staying inside a circle of size x for a time t, but then again, we want to encourage players to study the animals, so that would be counter-productive. So, better to see if the player is moving away from question points.
I think the easiest is not to have a separate option in a menu somewhere, but to send the arrow away if the user presses it (alternatively flip up a button “Off” if one long-presses the arrow).

[PatriciaMoller]

As for visuals: As was a bit unclear. With "arrow" I meant the entire thing, line and arrow. Either the whole thing is there or none of it.

I was about to propose having it in a menu, as there are going to be more options for the player to tinker with (language select, log in options, maybe even delete account/data?), so it might as well be in there. It could, and should, be able to be switched on/off in-game. I propose by pressing the player icon. Right now the "It's you" window shows up press it. Turning it off by long-pressing the arrow/line feels a bit tricky to me. The line is rather narrow. And once it's gone

A way to introduce it to the player could be:

• It's turned off by default
• The player is encouraged to interact with the player icon (The player icon pulsates, the rest of the screen fades out a bit). Maybe this should only happen the first time SmartZoos is used of the device.
• When pressed, the guide is visible. OR A window with a checkbox pops up: That should teach the player that the on/off switch is tied to the player icon

[PatriciaMoller]

A suggestion from playtesting: Letting the Activity creator choose which order the arrow will point. Depending of the nature/purpose of the Activity, the Creator could chose either to have it point to the closest, or have it point the next one in a set order. Former, if you just want them have gotten all of them. The latter if the Activity takes the form of a story or for some other reason needs to done in a specific order.

They too felt controlled by it and would like to be able to turn it off/on. However, if the Items would have to be taken in a set order. It would probably have to remain.