In WebRTC-Based Software Development, Verticalization Is The Name Of The Game

By Rick McFarland, CEO, Voice4Net

There has been a trend in software development over recent years to build products with graphical user interfaces (GUIs) that are a lot more, well, graphical. In an effort to make these experiences more attractive and inviting to users, designers started taking their cues from the gaming world, swapping out verbal descriptors and text-based identifiers for visual equivalents in the form of images and icons. Intuitiveness was the game plan. The goal was to greatly simplify the interaction between human and machine. This would make computer tasks instantly and innately understood, increasing speed and boosting productivity. It’s a perfectly logical move, as our world becomes increasingly driven more by what we see than what we read.

As many will recall, it was the iconic video game SimCity that unofficially established this new experiential modeling standard. Interfaces were soon introduced that had depth-of-field, 3-dimensionality, simulated environments, and colorful symbols and icons. Avatars began to appear that represented tasks, people, and processes, all placed in contextual or situational scenarios, creating interfaces that could be inherently understood and managed without having to read text to identify the data or assets represented by the symbols.  

The Gamification Of Software

The industry coined a phrase for this visual design approach: “gamification.” The thought process among developers seemed to boil down to this basic belief: If we can make our software “cooler” and more enjoyable to use than our competitors’, then we would get the sale. But to a great extent, many well-intentioned companies focused more on adding ornamentation for what seemed ornamentation’s sake, straying a bit too far from the core objective of the software itself and, ultimately, missing the mark.

Please log in or register below to read the full article.