A sketch to be placed on all shipping Blanks.
These Blinks should not look like they are part of a game. When not being interacted with, they should look... for lack of a better word, blank. When being interacted with, they should inform the user that they do infact respond. Button presses will signal acknowledgement and attachments will as well. The only color used for Blanks will be WHITE, which is admittedly purplish, so it will remain a neutral and non-game color.
- Blinks have a button - press the top and the light goes dim
- Blinks react to neighboring Blinks - attach to a neighbor and see the side brighten temporarily
- Blinks, when alone, can enter program mode (Blink Sync) - press and hold the top, an accelerating rotation builds and after 3 seconds the Blink enters program mode.
- Blinks can be forced to sleep - press an hold the top, an accelerating rotation builds and after 6 seconds the Blink flashes a goodnight blue and goes dark, sending all neighboring Blinks to sleep as well.
- Blinks wake each other from a warm sleep. Put Blinks to sleep and then press a single Blink to see all connected Blinks awake with a rise and shine animation.
By design, all Blinks are created equal. However, calling Blanks "Blanks" does suggest that they are different. So what's different about them? At the moment, the only thing different about them is the little game label art on each of the Blinks is not part of the Blanks, and they don't come pre-loaded with a game. Blanks are designed to extend gameplay to more Blinks for the average user and can be used to store user created games by anyone with a developer kit or developer tools of their own.
Some users have suggested that because Blanks have no games on them when they ship, it is odd for them to go into a program mode (Blink Sync) after 3 seconds of being held while alone. The thinking goes that if there is no game on that Blink, why would it enter a mode to teach the game it clearly doesn't have. This brought about the idea that perhaps Blanks should be sterile upon shipping. The idea that Blanks simply ignore the program mode signal. For this reason, Blanks would effectively never run the default Blank sketch. The sketch would be seen once when turned on and then never again once Blanks are used for games. Of course, in the case of a game transfer failure, this sketch would show itself(just as every other Blink reverts back to what it knows), and upon battery change, it would appear again as well, but it wouldn't be able to be seeded or taught to other Blinks.
By effectively neutering a shipping Blank, users have two types of Blinks tiles, ones that can teach games and ones that can only play games. I think the distinction is pretty clear, but the interaction is a little different and therefore could cause confusion. If a developer programs over the Blank, it is no longer sterile and behaves just like any other Blink. Does this "Sterile Blank" option confuse you? Do you think it would confuse others? Do you think it would confuse others? Do you think it would help reinforce that games are only on Blinks with labels on them? Do you think it would make it easier or more difficult for people to become familiar with the basic inputs and controls of Blinks?
The introduction of this kind of feature had major implications for the way Blinks operate, but I am most interested in knowing what feels natural. I want to know what helps people grasp Blinks and get familiar with the games and nuances of the system.
I hope these kinds of details make Blinks all that more enjoyable and that we arrive at a system that simply feels right.