Analysis of Arcade.nick.com
*Arcade.nick.com is an online store for users to purchase video games and board games inspired by Nickelodeon television programs. The site is one of many offspring websites from the Nickelodeon channel. Arcade Nick was originally a television show in the early 90's based on video game competitions. Arcade Nick was cancelled, but the concept transitioned into web form. Arcade.nick.com is now the hub for all Nickelodeon games. A 2006 finalist in the Amusement category for Southwest by Southwest (SxSW) Festival's Interactive Web Awards, the site features games from Nickelodeon's cartoon series. SxSW's amusement category require sites "that help make your life online a lot more fun. "Nickelodeon's name alone is a symbol of fun, but what does the site symbolize?
In addition to the entertainment criteria, I will analyze the makings of Arcade.nick.com. My focus will be design aspects such as site structure, theme, color, graphics and audience. A break down of these aspects allows users to see the process and inspiration behind the website's design. An analysis of the site's design highlights its successes and failures. Is the site easy to navigate? What is the theme and how do the colors and graphics correlate with the theme? Information from professional web designers Hillman Curtis, Patrick Lynch and Sarah Horton will assist in my analysis of Arcade.nick.com. In the Web Style Guide (WSB), Lynch and Horton provide the dos and don'ts of site structure and navigation. Curtis' MTIV: Process, Inspiration and Practice for the New Media Designer features the significance of the target audience, theme and color.
* This is a project webpage for my work in CMS 3710, a class offered during the Fall 2008 semester at Clayton State University in Morrow, Georgia. USA.
Rasia Middleton
CMS 3710
Updated: November 12, 2008