
The Cool Cam (2007) - sytringy05
http://thedailywtf.com/articles/The-Cool-Cam
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49531
When I started out making software for freelance projects I would build
everything "important" first (user auth, database requirements, basic UI), and
then add the pretty UI at the end.

I noticed when showing off a project sans pretty UI I was met with some pretty
disappointing responses. Once I switched to adding pretty UI at the beginning
of a project the response was the opposite.

I guess there's something to be said about salesmanship somewhere in there.
All I know is that if I kept focusing on what I thought was important first I
probably wouldn't have been as successful as I was.

~~~
sgift
From a users point of view the UI is the software. To people who program for a
living this may seem ridiculous: The UI doesn't do anything without the code.
But to the user it's the opposite. The UI does the work, everything else
doesn't even exist.

~~~
brogrammer_1
Exactly. The corollary is you demo a pretty UI with no backend and then have
to watch the crushing disappointment when you say it can't be shipped tomorrow
and you need another 6 months to build something behind it.

~~~
Neliquat
Ouch, yes. I have been on both sides of both situations, and it just
underscores the true value of a good dev team, and management who understand
the process, both internal and external. I would say the management is
arguably more important than raw dev talent, as managing expectations is
paramount to all other output in most business.

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andai
I've noticed in computer graphics and games that there are some simple things
you can do that go a long way towards making the game "cool", things like
particles for example.

I never thought something like this could actually save a dying project, I'll
keep that in mind!

~~~
whatever_dude
People normally call that making it "juicy". There's this awesome presentation
on YouTube showing how a boring game can look awesome with some "juiciness",
even if the core gameplay is unchanged:

[https://youtu.be/Fy0aCDmgnxg](https://youtu.be/Fy0aCDmgnxg)

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vmarshall23
I am almost ashamed to admit how many times I've reduced hugely complex things
to what amounts to a demo on a shiny retina display ipad. The %99 percent of
what-actually-solves-the-problem is still there, but most of reaction could be
summed up with "oooh, shiny" :-)

(maybe a _touch_ of hyperbole in there)

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aargh_aargh
Wow, not the ending I was expecting. I thought the cool cam would show some
spectacular failure during the meeting.

~~~
jacobush
Welcome to the Not Quite Dark, but pretty Gray side, Grasshopper. :)

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dajohnson89
Every software project I've ever worked on has a Cool Cam. Hell, most people
have a Cool Cam.

