App Analysis: Al Roker – Meet the Developer Assignment
Developer’s Biography and Podcast Summary
In this podcast, Al Roker and Katie Linendoll discuss Roker’s fun and innovative app called “Weather Rokies.” To begin, Al Roker is a famous American weather presenter. Not only that, but Roker is also a 13-time Emmy-award winner, author, producer, actor, journalist and specializes in meteorology. Al Roker is most known for his role on NBC today where he works as a weather anchor. He received an education in communications which prepared him for his successful career. Interviewing Roker is Katie Linedoll, an Emmy-Award winning TV personality and tech expert, who leads the podcast with enthusiasm and curiosity. Also present on this podcast is interactive media designer, Steve Lunny, who provides wonderful insight into the game and how it works. In short, Weather Rokies is a fun and addicting app that is based on Roker’s concept of getting the real-time weather forecast and playing a unique cartoon-style game. The game’s concept is focused on Roker oversleeping and little characters called “Weather Rokies” are on mission to wake him up. As the game goes on, the levels get more challenging. Interestingly enough, the game is based on a true story. In the podcast, Al mentions how he actually did miss work one day due to him oversleeping. I thought it was an
interesting point because he took something that could have been negative (like oversleeping and missing work) and turned the experience into an interactive game.
Micro Review
One concept that Al Roker mentioned in the podcast was the fact that he wanted his app to appeal to all age groups. Katie Linedoll shared that Roker wanted to impress his kids by making the game cool or “hip” enough. Roker responds, “There’s a fine line between cool and too “hip” because you want everybody to be able to play and enjoy it.” He proceeds to mention how he wants the Weather Rokies app to be accessible to all ages. I personally think this was a wise decision made by Roker because weather is a topic that interests people of all different ages. Equally important, Roker had an intended audience when developing this app which is vital in app development. According to research, “Whether it is a game we want to advertise or a soap, you need to know who will be willing to buy it. For mobile apps, it is crucial to plan UX/UI design, mobile app features, etc., based on this target audience” (Bhati). Therefore, Roker found a way to make a unique weather game that appeals to the whole family.
Macro Review
Overall, I believe Roker had a global perspective while creating this app because weather is something everyone experiences, everywhere. He wanted to give people an app where they can check the real-time weather in their location and play an exciting game. The idea is original and innovative which makes the Weather Rokies app stand out among other game competitors. Furthermore, I have learned so much about animation and character design in this podcast episode. Likewise, I have learned more on establishing realistic timelines. Lunny discusses how to make hard deadlines and committing to a specific timeline to ensure all design tasks get done on time. I relate to this because often it can be hard to tell when a product or design is complete. Sometimes designers can go on and on with editing and revisions, but it’s important to remember the project deadlines and stay committed to them. Also, setting deadlines can help with organization and keep a designer on track. According to research, “Deadlines are meant to help you along the path of a project. They keep you on track and develop goals for you to accomplish and are also a way to keep in communication with your team because while you may be able to get a lot of things done, you can’t expect to get it all done by yourself” (Blair). Lastly, I would say the Weather Rokies app is defunct because I could not find it in the Apple App store and found minimal information on the web about the app itself.
References:
Bhati, Naren. “How to Find the Target Audience for a Mobile App?” Tech Blog | Mobile App, eCommerce, Salesforce Insights, 18 July 2022, www.emizentech.com/blog/how-to-find- the-target-audience-for-a-mobile-app.html.
Blair, Kati. “Why Design Project Deadlines Are Important.” Burkhart Marketing, 18 June 2020, burkhartmarketing.com/why-design-project-deadlines-are- important/#:~:text=Deadlines%20are%20meant%20to%20help,it%20all%20done%20by% 20yourself.
