We've all been there. Playing a nice video game, you might even be enjoying a whole lot. Then it happens. A moment that makes you stop and wonder what the designers were thinking. A moment that can turn a pleasant romp through a virtue world into a digital nightmare. You want to turn to someone and ask 'did they even test this part?'. Often games will pick up a popular feature for better or worse thinking it's a good idea. Almost no game is safe from this; there's usually one thing that can be found that ruins a gaming experience. Since no game is perfect (except Portal), I have compiled a list of these design features that plague gaming and hopefully go out of fashion before too long.
Before I name the worst, here's a few un-honorable mentions: bad camera (Mario 64), forced stealth sections (Crisis Core), horrid AI (too many games to cite), luck (RPG drop rates), infinitely re-spawning enemies (Ninja Gaiden glitch) and 3D sonic games (every 3D sonic game ever... ever).
Arbitrary Time Limits
A classic annoyance in platformers like Ninja Gaiden and Castlevania, the arbitrary time limit. Not too many games have time limits anymore unless it's to represent a bomb sequence during a daring escape, in which case, it's used to accent the excitement and thrill of the moment. However, it used to be a standard feature for no other reason than to add one more game over condition. Over the years, time limits have been able to cleverly disguise themselves as other game features. Most commonly, they now take the form of basic restrictions on a game that make no sense. Jeanne d'Arc, a strategy game, falls into the category by having a completely arbitrary turn limit for every single stage. The goal of the mission could be to make it from point A to point B, and you could've killed every enemy on the board, but if you don't make it to point B in the turn limit, you get a game over. Why? What killed everyone? Sometimes games even try to justify these limits by making them central to the plot like Final Fantasy Tactics Advance, which uses a law system. Every battle has some laws that restrict what abilities you can use, who you can kill, etc. The game starts off with very specific laws that really don't add up to much, but by the end of it, it becomes unfair. It's not uncommon to have a law like "cannot use the attack command" or "cannot deal damage to animals". Try entering into a battle where all the enemies are animals with the latter law.
Flying Enemies
Flying enemies are necessarily bad in games, it's how they're treated. Usually these are minor enemies that fly, take little effort to kill and are annoying. They are the obligatory annoying enemy of the game. And creators know they're annoying; case in point, the behind the scenes footage of making God of War, one of the designers admits to purposefully adding in an annoying enemy that eventually took the form of those flying harpies. This is another old trend that seems to keep showing up and shows no signs of going away. Castlevania had them with the Madusa Heads and No More Heroes had them with basically any normal enemy that had a gun.
Unskippable
It's amazing how some games still don't allow you to skip cut scenes or title sequences. Ubisoft is a big violator of this. Pop in their game, you have to watch their logo animation every single time... it's annoying. No one wants to be forced to watch a company's logo animate each time they boot up their game. But it pales in comparison to having to sit through every single cut scene in a game again. Zelda has been a major series that plays into the idea that if you're going to replay the game, you're going to experience the plot again whether you like it or not. A few games take this violation even further but putting a boss fight right after the unskippable cut scene. And its never an easy boss battle, it's usually one of the hardest in the game. The longer the cut scene, the harder the boss fight. So each time you lose, not only do you have to start the fight all over again, you get to watch the scene unfold as well. The big offender that comes to mind is Eternal Sonata. This game managed to combine one of the tougher fights in the game, before a painfully long cutscene involving in-game graphics, and to top it all off, the dialog is painfully bad in that game.
Escort Missions
For what ever reason, a great game will going along, you're having fun, but then it happens. A secondary character is suddenly attached to your gun-touting, one-line spewing death machine of a character, and you're supposed to look after them while hordes of enemies make it their business to only go after them. Almost every genre has its version, and almost all of them are a downer. It slows down the game play and adds an unnecessary level of annoyance. Very few games have managed to pull this one off well, like Ico and Resident Evil 4. Ico build its game around having a partner around all the time, and it worked to its advantage along with creating a very beautiful narrative. Resident Evil 4 had Ashely. A vocal, bratty annoyance of a character, but with one button command, she'll go off and hide while you viciously work your way through half the Spanish population with the Chicago Typewriter (Thompson machine gun). Jeanne d'Arc gets a second mention for having escort missions where you have to defend a character while the enemies surround your position. In one mission, you have to defend a character who moves on his own, usually right next to an enemy, and is one-shotted by every single attack, including archer fire and mage spells. Have fun.
(God Help Me) Quick Time Events
This one is relatively new. I don't know what game started it, but I do know it should've stayed there. Quick time events have managed to find themselves in even the best game titles like Resident Evil 4 and the God of War series. Just in case cut scenes were unskippable, now they basically have to be so you can follow this 'Simon Says' routine the game throws at you. Does it compliment the game play? No. Does it add anything to the excitement? No. What does it do? Annoy the crap out of people. A lot of time people aren't expecting it. The game throws you a cut scene and you want to sit back and enjoy it (or skip it). But then suddenly a representation of a game button pops up and you have 5 seconds to hit it or game over. Usually they're just unpredictable and will cause a lot of grief. The ONLY time a quick time event could be considered well-placed is in a rail shooter game. Rail shooters are based around you constantly paying attention to the screen so you're already on edge, waiting to react. Bayonetta is a particular offender since it keeps throwing them at you throughout the entire game and usually come out of no where, and failing to execute them results in death 90% of the time.
Instant Kill Moves
There's nothing wrong with a little challenge in a game. Some of my favorite games are as such because they provide such a satisfying challenge, like Devil May Cry. But some games decide to take the cheap route to create their challenge instead of relying on the skill of the player. Enter, instant death moves. These moves will randomly show up in a boss fight, or at worst, normal enemy encounters. They demand that they be handled perfectly, or game over. RPGs manage to have these via the "death" spell or the "stone" status effect. A perfect example is Tales of Phantasia with the Basalisk enemies. Their normal attack is enough to inflict stone status on you, which, if you're only 1 party member strong, will cause a game over. No More Heroes 2 has a particular boss fight which will end depending on where you're standing while it's attacking you. Without going into detail, it will cause more game overs than any other boss in the game combined.
And there they are, the worst video game trends. Some game designers out there look upon these and think they are acceptable, but any sane person would look at these and recall in horror.
Sunday, August 22, 2010
Thursday, August 5, 2010
The Web Client Dictionary
Designing a website takes a lot of work. You have to meet the needs of the client as well as the needs of the users that will be using the website. This requires a connection between client and web developer that has to be strong. However, the two parties can misunderstand each other.
Sometimes the client wants to convey an idea, they just don't seem to be putting it into terms web developers understand. On the opposite side, web developers can have a hard time explaining the back end of websites to the client. Web developers will throw around terms and lingo passed the client, but what they are really doing is verbally slapping them in the face. This can lead to complete communication breakdown, leaving no one satisfied.
Its no one's fault though. Just because a client has been put in charge of managing the company's website, doesn't mean they know how to build a website; and because web developer has thrived around these key terms, sometimes they don't realize they're speaking another language. And that's what web developing is, another language. Whether it be the language of the code or be the terms developers use, both are something that has to be taught and practiced to be fully understood, much like foreign language.
However, the client doesn't always have time to take classes or sit down and research what exactly makes up a website. Therefore, I have comprised a list of key words that are commonly thrown around between clients and developers in hopes to better communication.
Navigation
Navigation is essential to many websites, especially more complex ones. But what is navigation?
Navigation or the navigation bar is the list of links that direct you to different pages on the website. Note: navigation isn't just a single link in a paragraph or any series of links on a page, they refer to the primary method of getting around the site. Usually the navigation bar rests at the top of the page, or on the side. This part of the website is usually found throughout the website and in the same spot all the time.
I've heard navigation called many different things, all very similar, but the most common are navigation, nav, main navigation or primary navigation. Just as long as it's clear that the set of links you're referring to are the navigation links, every developer in the room will be on the same page as you. While the main navigation is featured on most sites, there usually exists a secondary or footer navigation. As long as they're still a group of links that guide you around the site (or possibly parts of the same page), referring to them as navigation is a safe bet.
Useful phrase: I want a secondary navigation on this page that features links that will take you to different parts of the page its on, so the user doesn't have to scroll all the way down.
Banner vs. Header
Another part of a site, just like navigation, is the banner or header of a site. Both terms can be interchangeable, but both can exist on the same site and mean two different things. This makes it difficult to keep track of what's what, but in proper context, can be very clear. A banner usually is at the top part of the site, usually spanning the width of the site. It can be an image, text or a combination of the two. Its not a logo or a navigation bar. A site doesn't need a banner, but sometimes it can enhance the look of the web site. A header can also be referring to large text found at the top of the page. Again, not the logo or navigation. When using the term header, I don't usually mean an image, just text. Header can also mean important text before a paragraph, like in a news paper or magazine article. The larger text that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading.
Useful phrase: I want these images to be a banner on this page, and rotate in a slider.
Styles
Styles is a broad term that encompasses how a site looks. Plain and simple. Styles control the font size, font color, the spacing between paragraphs, backgrounds, hyperlink colors, spacing between content, how wide or tall the web page is, etc. All these styles are defined through a style sheet. A style sheet is exactly what it sounds like, a sheet full of styles hooked up to the website. In developer circles, its generally referring to as a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS for short). Basically, its a sheet of code that defines out any visual aspect about a website. So next time a web developer says something is controller through a style sheet or CSS, you'll know exactly what sheet they're talking about.
Useful phrase: When making this new page, please follow the styles of the rest of the page. OR. I want this page to look different from the rest of the site, please use different styles.
Divisions
Often when talking about why some content appears where it is and others somewhere else on the same, I cannot help but to talk about it as if I were working on it through the back-end, code part of the site. This doesn't help the client at all. But simply, divisions are imaginary boxes that hold content of a website; sometimes referred to as divs for short. They can be boxes that hold the entire main navigation, a paragraph of information or a picture. They are impossible to see or know about unless you have ample knowledge of code and are directly looking at it. Remember in early plannings of your site, sometimes the developers will scribble out boxes on a white board or piece of paper to signify where content will be place? Those are the rough translations of divisions.
UNF's website is kind enough to actually have good, visual representations of divisions. As you can see from this image, there are gray boxes all over the page. Each of one these boxes probably represents a division. A division is used to position a block of content anywhere on the page.
Useful phrase: In this division of information, I want the text to be blue.
Search Engine Optimization
Many know that search engine optimization means the ability for a search engine to find your site. You type in amazon into Google or Bing and amazon.com will always come up first. Why? Because they have good SEO or search engine optimization. Basically what defines how good a site is search for has to be done through a web developer. They will go in and define key words that best describe your site. These key words will be found by Google and rank your site according to how many are relevant. Ranking refers to on what result page your website will show up when it relates to a search. It doesn't matter how big your company is, if your website doesn't have good SEO, no one will find it. Since most developers are more than capable of doing this for a client, it doesn't come up a lot, but when it's mentioned, you won't be lost.
Useful phrase: My current website comes back as the 5th result in Google, is it possible to increase its SEO?
Dynamic vs. Hard-coded
These two words refer to the site's content. Dynamic content means this content was meant to be changed or edited on a regular basis. Dynamic content usually sits outside the coding of the website so that anyone can go in and change it without needing a degree just to know what's going on behind the scenes. The most common way the content is changed is through text windows or text fields (like what's found on a form). Not code.
Hard-coded content means its static, unchanging or in the code. Although it's nice when you can have complete control over content all the time, sometimes it just never needs to be changed. That is when something will be hard-coded, or coded through the language of the website.
Useful phrase: Is this content dynamic or static (hard-coded)? Can we make it dynamic so I can change this often?
Screen Resolution
Have you ever noticed how a site can seem a different size on one monitor than another? This is because anything that has a digital screen has a resolution. Your TV, computer, iPhone, PSP, etc has a resolution. Resolution refers to the number of pixels it can display. Pixels are very tiny squares that act like the atoms of anything displaying on the screen. Low resolution means the pixels are more apparent and cause those jagged edges on pictures and everything seems bigger. High resolution means there are no jagged edges and everything seems smaller. The physical size of the monitor has a lot to do with the resolution it has. The bigger the screen, the more resolution it has.
Because many people have different monitor sizes and, thus, many different screen resolutions, web developers created a guide line to how 'big' a web page will be. The rule is 960 pixels wide, 728 pixels tall. If your web site is 960 pixels wide, odds are, it will display on just about every monitor out there, thus, ensuring everyone can view it comfortably. Ever come upon a page where there's a scroll bar at the bottom of the screen, making you move it horizontally to view all the content? That's because that site was build too big for your monitor, not good.
Useful phrase: Will the background of my website continue as the screen resolution gets higher?
Images
I know what you're thinking. What could image possibly mean that I don't know about already? Well, nothing. Image is an image: picture, photograph, graphic, etc. However, what you may not know is your image has a resolution. A low resolution picture is small and when made bigger, looks like a bunch of small squares. A high resolution picture is large and features no visible squares (although, zoom in far enough, you can see them). Those squares are pixels, and no one wants to see them up close. It makes the image look bad, which means it can make your site look bad. Look at Amazon.com's pictures. All of them are nice and clear. They are all high resolution.
The resolution of an image has a lot to do with what type of camera took the image. Camera phones are low resolution cameras. They don't take good photos and would never look good on a web page (sorry Facebook). Digital cameras are capable of taking very large pictures, sometimes too large. But too large is never a problem in the hands of a capable web developer. We've been trained to resize any large image to look great on any website. However, if the image is too small, there's not a lot that can be done. Resizing an image is a complicated way to say stretching an image or condensing an image. Stretching an image causes pixels to show up. Thus, stretching small images to fit a big space is never recommended. Condensing a large image has no adverse effects and are greatly appreciated when building a site.
So how do you check how big your image is? Well if you have Windows 7, select the image file and look at the bottom of the window that represents the folder (on the bottom left of the window in Windows XP). You should see information like format, size and dimensions. Dimensions tells you how big the image is. A small image is around 50 pixels by 50 pixels; generally not useful for a web page. A large image is around 500 pixels by 500 pixels, a decent size for a web page. When taking photos for a website, the bigger the better, and the easier to work with.
Useful phrase: I have provided you with high resolution pictures, please use them on my site.
Lightbox
If you have a photo gallery on your page or plan to have one, odds are you have or are going to need a version of a lightbox. But what is a lightbox? Is it a light bulb housed in a cardboard box? That sounds more like a fire hazard than a photo gallery feature. No, this is a lightbox...
A lightbox makes the screen look like this when you click on a picture in a photo gallery. Not all lightboxes look like this, but most have the same components: previous and next buttons, close button, how many photos there are and the photo name. As you can see, a lightbox simply takes the full size of a photo and puts it on display, while darkening out the rest of the site. Its a good feature to have and makes viewing photos easy.
Useful phrase: Can my photos be displayed in a lightbox?
Jquery and Javascript
Jquery and Javascript are two magical words that can make dreams come true. Where HTML and CSS coding just doesn't cut it, Jquery and Javascript will swoop in and make everything alright. Want that lightbox to work? Jquery/Java. Want some motion in your site that will work on almost any device? Jquery/Java. Want the Jaguars to have a winning season? That's... probably not a web issue.
Its not uncommon for web designers to not know how to code out Jquery and Javascript, they're just more coding languages you need to remember on top of everything else. Luckily, other developers do know, and they graciously post their creations on the web for designers to snatch up and use/manipulate. But what clients should know about these two languages is: if Java/Jquery is on your site, everything's all right. And any well-seasoned developer should be able to manipulate and incorporate without too much hassle.
The old standard used to be make everything in Flash, but that's being slowly phased out for more flexible methods of designing. Flash also isn't universally supported on all devices like iPhones and iPads, and requires updating. Both Jquery and Java have neither problem
Useful phrase: I want this motion graphic coded in jquery/java.
That concludes all the key words I can think of right now. My plan is to add more and have this be an on-going series. If there's any key word that you feel needs to be addressed or if I didn't quite explain something well enough, leave a comment and I'll make additions and edits as promptly as I can.
Sometimes the client wants to convey an idea, they just don't seem to be putting it into terms web developers understand. On the opposite side, web developers can have a hard time explaining the back end of websites to the client. Web developers will throw around terms and lingo passed the client, but what they are really doing is verbally slapping them in the face. This can lead to complete communication breakdown, leaving no one satisfied.
Its no one's fault though. Just because a client has been put in charge of managing the company's website, doesn't mean they know how to build a website; and because web developer has thrived around these key terms, sometimes they don't realize they're speaking another language. And that's what web developing is, another language. Whether it be the language of the code or be the terms developers use, both are something that has to be taught and practiced to be fully understood, much like foreign language.
However, the client doesn't always have time to take classes or sit down and research what exactly makes up a website. Therefore, I have comprised a list of key words that are commonly thrown around between clients and developers in hopes to better communication.
Navigation
Navigation is essential to many websites, especially more complex ones. But what is navigation?
Navigation or the navigation bar is the list of links that direct you to different pages on the website. Note: navigation isn't just a single link in a paragraph or any series of links on a page, they refer to the primary method of getting around the site. Usually the navigation bar rests at the top of the page, or on the side. This part of the website is usually found throughout the website and in the same spot all the time.
I've heard navigation called many different things, all very similar, but the most common are navigation, nav, main navigation or primary navigation. Just as long as it's clear that the set of links you're referring to are the navigation links, every developer in the room will be on the same page as you. While the main navigation is featured on most sites, there usually exists a secondary or footer navigation. As long as they're still a group of links that guide you around the site (or possibly parts of the same page), referring to them as navigation is a safe bet.
Useful phrase: I want a secondary navigation on this page that features links that will take you to different parts of the page its on, so the user doesn't have to scroll all the way down.
Banner vs. Header
Another part of a site, just like navigation, is the banner or header of a site. Both terms can be interchangeable, but both can exist on the same site and mean two different things. This makes it difficult to keep track of what's what, but in proper context, can be very clear. A banner usually is at the top part of the site, usually spanning the width of the site. It can be an image, text or a combination of the two. Its not a logo or a navigation bar. A site doesn't need a banner, but sometimes it can enhance the look of the web site. A header can also be referring to large text found at the top of the page. Again, not the logo or navigation. When using the term header, I don't usually mean an image, just text. Header can also mean important text before a paragraph, like in a news paper or magazine article. The larger text that grabs your attention and makes you want to keep reading.
Useful phrase: I want these images to be a banner on this page, and rotate in a slider.
Styles
Styles is a broad term that encompasses how a site looks. Plain and simple. Styles control the font size, font color, the spacing between paragraphs, backgrounds, hyperlink colors, spacing between content, how wide or tall the web page is, etc. All these styles are defined through a style sheet. A style sheet is exactly what it sounds like, a sheet full of styles hooked up to the website. In developer circles, its generally referring to as a Cascading Style Sheet (CSS for short). Basically, its a sheet of code that defines out any visual aspect about a website. So next time a web developer says something is controller through a style sheet or CSS, you'll know exactly what sheet they're talking about.
Useful phrase: When making this new page, please follow the styles of the rest of the page. OR. I want this page to look different from the rest of the site, please use different styles.
Divisions
Often when talking about why some content appears where it is and others somewhere else on the same, I cannot help but to talk about it as if I were working on it through the back-end, code part of the site. This doesn't help the client at all. But simply, divisions are imaginary boxes that hold content of a website; sometimes referred to as divs for short. They can be boxes that hold the entire main navigation, a paragraph of information or a picture. They are impossible to see or know about unless you have ample knowledge of code and are directly looking at it. Remember in early plannings of your site, sometimes the developers will scribble out boxes on a white board or piece of paper to signify where content will be place? Those are the rough translations of divisions.
UNF's website is kind enough to actually have good, visual representations of divisions. As you can see from this image, there are gray boxes all over the page. Each of one these boxes probably represents a division. A division is used to position a block of content anywhere on the page.
Useful phrase: In this division of information, I want the text to be blue.
Search Engine Optimization
Many know that search engine optimization means the ability for a search engine to find your site. You type in amazon into Google or Bing and amazon.com will always come up first. Why? Because they have good SEO or search engine optimization. Basically what defines how good a site is search for has to be done through a web developer. They will go in and define key words that best describe your site. These key words will be found by Google and rank your site according to how many are relevant. Ranking refers to on what result page your website will show up when it relates to a search. It doesn't matter how big your company is, if your website doesn't have good SEO, no one will find it. Since most developers are more than capable of doing this for a client, it doesn't come up a lot, but when it's mentioned, you won't be lost.
Useful phrase: My current website comes back as the 5th result in Google, is it possible to increase its SEO?
Dynamic vs. Hard-coded
These two words refer to the site's content. Dynamic content means this content was meant to be changed or edited on a regular basis. Dynamic content usually sits outside the coding of the website so that anyone can go in and change it without needing a degree just to know what's going on behind the scenes. The most common way the content is changed is through text windows or text fields (like what's found on a form). Not code.
Hard-coded content means its static, unchanging or in the code. Although it's nice when you can have complete control over content all the time, sometimes it just never needs to be changed. That is when something will be hard-coded, or coded through the language of the website.
Useful phrase: Is this content dynamic or static (hard-coded)? Can we make it dynamic so I can change this often?
Screen Resolution
Have you ever noticed how a site can seem a different size on one monitor than another? This is because anything that has a digital screen has a resolution. Your TV, computer, iPhone, PSP, etc has a resolution. Resolution refers to the number of pixels it can display. Pixels are very tiny squares that act like the atoms of anything displaying on the screen. Low resolution means the pixels are more apparent and cause those jagged edges on pictures and everything seems bigger. High resolution means there are no jagged edges and everything seems smaller. The physical size of the monitor has a lot to do with the resolution it has. The bigger the screen, the more resolution it has.
Because many people have different monitor sizes and, thus, many different screen resolutions, web developers created a guide line to how 'big' a web page will be. The rule is 960 pixels wide, 728 pixels tall. If your web site is 960 pixels wide, odds are, it will display on just about every monitor out there, thus, ensuring everyone can view it comfortably. Ever come upon a page where there's a scroll bar at the bottom of the screen, making you move it horizontally to view all the content? That's because that site was build too big for your monitor, not good.
Useful phrase: Will the background of my website continue as the screen resolution gets higher?
Images
I know what you're thinking. What could image possibly mean that I don't know about already? Well, nothing. Image is an image: picture, photograph, graphic, etc. However, what you may not know is your image has a resolution. A low resolution picture is small and when made bigger, looks like a bunch of small squares. A high resolution picture is large and features no visible squares (although, zoom in far enough, you can see them). Those squares are pixels, and no one wants to see them up close. It makes the image look bad, which means it can make your site look bad. Look at Amazon.com's pictures. All of them are nice and clear. They are all high resolution.
Low Resolution stretched to the same size as the one below
High Resolution
The resolution of an image has a lot to do with what type of camera took the image. Camera phones are low resolution cameras. They don't take good photos and would never look good on a web page (sorry Facebook). Digital cameras are capable of taking very large pictures, sometimes too large. But too large is never a problem in the hands of a capable web developer. We've been trained to resize any large image to look great on any website. However, if the image is too small, there's not a lot that can be done. Resizing an image is a complicated way to say stretching an image or condensing an image. Stretching an image causes pixels to show up. Thus, stretching small images to fit a big space is never recommended. Condensing a large image has no adverse effects and are greatly appreciated when building a site.
So how do you check how big your image is? Well if you have Windows 7, select the image file and look at the bottom of the window that represents the folder (on the bottom left of the window in Windows XP). You should see information like format, size and dimensions. Dimensions tells you how big the image is. A small image is around 50 pixels by 50 pixels; generally not useful for a web page. A large image is around 500 pixels by 500 pixels, a decent size for a web page. When taking photos for a website, the bigger the better, and the easier to work with.
Useful phrase: I have provided you with high resolution pictures, please use them on my site.
Lightbox
If you have a photo gallery on your page or plan to have one, odds are you have or are going to need a version of a lightbox. But what is a lightbox? Is it a light bulb housed in a cardboard box? That sounds more like a fire hazard than a photo gallery feature. No, this is a lightbox...
A lightbox makes the screen look like this when you click on a picture in a photo gallery. Not all lightboxes look like this, but most have the same components: previous and next buttons, close button, how many photos there are and the photo name. As you can see, a lightbox simply takes the full size of a photo and puts it on display, while darkening out the rest of the site. Its a good feature to have and makes viewing photos easy.
Useful phrase: Can my photos be displayed in a lightbox?
Jquery and Javascript
Jquery and Javascript are two magical words that can make dreams come true. Where HTML and CSS coding just doesn't cut it, Jquery and Javascript will swoop in and make everything alright. Want that lightbox to work? Jquery/Java. Want some motion in your site that will work on almost any device? Jquery/Java. Want the Jaguars to have a winning season? That's... probably not a web issue.
Its not uncommon for web designers to not know how to code out Jquery and Javascript, they're just more coding languages you need to remember on top of everything else. Luckily, other developers do know, and they graciously post their creations on the web for designers to snatch up and use/manipulate. But what clients should know about these two languages is: if Java/Jquery is on your site, everything's all right. And any well-seasoned developer should be able to manipulate and incorporate without too much hassle.
The old standard used to be make everything in Flash, but that's being slowly phased out for more flexible methods of designing. Flash also isn't universally supported on all devices like iPhones and iPads, and requires updating. Both Jquery and Java have neither problem
Useful phrase: I want this motion graphic coded in jquery/java.
That concludes all the key words I can think of right now. My plan is to add more and have this be an on-going series. If there's any key word that you feel needs to be addressed or if I didn't quite explain something well enough, leave a comment and I'll make additions and edits as promptly as I can.
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