Interface Time
Paul Taylor 2010
The Interface
As seen by Ed Byrne• Player
• Interface
• Game Core Mechanics
Interlude
• Failures and Triumphs of the Physical Interface
Good – THE Gameboy
http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/pbucket/2gameboy-1.jpg
Wiimotes
http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/pbucket/1wiimote.jpg
Light Guns
http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/pbucket/5lightgun1.jpg
Now for the Worst...
http://www.crunchgear.com/wp-content/pbucket/powerglove.jpg
Cooperative AI
http://gamefury.net/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/Sloth-150x150.jpg
Nintendo Virtual Boy
• 3D in 1995!!!
http://retrothing.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/virtualboy.jpg
All in RED
http://retrothing.typepad.com/photos/uncategorized/mariored.jpg
http://www.joystickdivision.com/motivational-rob-490.jpg
Konami Laserscope
http://www.joystickdivision.com/konami-laser-scope-l.jpg
Others?
The Interface from Schell’s perspective
Breaking down the Interface Layer
• From Byrne we already have:
Splitting the Interface Further
• We can divide the interface further, so:
• What is the interface? What IS it?
• Physical Interface– Input– Output
• Virtual Interface– Input– Output
• Don’t forget the I/O of your game world!
Schell:
This leaves us with one missing piece
• Mapping!– How does everything relate to everything else?– We need to convert those arrows into something
more
Looking at the interface connections
1. Physical Input World2. World Physical Output3. Physical Input Virtual Interface4. Virtual Interface World5. World Virtual Interface6. Virtual Interface Physical Output
Some Examples...
Moving the characterWhat part of the world is visibleMenus, pop-ups, selectionsStats, scores, mode changesData, format, layout, presentationThe health bars of enemies
The Adventures of Toasty progresses
Now because the interface is soo easy...
• What happens to the player when the interface is perfect?
Projections of Consciousness
• The player can forget the interface and project their consciousness into the game.– The player’s mind exists within the game– So where does the game world exist?
• This is a complex part of the suspension of disbelief and immersion factor
The Player and the Game
Players Mind
Game World
Interaction Loops
• Information flows from the player to the game and back to the player
• This is a cycle that continues throughout the game
• How fast does this cycle need to be?
Feedback
• Basketball Nets
http://www.aessports.com/images/b_bbnet_144_w.jpg
Feedback
• Electric Cars
http://www.blavish.com/wp-content/uploads/2007/07/ferrari-electric-car-7-12-07.jpg
Feedback
• The Unreal 3 Menus
http://www.worldofpwnage.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/03/ut3-menu.png
Players expect feedback within 1/10 of a second.
OnLive and failure
• OnLive!
• http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/digitalfoundry-lag-factor-article
Burnout Paradise 67ms BioShock (frame-locked) 133ms BioShock (unlocked) as low as 67ms Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare 67ms-84ms Call of Duty: World at War 67ms-100ms Call of Juarez: Bound in Blood 100ms Forza Motorsport 2 67ms Geometry Wars 2 67ms Guitar Hero: Aerosmith 67ms
Grand Theft Auto IV 133ms-200ms Halo 3 100ms-150ms Left 4 Dead 100ms-133ms LEGO Batman 133ms Mirror's Edge 133ms Street Fighter IV 67ms Soul Calibur IV 67ms-84ms Unreal Tournament 3 100ms-133ms X-Men Origins: Wolverine 133ms
The Moral of the story:
Feedback is essential
As soon as you can you must give the player some feedback!
Uncharted
http://www.zath.co.uk/wp-content/uploads/2010/01/uncharted-2-among-thieves-roof-jump-screenshot.jpg
http://blog.fatcow.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/04/Juicy-Orange.jpg.jpg
http://0.tqn.com/d/xbox/1/0/v/F/vivapinata1.jpg
Juicy Interfaces
• For everything you do you get a heap of results
• Avoiding a dry interface is a good step• Making it juicy is awesome!– Pinball machines are juicy!
Viva Piñatahttp://gry.o2.pl/upload/files/e32006_p2_Viva-Pinata.jpg
The first step to creating Juiciness is to understand
Information Channels
• How many types of information are contained below?
65
Information Channels
• How many types of information below?
65Number, Size, Font, Colour, Position, W i d t h , Height, Transparency,
Rotation
Information Channels and Dimensionality
• This is your chance to slip in a little more feedback!
• For each feedback element think about:– What is the primary dimension?– What other information can my feedback carry?– Will it be obvious to player?• Does it need to be?
Input Modes
What is an input mode?
Input Modes
What is an input mode?
Whenever we change the mapping of one or more of the arrows in the interface diagram
we are moving to a new mode
How best to design modes• Use as few as possible (reasonably)– Remember the GTA4 controls?
• Avoid overlapping modes– Ring Ring!
How best to design modes
• Make sure the player knows what mode they are in– Visually• Change the HUD• Change the Avatar• Change the screen data• Change the perspective
– Sound– Force Feedback
One process for interface design
• List and Prioritise Information• List channels• Map information to channels• Review Dimensional use
Closing Ideas• Adding more isn’t always making things better• Steal Ideas (the term is ‘inspired by xxx’)– Customise
• Sound maps to touch in life– Why do we have a pinkie?
• Balance Options and Simplicity• Use Metaphors as feedback when needed– Perhaps an action takes time to happen
The most important Ideas
Break the rules!
If you don’t like how it ‘is done’ in the genre fix the problem!
RE5 and Racism
http://www.gamasutra.com/view/feature/6035/games_with_the_power_to_offend_.phpMovie:- Idiocracy a must see! It applies to this!
http://lawofthegame.blogspot.com/2007/08/resident-evil-5-racism-issue.html
References
• http://www.crunchgear.com/2006/12/06/the-best-and-worst-console-game-innovations-ever/
• http://www.joystickdivision.com/2010/05/fisted_reasoning_-_the_5_most.php
The End