Parker English

• Usability – Making games efficient, effective, and enjoyable
• User Experience – The emotional and sensory experience of interacting with a game
• Nintendo is a trendsetter in maximising usability and focusing on user experience of their games due to their large target demographic (young/old players)
  • BOTW – Intuitive and straight-forward UI (dialogue options)
  • Cyberpunk – Small dialogue text, detailed/”cluttered” UI for worldbuilding

Why is Interaction Design important?

Interaction design connects players to the game mechanics, and thereby drives player immersion. Poor interaction design can frustrate and alienate players, perhaps leading to them giving up.

Portal Case Study

Portal (2007) is chosen as a case study as it is lauded for its intuitive interaction with the game mechanics, and how it teaches them without the need of excessive tutorials.

The physics engine’s immediate feedback to player actions and the logical consistency of the mechanics and how they can be used makes the experience rewarding, rather than frustrating. This is something I will very much take to heart when designing my project as it is also a physics-based puzzle game.

Nielsen & Molich’s 10 Heuristic Principles – Portal Case Study

Visibility of System Status

Game systems’ status should be immediately visible and clear. (Whether a door is locked, a computer is busy processing, etc.)

In Portal, we know immediately what portal should be shot next by seeing the colour it is lit up in.

Match Between the System and the Real World

Players intuitively understand what something does if words, phrases and concepts already familiar to the player are used.

In Portal, the weighted buttons resemble real life buttons that must be pressed to unlock the door.

User Control and Freedom

The player should always have some level of control over the system and should be able to back out of unwanted states.

In Portal, the player can always change the position of each of their portals and remove both of them.

Consistency and Standards

Players should not have to worry whether or not different symbols, words, or actions mean the same thing.

In Portal, gray walls are always un-portal-able while white walls are always portal-able, and this consistency is used in interesting ways in the second game.

Error Prevention

Good designs prevent problems from user error happening in the first place.

In Portal, portals may only be placed on large enough white walls, so levels are always designed so players do not accidentally break the game or get places they shouldn’t.

Recognition Rather Than Recall

Minimise memory load by making options, actions and objects visible.

In Portal, the door and what is required to open it, or at least the next objective towards it, is always visible from any part of the room, using the colour-changing power lines.

Flexibility and Efficiency of Use

Shortcuts may speed up interaction for expert users.

In Portal, more efficient solutions for puzzles are recognisable for experienced players letting you skip parts of the level.

Aesthetic and Minimalist Design

Every extra unit of information competes with the relevant units of information and diminishes their relative visibility

In Portal there is no unnecessary information or UI elements to distract the player from the puzzle. There are lore-related secret areas but they are seperated from the rooms and challenge the player to reach them.

Recognize, Diagnose and Recover from Errors

Errors are expressed in plain language, precisely indicate the problem and concisely suggest a solution.

In Portal, there is immediate feedback to user error, whether that is destroying cubes or buttons not being pushed.

Help and Documentation

Sometimes documentation may be necessary to help users understand how to complete tasks. Any such information should be focused on the users task, list concrete steps to carry out, and not be too large.

In Portal, the signs at the beginning of levels immediately inform the player what is required of them and the obstacles that will be in the level.

Evolution of Interaction and Game Controllers

• The late 70s started with basic joysticks and buttons, or adjustable knobs.
• In the 80s handheld controllers with directional buttons were introduced.
• Motion controls were popularised with the Wii in 2006

Affordances and Natural Mappings

• Affordances – Design cues for interaction (glowing doors, yellow paint)
• Natural Mappings – e.g trigger for shooting.

Human-Computer Interaction Principles in Games

Mental Models

• Internal representations or expectations players develop about how an interface or system should work, based on:
  • Prior Experiences – games they’ve played, real world logic
  • Feedback
  • Intuition
• Misaligned Models
  • Player expectations clash
  • Can cause confusion and frustration

How Can Players Understand Game Systems?

• Portal – Conservation of momentum is explained and also intuitive
• Firewatch – Radio sound indicates what player needs to find in room

Memory in Interaction

• Working Memory – Actively holds and processes information for immediate tasks (solving puzzles)
• Short Term Memory – Temporarily stores small amounts of information
• Long Term Memory

Improvised controllers

• WASD was originally improvised
• Valve’s Steam Controller started from two HTC vive controllers

Alternative Control Schemes

• Guitar hero controllers
• Treadmills
• Designed for recognisable and intuitive mental models

Accessibility and Inclusivity

• Localisation
• Controller Customisation
  • Xbox Adaptive Controller
• Visual accessibility and colorblind-friendly options
• Subtitles
• Audio Acessibility
• Motion and Sensory Accessibility
• Tutorials and Onboarding