Interfaces.

[kaedekins]

Coming from a multimedia background, I've always struggled to convey what I see as the pre-eminent importance of interfaces to people in the games industry, or even just gamers in general.  Some know what I mean, others think I'm focusing on the wrong thing.

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I found this article interesting, not because of the PS Move stuff, but because of what

Comments

[avsky]

HALLE-FUCKING-LUJAH!!

As a game designer I was constantly complaining about the fucking horrible UI in the games we worked on, but no one seemed to understand or care.

I love this. I love it!
I don't have much else to say.

I also do not like (Western) RPG UI layouts. I never have. I have always found them counter-intuitive, especially MMORPGs. Inventory systems is another thing I hate with a passion, and Western RPG's again are the biggest offender. I went into a lengthy 2 hours discussion about inventory systems with a friend recently, but the only conclusion we could agree to come to was that it depends on the game type and style as to what inventory system you should/could use.

But progress... wow, that is a word that in many aspects of game development, is meaningless. Technology progresses, but in many other areas we are so far behind.

[kaedekins]

"it depends on the game type and style as to what inventory system you should/could use." -- agree. Sometimes one style works better for a certain type of game than another. I'd like to think we could invent an inventory system that's adaptable for every game and have it be really simple and easy to use, but I'm not sure it's possible. As games are endlessly creative, so the systems and structures that brace those games must also be endlessly creative.

I can understand why having a UI designer is really important - I mean, a dedicated designer. And one with more power to decide that kind of important shit than Peter was given, for e.g. :P But it seems that UI, like sound, is something that people only give a nod to, rather than making it a key experience of the game.

[avsky]

SceneIt? was a horrible example of UI, and this is for several reasons, I suppose the most notable being;

1) We had no UI designer to start with
2) Screen real estate was absolutely minimal
3) Microsoft (need I say more?)

But UI designers are definitely important. When you look at games like GRID and err.. forgot the other ones I had in my brain, it goes to show than an awesome UI can really make a HUGE difference.

And yes - sound too! Something a certain company (cough, cough, Krome, cough) should definitely invest in since the last genius left.

[kaedekins]

I found it really interesting seeing that Peter as a UI designer had virtually no power at K. And then at I (which was a fantastic place to work), I had a chat to Bart (the audio guy) about sound and how the games industry treated it ... they never consider it a core component unless it's, e.g. a music game, but good sound is worth so much in terms of immersion. Yet you'll get one, maybe two, guys working on sound in your average studio, with fairly limited resources, pitched against a whole team of artists and programmers. Bart wistfully mentioned, once, how cool it would be to have a whole bunch of guys he could collaborate with on the music for the games. Why not have a sound team? I'm pretty sure it would make a huge difference in the kind of impact sound would have on gamers.

[avsky]

It's amazing after working in the industry as a professional, just how underrated the sound dept is... at least at K (which is partly why Gav left). I still listen to the Silent Hill 1 soundtrack. Akira Yamaoka is an absolute legend, and that is one of the best Game OTSs ever I reckon.

I suppose also if you think back to older games, I think sound stands out as possibly THE top thing. When I think of NES games, I remember the music more than anything else. You can play me the soundtrack from Faxanadu, and all of a sudden the images, sound effects, monsters and everything comes flooding back. These days, it's not really the case, it's more like music is just added as ambiance.

And yeah... I felt sorry for Peter. He also had problems with the other UI designer that came along too though. Ahhh, the games industry. Never enter it unless you want your childhood dreams smashed. Haahahaha!

[kaedekins]

I literally sent this link to Bart this morning - some notes from Yamaoka's talk on sound at the GDC this year.

http://gdc.gamespot.com/story/6253430/silent-hill-composer-tunes-into-perfect-sound

[avsky]

You should write game blogs for money. <3

[avsky]

PS - Grasshopper Manufacture are my favourite. Suda51 is my hero. Oh, the rants I have written about that man and that company.

Akira Yamaoka also features a lot on Bemani soundtracks (Beatmania, DDR etc).

[kaedekins]

Ah, is that what you mean by Bemani, I never knew. :D

[kaedekins]

I didn't write the article in that link... :(