Beginning my research into User experience within menu systems brought me upon an article regarding Fable 3's UX failures (http://www.uxbooth.com/blog/learning-from-fable-iiis-ux-mistakes/). I'm going to summarise and discuss the points brought up, if anything for my own knowledge and future reference.
The 3 primary issues are:
- Misuse of metaphor
- Over simplification
- Lack of user control
Misuse of metaphor
Description
Within fable 3 when players press start, rather than a 2D pause screen popping up, players are taken to a 3D room within the game whereby they can interact with different objects to view different information.
Pros
Keeps the player immersed, players have a real understanding of where they are in the world and it keeps them feeling like they're a character rather than a godlike person with easy access and control over everything.
Provides space away from the action. In keeping with a pause feature it enables players to have a breather from the action,
Cons
- Requires an initial understanding of where certain information is. This means players are gonna have to spend some time familiarising themselves with the various places within the room, not forgetting players are likely to forget over time.
- Info can't be accessed quickly. Perhaps at first its a great feature, but come a few hours into the game if all the player wants is a map. Having to navigate a room for it may be a pain.
- Too many clicks A golden rule of an interface is to try to minimise the number of actions players need to do in order to gain their needed info. fable takes far too long, apparently
Main points
Pause and menu screens are there so players can get access to something quickly while also providing a breather away from the action. Fable manages the latter but not the former, it keeps the player immersed but at their expense not their benefit.
Remedies
In my opinion, while I like the idea of keeping the player immersed, it is a video game and at the end of the day the player wants a specific bit of info, and they want it fast.
Instead, as d-pads aren't as vital as they once were, why not do something similar to Fallout or LA Noire? Press 'Right' and perhaps the player reaches in their pocket for a map, 'Left' may bring up a piece of paper with quests on it. As long as its dynamic and happens on screen then immersion can be sustained while giving the player what they want.
Lack of user control
Once King, players have a specific number of days to carry out tasks How fast those days progress is not made clear to the player
In a game which tries to hand over control of a kingdom and its people to the player, fable 3 certainly makes it difficult. Much in the same way Dead Rising used real world time for players to complete tasks, then pushed them back if they didn't, Fable 2 impedes players and hides information
Over simplification
In a game which gives choice to the player, the amount is fairly restricted. deciding whether to keep an economy up or not only has 2 choices, much like many decisions within the game. the truth of the matter is, life is complicated and no decision is right, wrong or simple. fable confused accessibility with simplification. Players want to be challenged, people arent stupid and this isn't FarmVille. Players want to be challenged (see Mass Effect sales) so don't make it too simple and mundane.
The same is said of combat, balancing classes is vital in any video game and is not a new concept, so when magic becomes the dominant power late in the game (which can easily happen to any game) then why would someone persist with melee. Either gives players choice and balance them, or centre the game around one aspect and make it amazing Simple case of trying to please everyone and pleasing no-one
No comments:
Post a Comment