game design 2: lecture 12 - platform specific design
TRANSCRIPT
Designing for Platforms
Designing for Platforms
• It is not always possible to have exactly the same experience on different platforms.
• Even when it is, it is not always a good thing.
• Deus Ex 2
• one ammo type
• Modern Warfare 2
• No dedicated servers
PC to Console
• Civilization 4 for PC was re-imagined as Civilization Revolution for Xbox 360, Nintendo DS, and later iPhone
• Whilst it would probably be POSSIBLE to do a direct port, that would fail to consider the context in which the player is engaged or the best way to utilise that platform.
iPhone HIG Video
• App statement that captures experience
• Consider the context that the user is interacting with the device
• screen 30 centimetres away?
• phone 1 metre away?
Console Player Context
• Shorter Sessions
• Further from display
• lean forward vs sit back (10 ft interface)
• Less fidelity in controls
• Vs mouse / keyboard
• Less resolution (non hi def TVs)
Abstracting Systems• Where an interface must be simpler, one
option is to redesign an underlying system, either by simplification or abstraction.
• Civ 4 has a unit called a worker. The player must build this unit then give that unit order to improve land and build roads.
• Civ Rev has no such unit. The player can spend money to build a road instead.
• Civ 4 has universal tax - Civ Rev city by city
Combining Actions
• In order to further simplicity, look for opportunities to reduce the number of actions required from the user.
• Civ 4 has the ability to build boats and then load those boats with units for exploration
• Civ Rev gives the player one ‘free’ unit on every boat built
Reduce Micromanagement
• Micromanaging the details of a civilisation takes a significant amount of time and doesn’t reinforce the streamlined goals of the Civ Rev design.
• Firaxis made decisions that allow the player to pay less attention to micromanagement
• workers, ‘happiness’, automatic builds
Less Info on Screen
• Providing the interface is intuitive, it may be possible to retain information but reduce the amount of information on screen at any one time (i.e - spread info over multiple screens).
• On low resolution devices, a larger percentage of screen is taken up by UI
ci
• xbox normal
Control Schemes
• Not having mouse / keyboard on consoles means that it is necessary to use the buttons and joysticks to access menus and other items that would normally be placed at corners of screen.
Redesign Control Scheme
• PC control scheme vs Console vs iphone
Doom
• PC - Mouse and (OR) keyboard
• iPhone 3 Modes
• id aren’t sure what is best
• compromise of flexibility vs convenience
To Summarise• Abstract Systems and Information
• Group similar items
• Reduce micromanagement
• Understand control schemes
• Consider Resolution
• Reduce on screen information
• Be aware of norms and guidelines documents
Hands on?