Learn Faster to Play Better: How to Shorten the Learning Cycle

Invisible Interfaces

Thinking broadly, computer games are about fun and immersion. We (game developers) try to make them (players) have a good time and escape from everyday life for a while. Under these rules, a visible and obstructing interface may break the sense of immersion, and thus spoil the experience as a whole. Take, for example, the first-person shooter genre. In Quake, the game is laid out as a collection of levels. Between levels, the game is interrupted and the classical "Loading..." page appears. Now compare this to Valve's Half-Life (built on top of the same Quake engine). Here, the game is a continuous whole, and loading sequences are avoided by caching map sections.

When the user is playing Quake, we have him (or her) immersed completely in the gaming environment. To sum up, he's having a real good time. So, when the "loading level" screen appears, we are deceiving him, by breaking the sense of immersion. Interface interruptions should be avoided whenever possible, by integrating them into the game. Some interruptions may be easier to handle than others (integrating a CD-ROM swap into the script of a medieval RPG would be quite hard). Still, we must try to keep the player immersed in the game as much as possible.

The idea of integrating interface aspects into the game to improve immersion is quite powerful, and not necesarily limited to hiding level loading sequences: it can be applied in many other situations as a global strategy. The X-Files game, for example, did a fine job hiding its own user interface under the storyline. Our player (an FBI agent) carries a series of typical special agent items (a PDA, a flashlight, a cellular phone, etc.) which allow him to interact with the game. The PDA (one of those portable electronic agendas), for example, serves as game map, inventory manager, etc. This makes the game very intuitive and easy to pick up. Blade Runner, from Westwood, followed a similar approach: since our character was a futuristic special agent, it seemed logical that he carrieed a personal computer, where most of the interface functionality was integrated.

So, we can build a non-intrusive interface by basically encapsulating its functionality into the game itself. Still, we must not forget the other principles of interface design I have been outlining - for example, the screen layout principle that tells us to keep relevant controls visible at all time. Making invisible interfaces does not mean taking buttons and commands away from the screen, as doing so would make the game hard to play. A better goal would be to substitute every control that can break the game's sense of immersion with an adequate metaphor. If the metaphor we choose integrates nicely within the game environment (as the PDA in the X-Files game, for example), the game atmosphere will be greatly improved.

Customization

When it comes to playing games, people are more different than one might think. Some are left-handed, others right-handed. Some are aggressive, others are more strategic. If we are all so different, how come many games offer little or no customization at all?

Customization may come in a variety of ways. As a first step, one may offer control customization. This includes the basic keyboard-remapping routines, joystick and mouse configuration, etc. The need for such features can be demonstrated with an obvious example: as a left-handed person, I feel much more comfortable playing with the left area of my keyboard than with the usual right side cursors.

Still, there's more to customization than keyboard remapping. For example, a game should provide a way to record new commands, and encapsulate several low-level actions under certain keystrokes. This may be very helpful in medium-to-complex games, such as simulations or RPGs. Just imagine the potential of a well designed macro language in a Real Time Strategy title: the user would be able to record something like:

• Stay on guard until someone gets close enough
• If he's an enemy:
  
  • If he's stronger, run away in the opposite direction
  • If you are stronger, attack

These simple scripts would allow the user to automate character behavior, and may be helpful to improve performance, especially in the steady state of the time vs. knowledge graph.

Some games offer this kind of functionality right now. Baldur's Gate, for example, allows the user to assign "behavior scripts" to your characters. This way you don't have to control every reaction, but allow the system to follow the behavior guidelines you outline. As an example, see the script below, borrowed from Sean Woodcock's great AI article:

Sean used this as an example of extensible AI, and he was right. Still, to me it looks also like a nice interface feature: the ability to automate tasks which would become boring and repetitive.

As a first step, this feature is brave and brilliant. However, these advanced options are usually hidden in some obscure configuration files, and are thus unfriendly and hard to use. Future games should allow this customization to be performed in a simple way, from inside the main game engine, as easily as you change your weapon.