Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Many driving games don't simulate fuel consumption; the developers abstracted
this idea out of the game. They don't pretend that the car runs by magic—the player
can still hear the engine—but they just don't address the question. Consequently,
the user interface needs no fuel gauge and no way to put fuel in the car. The player
doesn't have to think about these things, which makes the game easier to play.
AUTOMATION
When you
automate
a process, you remove it from the player's control and let the
computer handle it for her. When the game requires a choice of action, the com-
puter chooses. Note that this isn't the same as abstraction because the underlying
process remains part of the core mechanics; you just don't bother the player about
it. The computer can take over the process entirely, in which case, again, you can
save the time you would have spent on designing UI, or you can build the manual
controls into the game but keep them hidden unless the player chooses to take over
manual control (usually through an option in a shell menu). Racing games often
automate the process of shifting gears so it just happens by itself; the player doesn't
have to think about it.
If you let the player choose between automated or manual control over a game fea-
ture, you can refer to the two options as
beginner's mode
and
expert mode
in the
menu where she makes the choice. You might want to reward the player for choos-
ing the more complex task. For example, you can make automated gear-shifting
slightly less efficient than expert manual gear-shifting, so the player who gets really
good at manual shifting gets a benefit. If the automated task is perfectly efficient,
the player has no incentive to learn the manual task.
Depth Versus Breadth
The more options you offer the player at one time, the more you risk scaring off a
player who finds complex user interfaces intimidating. A UI that provides a large
number of options simultaneously is said to be a
broad
interface. If you offer only a
few options at a time and require the player to make several selections in a row to
get to the one he wants, the user interface is said to be
deep
.
Broad interfaces permit the player to search the whole interface by looking for what
he wants, but finding the one item of current interest in that broad array takes
time. Once the player learns where to find the buttons or dials, he can usually find
them again quickly. Players who invest the (sometimes considerable) training time
find using a broad interface to be efficient; they can quickly issue the commands
they want. The cockpit of a commercial passenger aircraft qualifies as an enor-
mously broad interface; with such a huge array of instruments, the pilot can place
his hand on any button he needs almost instantly, which makes flying safer. On
the other hand, pilots must train for years to learn them all.
Deep interfaces normally offer all their choices through a hierarchical series of
menus or dialog boxes. The user can quickly see what each menu offers. He can't
