HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

HUMAN-COMPUTER INTERACTION

WHAT DOES HCI IN GAMES DESIGN?

All games have a user interface. They all have a way in which allows the player to play the game accordingly. Its not just about what players press to make the avatar to move, it includes opening menu's, config screens, and in-game, on screen buttons. Its best to keep these controls simple and fast.

DIFFERENT WAYS A PLAYER CAN INTERACT

- A computer mouse
- A touch screen
- A program on your Mac or Windows machine that includes a trashcan, icons of disk drivers, and folders.
- Pull down menu's
- A Xbox controller
- A PlayStation controller
- Motion sensors
- A computer keyboard

Different consoles and PC's allow the same game to be played differently. An example of this is Call of Duty. The Call of Duty series is available on almost every console and PC. But on console typically PlayStation and Xbox, the game is played with a typical, Xbox and PlayStation controllers. This allows the player to perform a number of button presses in a small time as the controller is within their hand. This allows the player to have a good and easy way of controlling the game. However on PC, the game is generally played on a keyboard and mouse. This means that it is a lot harder to play the game. This is because not all of the buttons are easy to press within a short amount of time when playing the game. This can be changed though. You can either changed what buttons do what or you can add a wired Xbox controller to have the same experience as Xbox and PlayStation consoles. If you do this you lose some accuracy as a mouse is more accurate that a joystick on a Xbox or PlayStation controller. Furthermore the console Nintendo Wii, released Call of Duty with a slightly different way of playing. The way you play on the Nintendo Wii is why motion. You use the controller to guide where you player looks and moves all with motion. This performs the game to feel completely different and takes a lot more skill to perform well in the game. However this can not be substituted for a controller. If you play the game on Nintendo Wii, the idea is that you play it with motion. This three interactions with the same game makes the game feel entirely different at some points. For example simply moving around is a lot different if you are doing it with a mouse, controller or motion. They all require different skill. Xbox, PlayStation and PC all insist that the player is sat down and not really doing anything other than moving their hands.