{"id":408,"date":"2016-01-08T23:30:00","date_gmt":"2016-01-09T04:30:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/?p=408"},"modified":"2016-01-06T21:37:35","modified_gmt":"2016-01-07T02:37:35","slug":"metaphors-and-videogames","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/?p=408","title":{"rendered":"Metaphors and Videogames"},"content":{"rendered":"

The genesis of this post was some time off that I finally took from work and the chance to sit down and play some videogames and relax.\u00a0 In the process of playing an old favorite and then discussing it with my friends I got a new appreciation for some of the subtle points of how language and thinking shape each other.<\/p>\n

To set the stage, I must confess that many years back, I willingly allowed myself to be swept-up by the Doom<\/em> craze.\u00a0 I recall that when the free sample came out a lot of guys at work (me included) loaded up the game as a diversion from the code-slinging the powers-that-be demanded.\u00a0 A few scant years later found me in possession of Doom<\/em> and Doom 2<\/em> and the corresponding Battle Books (walkthroughs with a much cooler name) and having spent countless hours dodging imps, cacodemons, and the like.<\/p>\n

\"Doom\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Fast forward nearly 20 years (sigh\u2026) and similar scene is now playing out again, although in a different residence and on a quite different platform.\u00a0 Gone was the old DOS-based, Windows-running Pentium machine I spent over $2000 to buy.\u00a0 In its place is a sleek, black PS3 which cost about a tenth of that price with decidedly more graphics and computational horsepower.\u00a0 Gone are the old CD-ROM versions of the games, each requiring a lengthy installation.\u00a0 In its place is a DVD bearing the name Doom: BFG Edition<\/em> (I wonder \u2013 what does BFG stand for?) containing Doom\u2019<\/em>s 1-3; each capable of starting up right out of the box with no installation.\u00a0 Both changes are improvements to be sure.\u00a0 Unfortunately, not everything was an improvement.<\/p>\n

After playing the original Doom<\/em> on the PS3 for a short while, I began to become very irritated with the awkwardness I was experiencing. \u00a0Certainly a large portion of that was initially due to my rust and age.\u00a0 After all, two decades had passed since I regularly played arcade and first-person shooter type games, and my hand-eye coordination was not as fresh and sharp.\u00a0 But my expectation was that the irritation would fade as I got more practiced and that expectation was not met.<\/p>\n

Upon some reflection (once my adrenaline had dissipated), I realized that it was a particular game mechanic that was getting in the way.\u00a0 In the original Doom<\/em>, which was released for the PC, the developer had a vast number of input keys\/devices to choose from.\u00a0 The keyboard alone offers over 100 different keys, including the arrow keys.\u00a0 Throw in a mouse and one has a potent set of device combinations to map to the game mechanics.<\/p>\n

The situation is quite different on the PS3.\u00a0 While it is true that the two analog sticks each offer full 2-degrees of freedom, they are almost always reserved for in-game translation and rotation.\u00a0 That leaves only 14 keys for interacting with the cyber-environment with the triangle, square, circle, and \u2018x\u2019 being the primary ones.<\/p>\n

For much of Doom\u2019s game play, which is primarily moving, turning, and shooting, the smaller number of key\u2019s is not an impediment. The place where the mechanic breaks down is weapon selection. \u00a0At the start of the game, your character is simply armed with\u2026 well his arms.\u00a0 As the game progresses, additional weapons are acquired, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.\u00a0 During battle with a host of foes, you need to be able to switch weapons smoothly to maximize you lethality and minimize your chances of dying.\u00a0 On the PC, weapons-switches happened by selecting a number key in the range 1-6, inclusive.\u00a0 Selecting \u20181\u2019 meant you were using bare knuckles, \u20183\u2019 was the shotgun, and \u20186\u2019 meant you were yielding the BFG (there\u2019s that abbreviation again \u2013 I wonder\u2026).\u00a0 In the PS3 version, random access of the weapons list is replaced by an awkward cycling through of the weapons in one direction by repeatedly pressing the circle button.<\/p>\n

It is really hard to select the correct weapon while being attacked and, even when it is calm, it is easy to accidently go past the weapon you want and have to circle back to get it.\u00a0 Speed and fluidity are hallmarks of Doom<\/em> and this method of switching weapons really detracts from feeling immersed in the game.<\/p>\n

This is a case where the language betrays the message; a case where how the idea is expressed is a road-block to the idea itself.\u00a0 It is an example of a user-interface metaphor that simply doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n

Often we don\u2019t notice when the metaphor expressed in a user-interface is good.\u00a0 That is as it should be, with the language (the particular button sequence being used) cleanly expressing the intention (the actions on the screen).\u00a0 But we clearly notice when the metaphor is bad.\u00a0 It sticks out like a sore thumb.<\/p>\n

As a user community we\u2019ve even come to expect compromised or even bad metaphors from software we need to use.\u00a0 Examples here range from mandated applications at our work, or programs we use as a means to an end (e.g. tax preparation software).<\/p>\n

But within the context of gaming, a bad metaphor can\u2019t be ignored. After all, the purpose of the game is to have fun.\u00a0 If the metaphor is bad it lessens or even destroys the fun.\u00a0 Since the game is the end and not the means to another end, there is no way to justify awkwardness of expression.\u00a0 This conclusion holds broadly for much of how we use language.\u00a0 We will slog or way unhappily through an obscurely written tax form or government regulation simply because we must.\u00a0 But we will reject an unartfully constructed joke or an awkwardly written story.\u00a0 In the case of the videogame, we get to see the whole phenomenon work in a highly compact and specialized language \u2013 the language of buttons, joysticks, symbols, and lights and shadows played out on a screen.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The genesis of this post was some time off that I finally took from work and the chance to sit down and play some videogames and relax.\u00a0 In the process… Read more ><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-408","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=408"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/408\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=408"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=408"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/aristotle2digital.blogwyrm.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=408"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}