[varikin]

> Video games are a great example of simplified, intuitive interfaces which are often the polar opposite of calm.

Video games are interesting in terms of usability. I thought a lot about this the past couple years after a UX course. A lot of UX principles are about making things easier, like large clickable areas, not moving clickable areas, contrasting colors, proving plenty of time to react or undo, and making things obvious and as easy as possible. But in a game, many of those principles are flipped. In a shooter, the enemies are smaller and move. They may be difficult to see. Solutions are not always obvious, especially if they are extras or hidden power ups.

But at the same time, a lot of the UX principles are very important. An enemy about to attack should telegraph that attack so you have time to react. Menus should be very clear and obvious. Inventory management should not be a chore, the map and HUD should be easy to use.

[handrous]

Valve (in particular) even pioneered UX in level design—if it doesn't improve gameplay, why let the player wander around trying to find the way they're supposed to go (a situation common even in relatively on-rails shooters of the past)? And just putting in HUD arrows sucks, and those can be misleading. Instead, they use lighting, color choices, and level layout to direct the player's attention and direction of movement, while maintaining the illusion that the levels are part of a larger space.

[varikin]

I've heard that Ghost of Tsushima does this well with the direction of the wind. But I don't have a PS4/5 to play.

I've also heard about of platformers giving a couple pixels after walking off a platform to jump, like Celeste. It is very small thing to give better feel to the controls and make up lack of precise timing.

[Zababa]

> Video games are interesting in terms of usability. I thought a lot about this the past couple years after a UX course. A lot of UX principles are about making things easier, like large clickable areas, not moving clickable areas, contrasting colors, proving plenty of time to react or undo, and making things obvious and as easy as possible. But in a game, many of those principles are flipped. In a shooter, the enemies are smaller and move. They may be difficult to see. Solutions are not always obvious, especially if they are extras or hidden power ups.

The goal of usability is to be able to accomplish your goal. In a lot of games, the feeling of getting better or overcoming an obstacle is part of the goal. So the UX is not surprising, it's following the goal of the product.