The Wargamer First Impressions

[Justanotherwargamer]

Good on Wargamer getting up a review on like what?, the same day?

Brief assessment, just enough to say "hey come look at me".

[Ottosmops]

My first idea for improving the interface:

Make more hotkeys.

Example:

When I only want to check the war readiness numbers I have to make 5 mouse clicks.

Ideally would be the following:

Press hotkey - check numbers - press the same key again (or Esc) to close the window.

But it is a good sign when people have nothing more to complain than the number of mouse clicks

[GrognardFortyPlus]

And I don't have to read a book on interface design to know that I like it. (Sounds like a used car salespitch to me: "But I don't want to drive a stick shift!" "Oh yes you do, read this book and you'll understand how ignorant you are and why you really do want a stick shift.")

This is so classic. I couldn't have made it up if I tried. Oh how the Inmate can take and twist his insanity into reality. The inmate uses what he or she likes as the definition of sane? This isn't about what the Inmate likes, it's about understanding why sane people have different expectations than insane people. Of course, if you are an inmate, you will have a very difficult time understanding this. The user interface isn't about pushing a particular interface on the end user, it's about developing a user interface that meets the user's needs.

For those who haven't caught on, Inmate and Insane or metaphors for those people (often highly educated and technically oriented) who have a drastically different expectations of how technical gizmos (to include software programs) should work. I can't describe it here, but if you read the book, "The Inmates are Running the Asylum" you will understand. Well, you will understand if you aren't an Inmate. Inmates are problematic. Try telling someone that is insane that they are insane. We're talking about brain wiring that is different.

I can say this with a certain level of authority because I was an Inmate for thirty some years. I have escaped, and I now see it from the perspective of the other "sane" users. I also know that no matter how much I try and explain the insanity to those who remain inmates, a large percentage will never become sane. Take me back 15 years, and I would be tearing this post apart. Just RTFM dammit. It's not that difficult...yada yada yada. Been there. Done that.

However I can think of several games quickly that had painful interfaces yet the gameplay made it worthwhile. PTO2 comes to mind quickly as a classic example.

As my metaphor suggests, if the drug (i.e., gameplay) is worth it, the Inmate is willing to bang his head against the the padded interface wall until he gets the desired drug (i.e., gameplay).

In fact, some Inmates not only find the drug worth it, but may actually find joy in banging their head against the interface wall as well. Seriously!

I don't think I will find joy banging my head against the wall, but I suspect the hit I get from the drug will make it worth it.

At end of day, my point is we should not be blasting folk like Sandy for finding the interface lacking. It is a good assessment for sane gamers. Now, we inmates....well.....we don't find it that bad now.

[Capt Andrew]

Don't get me wrong Grognard, I enjoyed your metaphors. And perhaps you are right...from a developer and/or programmer point of view. But I did not, ever, find myself banging my head against any padded walls, monitors, or useless mouse pads at any time using the interface. I LIKED the interface. Yes, I'm sure it could be better...for some people. But not me. Sandy's a perfect example, and I'm cool with that. I will even recommend your book to some developer friends of mine, they'll probably enjoy it. But your post struck me as saying, "You're an idiot. You like it because you are an uniformed, unread, and inexperienced fool. If you just expand your horizons you'll realize you don't like it."

I'm sure you would quote Plato to me: "It is better to be a human being dissatisfied than a pig satisfied; better to be Socrates dissatisfied than a fool satisfied." But for me, I'm with Cypher: "Ignorance is bliss." (There's your movie quote JJR...)

I guess I rather like my padded cell...

[Timskorn]

The interface isn't that bad. It's not the greatest, but it's far from aggravating. Anyone ever play Victoria by Paradox? That is the type of interface that regularly affects your enjoyment no matter how long you've played it.

Most UI's could be better, some are just downright atrocious.

[Moonslayer]

I LIKED the interface. Yes, I'm sure it could be better...for some people. But not me.... But your post struck me as saying, "You're an idiot. You like it because you are an uniformed, unread, and inexperienced fool. If you just expand your horizons you'll realize you don't like it."

I quoted this because I feel exactly the same. The GUI was intuitive and perfectly sized for me... the extra map area is most welcome. The game looks superb and I have played it pretty much all day. My only problem is due to the world map being broken up and unusable but I suspect this is a hardware issue as I have a very old system (Win98, 500MHz pentium III, 192k RAM for starters). I will still be buying the game, however, as I suspect SC2 will outlast the machine I presently use... as will SC1 as I still play that on a weekly basis.