I proudly present: The first Anti Game Usability Award 2008 (AGUA 2008)!
There is no judging panel or academy – it is just me, who gives away this prize. Why? Some games do not only deliver fun but also frustration due to bad interface design or other usability flaws. This prize is dedicated to the worst usability flaw or bug of 2008 and shall be an advice for game publishers and developers to do better in 2009.
The winner of this years AGUA is….SecuRom!
SecuRom is a CD / DVD copy protection product mainly used for windows-based computer games and was originally developed by Sony. SecuRom was one of the most controversial gaming topics in 2008 (and perhaps will be in 2009), because some functions of the software are similiar to malware and users were not always informed correctly that SecuRom was part of the product they bought. Some users reported also major technical issues with SecuRom. Most SecuRom versions force the customer to activate a game via internet to control the numbers of installations. Some versions were even cancelling the installation if the software detected a cd or dvd burning software on the system (Fallout 3). The discussion was amplified by a lot of popular games making use of the SecuRom protection like e.g. BioShock, Spore, Grand Theft Auto IV, Command & Conquer: Red Alert 3 and Sacred 2.
The official reason given by the industry for the use SecuRom is to fight piracy and to prevent games being sold second-hand. But even SecuRom cannot prevent the piracy of a product. Some people even claim that e.g. Spore`s piracy problem is the result of the SecuRom copy protection (Spore was the most shared game on peer-to-peer networks in 2008).
Here is an example of what you have to do, before you can play GTA IV on the PC (Source: www.gamestar.de):
- Licence contract must be accepted.
- The disk has to be in the drive while playing.
- Install SecuRom, DirectX, Microsoft .NET Framework, current service patches for Windows, Games for Windows Live, Adobe Flash and Rockstar`s Multiplayer Software “Social Club”.
- Create user accounts for Windows Live and Social Club.
- Activate the game via Internet.
- Enter 25-digit key.
Congratulations, installation complete
Luckily, I have the console version. So, just give a second – why is the pc market shrinking again? It seems like the gaming industry didn`t learn its lesson out of the DRM problems the music industry had.
There were many discussions going on game magazines and discussion boards wether the use of copy protection software like SecuRom has an impact on game reviews or not. Some magazines and reviews included the copy protection as one of the product`s features, others did not.
In my opinion, the user experience starts with unboxing your game and that`s why the SecuRom copy protection gets the first Anti Game Usability Award 2008. Congratulations!
E3 2009 Wrap-Up
Montag, 08. Juni 2009The E3 is back – after a smaller show and lots of criticism in the last year, last week`s Electronic Entertainment Expo was an overwhelming success. Of course, there were tons of games but I am not going to repeat everything that you already heard on all the gaming news pages. As usual, my focus will be on the game interfaces and usability topics of E3. Here we go:
Microsoft`s “Project Natal”
Months before E3 a lot of rumors occured surrounding the news that Microsoft had a deal with 3DV, a small company located in Israel which works on 3D-cameras which will be featured in a new XBox360 addon. Well, these rumors turned out to be true as Microsoft presented the motion-sensing camera technology in their keynote last week. The system is capable of tracking not only the body movement but also the depth of the position of different body parts, enabling the software to use the whole body as an input device. I really like the idea but not being able to test it myself I am still a bit skeptical how precise the input will work and if there are any latencies due to the lack of a haptic input device. I have no doubt that all the sport and mini games will work properly BUT games with the need for very precise and direct inputs (e.g. the demoed racing game) will be a challenge for the technology in my opinion. From what I have seen I expect a similar precision the Wii controls have (what already will be a great success).
Sony`s Motion-Sensing Tech Demo
Sony showed a tech demo of their motion-sensing controller without giving it a codename. It is, in comparison to Microsoft`s camera-only approach, a combination of camera tracking and controller input. It looks like a Wii Remote with a light bulb on top, working single and double-handed. I was impressed by the very precise movement during the sword fight demo: The presenter was able to manoveur the sword under the chin of a skeleton puppet – a level of accurany the Wii certainly cannot reach – even not with the Motion Plus addon (see the video of the tech demo). According to Sony the first versions of the new nameless interface are already in the hands of third-party developers.
Another new piece of hardware is Sony`s PSP Go, the successor of the PSP 3000 which will skip the UMD drive and for this reason will focus on digital distribution. A lot of people hoped to see a second analog stick but Sony stays consistent to the older PSP models with just one of them.
Wii Motion Plus and Vitality Sensor
Nintendo had no surprising news because they are only a few days away from the launch of the Wii Motion Plus addon. This little addon can be plugged onto the Wii Remote and will provide a more precise detection of movement and alignment of the Remote. Some sad news were that several games which use the Motion Plus turn out to show no considerable improvement according to journalist reports. E.g. first reports from people playing Red Steel 2 sounded a bit disappointing so it is possible that not every developer gets the best out of it or it is no significant improvement over the old Remote.
In addition to the Wii Motion Plus, Nintendo showed also a small piece of hardware called “Vitality Sensor”. It is a small box where you can put a finger into and everyone was sure that this will add up to the sports and fitness games Nintendo is doing pretty well with.
Summary
To sum it up, it is interesting to see that all big console manufacturers now have their own motion-sensing input devices (which is no big surprise after the success of the Wii and its new control scheme). In the end, the games make the difference and both Microsoft and Sony have to prove that they are able to create great games with their new technologies.
Tags:2009, e3, electronic entertainment expo, game interface, game usability, microsoft, motion control, motion-sensing, nintendo, project natal, sony, wii motion plus, wii vitality sensor
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