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The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

vale.rocks

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Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#11

Post by asimovDev »

I was greatly disappointed to learn back in 2020 that PS5 didn't even support themes. The only customization it offers is disabling / enabling sound and changing a background to a screenshot for one of the menu items which is a dashboard (with customizable widgets at least) with your friends' activities, new store arrivals or whatever you choose.

Changing to an appropriate theme when there were holidays or when I beat a good game that stays in my mind was something that I didn't know I would miss once switching to a new generation.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#12

Post by probably_wrong »

nottorp wrote: post #7
tom_ wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Press Any Button screen is there so the game knows which input device is being used, and therefore (one way or another) which user, so it can apply any parental control/accessibility/etc. options required.

Which input device out of my total of one controller that is on? On a console that has already asked me who's playing when I turned it on?

The console knows all that, but does the game know all of that too? I'm not a console developer but perhaps the game doesn't have permissions to know which devices are on, only which devices are sending key presses right now.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#13

Post by tom_ »

nottorp wrote: post #7
tom_ wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Press Any Button screen is there so the game knows which input device is being used, and therefore (one way or another) which user, so it can apply any parental control/accessibility/etc. options required.

Which input device out of my total of one controller that is on? On a console that has already asked me who's playing when I turned it on?

Feedback regarding the ins and outs of the UX would be better directed at Sony rather than me. But it accommodates the case where you haven't connected the controller yet.

I can't remember if it's Playstation or Xbox that does this, but the game can start out in a sandboxed state, and explicit user input is required for the system to grant it access to the gamepad and the associated user.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#14

Post by andai »

The other day I mused, "software used to look like an alien space ship. Now it looks like paperwork."

I wasn't even thinking of the Xbox when I wrote that, just software in general in those days. Feels like everything had depth, character, texture...

But reading this article, man the Xbox sounds amazing! I need to buy one now.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#16

Post by tom_ »

BoppreH wrote: post #6
tom_ wrote: post #5

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The Press Any Button screen is there so the game knows which input device is being used, and therefore (one way or another) which user, so it can apply any parental control/accessibility/etc. options required.

I've seen computer games where any input device is accepted, and on-screen instructions refer to the last type of device used. Seemed like a good idea. And how does input-based parental control work? Do you hide the adult's controller?

On first use of the controller after a reboot, you're prompted to select which user is playing. Saved games and achievements and whatnot are per-user.

If you've got a child in the household, you're expected to tag their user as such, which imposes some restrictions on their account. Then set up an access code on your user, so the child can't log in as you.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#17

Post by iamtedd »

Pay08 wrote: post #8
nottorp wrote: post #4

It's also the games. Let's count them: 1. A collection of logos of the 30 studios that contributed to the title somehow, skippable or not. 2. A bunch of EULAs that you have to click through at least on the first run. 3. An epilepsy warning that you always have to click through. I'm looking at you, Paradox and Vampire: Bloodlines 2. (For the record, I bought it extremely cheap, not at the launch price.) 4. On Playstat…

> An epilepsy warning that you always have to click through. That sounds amazing. Yeah, it's annoying, but I'd imagine it's much safer for epileptics.

If I were an epileptic, I would appreciate seeing the warning before I buy the game, not once I've launched it. Which, by the way, invalidates Sony's return policy.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#18

Post by AlienRobot »

andai wrote: post #14

The other day I mused, "software used to look like an alien space ship. Now it looks like paperwork." I wasn't even thinking of the Xbox when I wrote that, just software in general in those days. Feels like everything had depth, character, texture... But reading this article, man the Xbox sounds amazing! I need to buy one now.

For a brief, a very brief moment, between beige Windows 98 and glass-like Windows Vista, we had a "fun" Windows XP. Thinking back it's a bit ironic. For most of history the OS'es didn't look fun, but it was that colorful one I'm most fond of.

Re: The Death of Character in Game Console Interfaces

#20

Post by Pay08 »

iamtedd wrote: post #17
Pay08 wrote: post #8

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> An epilepsy warning that you always have to click through. That sounds amazing. Yeah, it's annoying, but I'd imagine it's much safer for epileptics.

If I were an epileptic, I would appreciate seeing the warning before I buy the game, not once I've launched it. Which, by the way, invalidates Sony's return policy.

I'm not a console player (or an epileptic), does Sony's storefront really not tell you about health warnings?
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