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 Playstation at least, the silly "press any button" screen. Why can't you give me the menu directly?
5. Another silly warning "this game has an autosave function". You may have to click through it or not.
6. If Rockstar, try to trick the user into launching the online component every time.
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.
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.
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.
I would argue it's also just a tradition of the medium at this point. And tbh most games I play would feel weird without it. It's like a spiritual carry-over from the Attract-Mode games used to have in arcades, and without even needing to put in a quarter. (Don't tell the game companies about that)
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.
Yes, BUT: Ubisoft's is not actually a click through and the amount of text on it means they show it for quite a long time, with no way to click past, and THAT is fucking obnoxious.
I'm quite glad those warnings exist, don't get me wrong. I am not en epileptic, please do not try and force me to read your 3 paragraphs about epilepsy kthnx.
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.
But the Windows Phone UI had sooo much personality - every phone looked different, showed different information etc.
My own phone changed every couple of months and it feld sooo good to have the changing tiles with information, pictures etc. I was a huge fan of the concept.
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.
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 Playstation at least, the silly "press any button" screen. Why can't you give me the menu directly?
5. Another silly warning "this game has an autosave function". You may have to click through it or not.
6. If Rockstar, try to trick the user into launching the online component every time.
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.
Many games can just swap devices on the fly (from the top of my mind, Elden Ring, Witcher 3, Lords of the Fallen, Dirt Rally).
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.
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.
I would argue it's also just a tradition of the medium at this point. And tbh most games I play would feel weird without it. It's like a spiritual carry-over from the Attract-Mode games used to have in arcades, and without even needing to put in a quarter. (Don't tell the game companies about that)
> 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?
Yes, BUT: Ubisoft's is not actually a click through and the amount of text on it means they show it for quite a long time, with no way to click past, and THAT is fucking obnoxious.
I'm quite glad those warnings exist, don't get me wrong. I am not en epileptic, please do not try and force me to read your 3 paragraphs about epilepsy kthnx.
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.
XP was dope. Long-as-hell start menu with 80 folders.
Nothing like going from Toonami to the original Xbox while drinking a green monster. Peak childhood right there.
"When I powered on my Xbox Series S for the first time... It felt no different from Windows 11."
(1) No accident (2) Ever see a Windows phone? That was the whole idea.
But the Windows Phone UI had sooo much personality - every phone looked different, showed different information etc.
My own phone changed every couple of months and it feld sooo good to have the changing tiles with information, pictures etc. I was a huge fan of the concept.
"Even today I can burn hours clicking around the Wii"
I mean, the menu's fine but its not that exciting
I can burn hours clicking around the PS5 UI.
No seriously, I’m lost. Send help.
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.
Cool interfaces don't make billions of dollars. Match-3 games and microtransactions and season passes and skinner boxes make billions of dollars.
You understand, right?
Yea, we gotta teach kids how to use e-commerce sites, so the games should feel like Amazon.
They also turned into ad billboards and digital storefronts.