美國(guó)大學(xué)課程考試試題及答案(一)

Chapter6.CreatingtheUser

Experience

Agameismorethanjustthesumofitsrules.Itmustinter-actwiththeplayers

toimmersetheminthegameworld.Todothis,itmustprojectanauraof

involvementthatpromotesSamuelColeridge's"willingsuspensionofdisbelief.'1

Everyelementthattheplayers'experiencemustcontributetothewhole.From

themomenttheplayerloadsthesoftwareandthefirstscreenappears,heisin

yourworld.Everythingthathesees,hears,andfeelsfromthatpointon—every

audio,visual,andinteractiveelement—muststrivetoconvincehimthattheonly

thingthatexistsisthegame.Thisisnottheeasiestofgoalstoachieve;any

slightdiscordcanjartheplayersoutoftheirillusion.However,thebestgames

generallyachievethislevelofperfection,orclosetoit,andtheaimofthis

chapteristodiscusshowyoucanattempttoaccountfordeepplayerimmersion

inyourdesigns.

Thischapterdiscussessomeofthemostrelevantaspectsofuserexperience

design(andnotethatbyuserexperience,we*retalkingaboutthewholething:

audio,visual,andinteractionmethods)forgames.Eventhoughwehavestressed

therelativeimportanceofflashypresentationassecondarytogameplay,we

wouldbefoolishtodiscardpresentationentirely.Theuserinterfaceisthefirst

realglimpsetheplayerswillgetofyourgameinaction;it'syourfirstchanceto

suckthemintotheworldpresentedbyyourgame.

Theuserinterfacecanmakeorbreakyourgame:Itcangiveittheperfectairof

consummateprofessionalismortheshabbyappearanceofanamateureffort.

Althoughwewouldprefertobelievethatthegameplayisthemostimportant

factorinthesuccessofagame,themajorityofcommercialevidenceseemsto

indicateotherwise.Withfewexceptions,twogamesthatarefunctionally

equivalent,withequallyeffectivemarketinganddifferingonlyinthequalityof

theiruserinterfacelayers,willnotperformequallyinthemarket.Itwouldbe

temptingtosaythatthegamewiththemostvisuallyandtechnicallystunning

userinterfacewouldsellbetter—andweknowthatwouldpleasealotof

developersandartistsoutthere—but,allthingsbeingequal,thatisnotthecase.

Infact,giventhesetwofunctionallyequivalentproducts,theonewiththe

interfacethatismostfitforthepurposewillbethemostsuccessful.(Ofcourse,

youcanpublishallmanneroftripeifyouhaveabignamelicenseattachedtoit.

Somethingswillneverchange.)

WhatIstheUserExperience?

Userexperience:Thetermsoundssuspiciouslylikeacoupleofstrung-together

buzzwordsyou'dexpecttoseeonpooradvertisingcopy.Obviously,that'san

impressionwe'dratherdispelasquicklyaspossible,solet'sattemptto

"debuzzify"thetermbydescribingexactlywhatwemean.

Wedefinetheuserexperienceasthetotalpackagepresentedtotheplayerwhen

sheplaysthegame.Itisthecombinationofthreedistinctareasofthedesign—

thevisualelement,theaudioelement,andtheinteractiveelement—andis

concernedwiththeirimpactontheuserinterface.Thefollowingsectionsgivea

briefprecisofwhatwe'llbecoveringinmoredetail.

NOTE

Toreadmoredetailsonuserexperience,seeTheElementsofUser

ExperiencebyJesseJamesGarrett(?2003NewRidersPublishing).

TheInteractiveElement

Theinteractivepartoftheuserexperienceisconcernedwiththewaytheplayer

interactswiththegame.Thisistiedincloselywiththevisualaspectbutismore

concernedwiththe"feel'*partof"thelookandfeel."Here,weareconcernedwith

thefunctionalaspectsoftheuserinterface—thenavigationalpathwaysthrough

thesystem—andthephysicalcontrollersetup.Howtheinterfacelooksis

consideredonlyasfarasitaffectstheusability.

TheVisualElement

Thevisualelementconcernsthe"look"partofthe"lookandfeel."Here,we

considertheoverallimpactoftheartworkandhowitmeshesandcombinesto

presentanoverallconsistentpicturetotheplayer.Thisiscloselyrelatedtothe

interactiveexperience—onehasadirectinfluenceontheother—butwewill

attempttodiscusstheareasseparatelyandexplainwherethereiscrossover

betweenthetwo.

TheAudioElement

Often,theaudiopartsofagamearenotconsideredinasmuchdepthasthe

visual"in-your-face"areasofthegame.However,audioisjustasimportantfor

bothatmosphereandplayerfeedbackasthevisualcomponents.Eventhough

soundisofteninthirdplaceafterthevisualandinteractiveelements,thefact

thatmanygamesareunplayablewithoutitclearlyindicatestheimportanceof

sound.(Although,strictlyspeaking,nogameshouldbedesignedthat

necessitatessound.Thatunfairlydiscriminatesagainstthehearingimpaired.)

TheHuman-ComputerInterface

Designingagooduserinterfaceisnotabouthowbeautifulandwhizzyyoucan

makeyourbuttons.Infact,thecoreessenceoftheuserexperience—enabling

theplayertointeractwiththegameworld-doesn'tneedanyfancygraphicsor

sound.Thefunctionalitythatallowsaplayertointeractwiththegameeffectively

couldtheoreticallybeimplementedusingsimpleplaceholderelements.Infact,

whiletheinterfaceisbeingdesigned,thisistherecommendedapproach—ifs

faster,andmoreresource-efficient.

Asyoumayhavealreadyrealized,weplacemoreimportanceonthefunctional

aspectsoftheuserinterfaceoverthepurelyaestheticaspects.Althoughwecould

arguethataperfectlyfunctionaluserinterfacehasacertainaestheticappeal,we

willnotlimitourselvestothisinourdiscussion.Wewouldbefoolishtocompletely

disregardtheaestheticrequirements—eyecandysellsandcertainlyprovidesa

moreenjoyable,immersiveexperience—buttheyshouldbesecondarytothe

functionalaspects.

"WhenIamworkingonaproblem,Ineverthinkaboutbeauty.I

onlythinkabouthowtosolvetheproblem.ButwhenIhave

finished,ifthesolutionisnotbeautiful,Iknowitiswrong."

—BuckminsterFuller,1895-1983

Thefunctionalityoftheuserinterfaceisthemostimportantconsideration.After

all,whatplayerisgoingtotakethetimetoplayabeautifulgameifshecan't

figureoutwhichexquisitelydetailedpictureisthebuttontostartthegame?

Conversely,evenwiththemostefficientuserinterface,fewpeoplewillbother

withthegameifit'sasuglyassin.

Consequently,thediscussionsinthischaptertakeonadualaspect:First,and

mostimportantinourview,wewillconcentrateonthefunctionalityoftheuser

interface.Afterwehavediscussedthefunctionalaspects,wewillconcentrateon

theaesthetics,payingparticularattentiontomakingsurethattheaestheticsdo

notimpactthefunctionality.Notethatpurephysicalbeautyisnottheprimary

meaningofaestheticsforauserinterface.Fitnessforpurposeisafarmore

importantaestheticconsideration.Thisdoesn'tnecessarilyexcludehavinga

beautifulinterface,butwedoinsistthatthereshouldbemoretothebeautythan

mereappearances.Abutterflymaybeprettierthanarubberliferaft,butwhich

wouldyouratherhavewithyouonastormysea?

EvolutionoftheUserExperience

Inordertosetacontextforthediscussioninthischapter,itwillbeworthour

whiletotakeabrieflookathowtheuserexperiencehasprogressedoverthelast

20orsoyears.

Twentyyearsago,eachgamehadadifferentinterface,althoughusuallythere

wassomeinfluencefromothersources—consolegames,arcadegames,andother

gamesinthesamegenre.Itwasn'tuntiltheadventofthewindowedoperating

systemsthatanyformofhomogenywasachieved.Nowadays,wedon'teven

thinktwicebeforeusingthemousetonavigateandclickingthemousebuttonto

pressanonscreenbutton.It'sadefactostandardnow(onthePCatanyrate),

butitusedtobeanovelty.

ArcadeGames

Initially,thegameinterfacewassimple.Forarcade-stylegames,therewouldbe

atitlescreenwithinstructions(usuallylimitedtoasimpleexplanationofthe

controls)orasimpleattractmodethatcycledbetweentwoorthreescreens(title,

instructions,andahigh-scoretable).Thegamewouldremaininthisstateuntil

theplayerpressedtheStartbutton.

Thissoonevolvedtoincludeafourthscreen:thedemomode.Forasmalllength

oftime(usually30secondsorso),asequencewasshownfromthegameinplay,

implementedeitherasaslideshowofscreensfromvariouslevelsorasoneofa

selectionofshortsnippetsofgameplay.

Oncethegamewasstarted,thein-gameinterfacewasusuallyverysimple(see

Figure6.1).Theplayingareawouldtakeupmostofthescreen.Therewouldbea

scoredisplay,ahigh-scoredisplay,aleveldisplay(ifappropriate),anda"lives

remaining"display.Thesewouldbeplacedatthetoporbottomofthescreen.

Andformanyyears,thatwasabouttheextentofthearcadegameinterface.Of

course,thereweresubtlevariationsonthistheme—forexample,apowerlevel

meterinadditiontoorinsteadofa"livesremaining"display,andtheoddbitof

pertinentinformationspecifictothegame,suchas"numberoflines"inTetris.

Figure6.1.Thestandardarcadegameinterface(Pac-Man

Plus).

Williams'sDefender(showninFigure6.2)wasarguablythefirstgametoenhance

thiscoreinterfacebyaddingaminimap;itwasoneofthefirstgameswitha

playingarealargerthanthevisiblescreen.

Figure6.2.Williams'sDefender.

Withoutwaxingtoolyricallyaboutthenostalgiavalueofthisproto-interface,it

hastobesaidthattherewasacertainpurityofpurposepresent.Allthe

informationthattheplayerneededtobeabletoplaythegamewasthereata

glance.Ofcourse,itwasn'tthatdifficulttoachieve,either;thelimitationsofthe

formatprettymuchdictatedthatthegamesbefairlysimple.Anyhomogenyof

interfacewastheresultofthefactthattherewereonlyafewsensiblewaysof

displayingthesameinformation.Therealprogressoccurredwhentheplayer

neededtobefedtoomuchinformationtobedisplayedonthescreenatonce.

Mostarcadegamesaresimpleenoughtobeabletopresentallthenecessary

informationonasinglescreen,andit'sjustaswellthatthisisthecase,because

switchingtoaninformationscreeninthemiddleofafast-pacedgameisnota

recipeforsuccess.Forthosewantingtoinvestigatesomeoftheseclassicarcade

gamesfurther,theMAME(MultipleArcadeMachineEmulator)website,

,isagoodstartingpoint.

Consideranexampleofinterfaceevolution:thehumblegolfgame.Presumably,

youarefamiliarwiththebasicsofgolf:Takeastick,goforawalk,andhita

smallballtowardamarginallylargerholewithasmuchforceasyoupossiblycan.

Asenjoyableasthatsounds,agoodnumberofdevelopershaveinjectedeven

morefunintothesportbyallowingyoutosimulateitwhilenotmovingfromthe

frontofyourcomputer.Ofcourse,golfhasanelementofskillintheaimingand

timingoftheswing.Walkingfromholetoholeisalsoanimportantpartofreal

golf(sociallyspeaking,anyway),butthiswouldnottranslatewellasafun

gameplayfeature,andsoitisusuallyskipped.Hence,it'salogicalassumption

thatgamedesignersmadetheactualswingingatandhittingoftheballthemain

focusofthegame.

Infact,takingalookattheroughlineageofgolfgames,itcanbeseenthatthis

interfacewasperfectedearlyon(aroundthetimeoftheoriginalLeaderboardgolf

game,showninFigure6.3)andhasonlyhadminortweakssincethen,ignoring

theoddshort-lived'devolution"thathasoccurredinthemeantime.Thefirst

buttonclickstartedthepowermeterrising,thesecondbuttonclicksetthepower

(whereuponthemeterindicatorwouldbegintofall),andthethirddeterminedthe

accuracyoftheshot;ithadtobeclickedwhentheindicatorreturnedtothe

startingposition.Gettingitexactlyrightresultedinaperfectshot.Apartfromthe

switchfromkeyboardtomouseortrackball,therehasbeenverylittle

modificationtothissystem;it'stheperfectinterfaceforthegolfgameandhas

beenrelieduponsincethen.Evenfairlyrecentgames,suchasthelatesteffortin

theLinksseriesofgames,havestucktothisbasicmechanicforgameplay.Even

GoldenTee,thelatestinalongseriesofgolfgames,usesatrackball-based

evolutionofthisoriginalinterface.

Figure6.3.U.S.Gold'sWorldClassLeaderboard.

Thisdemonstratesanimportantpoint:Asidefromtheoccasionalflashof

brilliance,thegeneralprogressionofgameinterfaceshasbeenanevolutionary,

notrevolutionary,one.

AdventureGames

Traditionally,adventuregamesweretext-based.Theplayerinteractswiththe

systembyreadingatextualdescriptionofthelocation,andperformingqueries

andactionsbasedonthatdescription.

Thefirstadventurestooktheirinputina"verb-noun''format.Thatis,"Take

Food"wouldwork,whereas"TaketheFoodontheTable"wouldberejected.

Movementcommandsgenerallytookthesingle-wordform—Up,Down,North,

East,South,West—andcouldbeabbreviatedtoU,D,N,E,S,W,NW,NE,andso

on.

Adventuregamesusedtobeapopularandlucrativesectionofthegamesmarket.

Overtime,thesophisticationoftheparserallowedimprovementsinthenatureof

sentencesusablewiththegames,andthequalityofthewritingcorrespondingly

improvedwiththeincreasingcapabilitiesofthetargetmachines.Gamessuchas

TheHitchhiker'sGuidetotheGalaxyfromInfocom(publishersoftheoriginal

Zorkseriesofgames)andFish!fromMagneticScrollsaregoodexamples.Forthe

curious,aJavaversionofTheHitchhiker'sGuideisavailabletoplayat

D(/creations/infocomjava.html).

Eventually,simplegraphicsappearedtohelpenliventhetextualdescription.This

improvedtheatmospheretoadegree,butalsocoincidedwithageneraldecrease

inthequalityofthewriting.Thedesignersreliedmoreonthegraphics(it'seasier

todrawagoodpicturethantocraftgoodtext)totellthestory,andthewriting

sufferedcorrespondingly.Thegraphicstendedtobepresentedinoneoftwo

forms:aseitherafull-screenimagethatwasdisplayedbrieflyonenteringanew

locationbeforeclearingtoallowthetexttobedisplayed,orasasplit-screenstyle,

occupyingaportionofthescreen(usuallythetophalf).

Apartfromgeneralimprovementstotheparser,whichisindirectlyrelatedtothe

qualityofthegameinterface,thiswasthepinnacleoftheadventuregame

interface.Today,textadventuregamesarenotcommerciallyviable,buttheydo

liveonintheformofMUDs(multiuserdungeons)andMUSHs(multiusershared

hallucinations).ForthosewantingtoinvestigateMUDsandMUSHsfurther,agood

placetobeginis.

GraphicAdventures

Graphicadventuresarethespiritualsuccessortotextadventures.Takingthe

maxim"apictureisworthathousandwords'*astheirrallyingcry,designers

begantotakeadvantageoftheincreasingpowerofcomputerstocreateafully

graphicalinterfacetothestandardadventuregame.

Inmanyways,thiswasunfortunate.Wemaylamentthedegradationof

standardsfromtheclassicadventuregame—similartothepreferenceofa

significantportionoftoday'syouthforwatchingcartoonsoverreadingagood

book—butwecannotarguewithprogress.Simplyput,textadventuresthat

requiredtheplayertotypeintheircommandsdidnotappealtotheconsumerin

thesamewayasagraphicadventure,whichis,ineffect,aninteractivecartoon.

Thataside,thepoint-and-clickinterfaceofthegraphicadventurehaschanged

verylittleovertheyearssincethefirstappearanceofthegenre.Fromthe

earliestLeisureSuitLarrygames(showninFigure6.4)throughthelatestinthe

MonkeyIslandseries(showninFigure6.5),theinterfacehasremainedpleasingly

consistent.Theinterfacetoagraphicadventureisafairlysimpleconstruct.Most

graphicadventuresare2Dorpseudo-3D(thatis,theyuse3Dgraphicsina2D

scene-orientedfashion,ratherlikeastageshow),andconsequently,onlya

relativelysimplegameinterfaceisrequired.

Figure6.4.LeisureSuitLarryII.

Figure6.5.EscapefromMonkeyIsland.

Therearetwomainparadigmsfortheinterfacethatarecurrentlyinuse.Thefirst

isthesplit-screentext-oricon-basedinterface,wheretheplayerselectsactions

intheselectionareaofthescreenandwatchestheresultsintheresultsportion

ofthescreen.AnexampleofagamethatusesthisformatisLucasArts'sManiac

Mansion:DayoftheTentacle,showninFigure6.6.

Figure6.6.ManiacMansion:DayoftheTentacle.

Thesecondparadigm,usedbysuchgamesasMyst(showninFigure6.7).uses

thewholescreenastheinterface.Theplayermovesthecursoraroundthescreen

andclicksonobjectsorcharactersofinterest.Inthisway,thestoryisvisually

progressedbyplayerinteraction.Whatthisformatlosesinflexibilityoverthefirst

system,itgainsinatmosphereandimmersion.

Figure6.7.Myst.

WearenotgoingtoincludegamessuchasIonStorm'sDeusExinthecategory

ofadventuregames.Theactionquotientinthatgameistoohightowarrant

inclusion,andwewouldprefertoclassgamesofthistypeasaunionof

first/third-personshootersandrole-playinggames(eventhoughitisaclosecall

tomake).Adventuregames,ontheotherhand,aretypicallythoughtofasgames

thatrequirepurethoughtandlogic,andlittleinthewayofreflexes.Thus,the

gameinterfaceforthegraphicadventuredoesnothavespeedasoneofitsmain

priorities,insteadfocusingonclarityofuse.

Role-PlayingGames

Role-playinggames(RPGs),forthemostpart,havehadroughlythesameuser

interfacesincedayone.Thisisn'tnecessarilyagoodthing.Infact,thereisalot

aboutthestandardrole-playinggameinterfacethatwedonotlike,butaside

fromincrementalimprovements,itseemstobeacaseofusingwhatworkswell

enough,althoughanotableexceptionisthestartinginterfaceforMorrowind.Your

characterisdefinedbyyourresponsestoquestionsposedbyinteractive

charactersintheopeningpartofthegame.

Thegenericrole-playinggameinterfacecomesinthreesections:thecharacter

generationscreen,thein-gamescreen,andtheinventoryscreen.Thesedonot

seemtohavechangedmuchsincetheinceptionofthegenre,buttheirforms

havebeenmodifiedandrefinedsomewhat.

Take,forexample,anearlyrole-playinggame.OutoftheShadowsfromMizar

SoftwarewasreleasedfortheSinclairSpectrumin1984.Figure6.8showsthe

maingameandcharactergenerationscreenofthisgame.Payparticularattention

tothecharacterattributesontherightofthescreen.

Figure6.8.OutoftheShadowsmaingameandcharacter

screen.

IC?T「三LU

HER口zFoR

Race:eHum

Experince0

5tren9th10

Dexterity10

Hitpoints50

BUrden12

Oilti0

Torch0

Injur0

Rooms0

Treasu0

5aves0

Nowcontrastthiswiththecharactergenerationscreenfromamorerecentgame,

suchasBlackIsleStudio'sPlanescape:Torment,asshowninFigure6.9.

Figure6.9.Planescape:Tormentcharactergenerationscreen.

Apartfromthehugedifferencesinthequalityoftheartworkandthecapabilities

ofthetargetplatforms,thesescreensarescarilysimilarinfunction.Sure,there

areafewbellsandwhistlesaddedtothelatterexample,butfundamentally,the

functionalityhasn*treallychangedinthe16yearsbetweenthetwogames.Note

thatwefeelthatPlanescape:Tormentisanexcellentgame,andwearenot

tryingtoimplyotherwisebysinglingitoutforourexample.Wemerelywantto

illustratehowthebasiccharactergenerationinterfacehasnotchangedin

functionalityovertheyears.

Youmaybeoftheschoolofthoughtthatbelievesthislackofchangeisagood

thing.Afterall,it'sasystemthat'sbeeninusesincetheadventofpaper-and-

pencilrole-playinggamesinthe'70s.However,ourviewisdifferent.Whyuse

numbersatallinthegameinterface?Theywereanecessityinthepaper-and-

pencilrole-playinggames,butwhatacomputerisverygoodatisdealingwith

numbers.Whybothertheplayerwiththem?Having"SavingRoll+1"flashup

onscreenwhenwe'vejustdealtamightyblowtoazombiedoesnothingexcept

remindusthatwe'replayingadrygameofstatisticswithsomeprettygraphics

slappedontop.Weknowthatthisargumenthasbeenusedbefore,andthat

someplayersactuallyprefertodealwithnumbers—afterall,itdoesallowthe

playerstoknowexactlywheretheystandinthegame.However,wonderinghow

highyourhit-pointsarewhilesmitingazombiejarsyoursuspensionofdisbelief.

Letthoseplayerswhowanttodealwithnumbershavethem,butmaketheman

optioninthegame.Ifyouneedtodisplaynumbers(maybeforthesakeof

accuracy),thenatleastdisplaythemaslabelsonsomesortofbarchartorother

graphicalrepresentation.Tobefair,though,theuserinterfaceofPlanescape:

Tormentdoesallowsomelimitedhidingofthenumbers,borrowingthetechnique

ofdisplayinggraphicalpowerbarsfromothergenres,whichisaneatwayof

sidesteppingtheproblem.

StrategyandWarGames

Liketheircousin,therole-playinggame,strategyandwargameshavetheirroots

inboardgames.Hence,earlyeffortswereoftenheavyonthenumbersand

playedalmostexactlylikeacomputer-controlledboardgame.Oneofthefirst

breakthroughtitlesthatheraldedtherootsofthemoreaccessiblearcade-strategy

genrewasatitlereleasedfortheSinclairSpectrumbackin1984,calledStonkers

(seeFigure6.10).Thisgamepresentedsimulatedwarinamoreaccessible

arcade-influencedformatandisarguablytheveryfirstRTS(real-timestrategy)

wargame,introducingmanyoftheconceptsthatarefamiliarintoday'sRTSand

strategygames.

Figure6.10.Stonkers.

EASYGAME

MorerecentRTSgames(suchasSuddenStrike,showninFigure6.11),classic

strategygames(suchasCivilizationIII,showninFigures6.12and6.13),andthe

moretraditionalwargames(suchasSidMeier'sGettysburg,showninFigure6.14)

haveasimilaruserexperience—atleastatasuperficiallevel.Allgamesofthis

typeareconcernedwiththesamebasicsetofactions:controllinglargegroupsof

unitstosolveagoalthatcouldnotbeachievedbyoneunitalone.Ofcourse,

onceyougobeyondthissuperficiallevel,thereissomevarianceintheuser

interface;forexample,CivilizationIIIhasadiplomaticandcitycontrolinterface

thathandlesspecificdecisionsatawiderlevelthanthosesimplyconcernedwith

unit-andgroup-leveldecisions.

Figure6.11.SuddenStrike.

Figure6.12.Civilization111in-gameinterface.

Figure6.13.Civilization111foreignadvisoryinterface.

Figure6.14.SidMeier'sGettysburg.

Becauseofitsuniversalnature,theunit-andgroup-basedinterfacehasevolved

toallowtheplayertocontrolthesegroupseasily.GamessuchasBlizzard's

WarcraftandWestwood'sCommandandConquerserieshavehelpeddefinethe

standardinterfaceforRTSgamesthatmostgamesnowfollow.Left-clickingto

selectaunit,andthenright-clickingonanobjecttoselectacontext-sensitive

actionfortheunittoperformonthatobject,havebecomefamiliaractionsfor

mostRTSgamers.Morerecently,theabilitytoclick-dragselectagroupofunits

(amethodborroweddirectlyfromtheWindowsoperatingsystem)hasbeen

addedtotherepertoire.

However,asthesegameshavebecomemorecomplex,waysofmanagingthat

complexitybecomeneeded.Thishaspromptedadivergenceintheinterfaces,

especiallywithrespecttothecameracontrolmechanismsinthosegamesthat

givetheplayercontrolofthecamera(althoughwhytheplayerwouldwantto

controlthecameraisbeyondus—exceptinspecialsituations,thatshouldbea

jobforthecomputer).

Strategygamesandwargamesarecharacterizedbythestrategic-leveldecisions

theplayerisrequiredtomake.Consequently,theinterfacehastoallowthe

playertomakethesestrategicdecisions.Notethatalotofthesegames(for

betterorworse)alsoincludeafairamountofmicromanagementofindividual

units,usuallyintheformofgivingordersortraining.Thismicromanagementis

usuallyhandledbyacontextualiconicinterface.

Inordertobeaneffectiveinterface,ithastoseamlesslyhandlethreelevelsof

abstraction:grandstrategy(asinFigure6.13),groupandunitnavigation(asin

Figure6.14),andunitmicromanagement(asinFigure6.15).Notalltheselevels

arenecessarilypresent,dependingonthestrategicslantofthegame.Asa

generalrule,RTSgamestendtofocusonthelattertwolevels,groupandunit

navigationandunitmicromanagement.Moreseriouswargamestendtouseall

threelevels,usuallywithafocusonthegrandstrategicandthegroupandunit

navigationlevels.Purestrategygames(akintocomputer-controlledboard

games),suchasRisk(showninFigure6.16),focusonthegrandstrategiclevel,

withvaryinglevelsofusageofthelattertwolevels.Ofcourse,thebestofthese

gamesallowtheplayertochoosetowhatlevelhewantstoinvolvehimself—from

theoverseeingdictatorfigureallthewaydowntothebean-counting

micromanager,andanywhereinbetween.SidMeier'sCivilizationseriesofgames

areexcellentintheiruseofthecomputertohandlesuchmenialtasksatthe

player*srequest.

Figure6.15.Starcraft'sunitmicromanagementinterface.

Figure