[MUD-Dev2] [DESIGN] UI for netbooks challenge (WAS: [NEWS] Netbook sales expected to double to 35 million)

[Zach Collins Siege]

On Mon, Feb 23, 2009 at 9:28 AM, Aurel <aurel.gets.mail at gmail.com> wrote:
> Current graphical worlds would look bad on such a tiny screen. Can you
> imagine seeing a crowded WoW or EVE interface the size of a postcard? Ick.
> We'll either have to see simpler interfaces (and thus simpler games) or a
> return to text based MU*s.

I'm not sure that simpler interfaces necessarily mean simpler games.
However, they would necessitate much more efficient UI design. Look at
WoW's standard in-game interface: You have buttons and clicky things
all over the screen. Inventory windows, combat buttons, chat windows,
a mini-map... you could pare a lot of that down. Now, it's nice that
WoW allows players to design their own UIs; that makes it that much
easier to design a netbook friendly UI for that game, although it
doesn't necessarily help the player pick out targets in a crowded
environment. But what about the rest?

I'm finding that many Flash games presume that a 600px-high object
will fit easily inside your browser window; but because my netbook's
*screen* is only 600px high (and higher resolution is not available),
I'm having to hit F11 a lot in order to make the browser's interface
-- and the Windows task bar! -- go away in order to play those games.
That means I don't know what's going on in other windows, and I can't
check the current real-world time by looking in the corner of my
screen. Now, for a game which already takes over your display, that
isn't an issue, but occasionally the designer of a Flash or other
browser-based interface presumes that you have at least the Windows
task bar or your browser's tab bar visible and can check other
windows/tabs as needed. If I make them go away so I can play the game,
then part of the game experience is harder for me to get to and
manage.

But thinking more of UI within the game window, you have a much more
limited space than someone with a 17- or 21-inch screen who can play
at 1024x768 or higher resolution. (In fact, much UI design these days
presumes that 1024x768 is the lowest resolution anyone uses anymore.)

Moving on to controls, your keyboard is often limited further than
even a standard laptop. I've mentioned before that on my netbook (an
Acer Aspire One), the Home and End keys are function-key combos on the
PgUp and PgDown keys, and the number pad is embedded (in a slightly
awkward fashion thanks to the offset rows) and only works when the Num
Lock is on, turning off the other functions of those keys (common
enough in laptops, but still sometimes frustrating). That small change
in cursor control has been limiting my own ability to maneuver when
composing and editing text and scrolling around windows; imagine what
it might do to an interface which presumes the standard 101-key
layout, with the cursor control keys in their own two-section block on
the keyboard, and a full number pad/cursor control block on the end
(speaking of which, I think that inventory control might be
well-served by the number pad when it's not being used by left-handers
for maneuvering; but that's a discussion for a different thread).

As for having a touchpad, well... sometimes it works well with your
game, and sometimes you need an external mouse. There are some
subtleties in the use of a touchpad that aren't needed when you can
just whiz around with a mouse, particularly if you are relying on the
player's ability to accurately point and click at high speed. (It's
too bad that the Trackpoint style mousing nub has proven to wear so
badly over time, or perhaps more manufacturers would be using it. Or
is it the licensing they don't like?) Also, touchpads don't have a
mouse wheel, although they generally "sub-let" space on the pad for
scrolling functions. I'm finding for myself that this is made reliable
only at the cost of space for general maneuvering; and even with the
tiny strip I'm using, my browser window still occasionally scrolls
when I'm trying to quickly point my cursor at an enemy. Disorienting
and frustrating to have the screen jump when my focus (and that of my
cursor!) isn't on the window outside my gameplay.

And while the processor and GPU aren't as powerful as on most desktops
these days, it's at least three or four times more powerful than my
formerly high-end desktop from the last days of Win2k, so I'm not
going to comment on that issue.

Now, each of these does present certain challenges. So here's a
challenge for you, the reader: take an existing game's UI, briefly
explain the interface for those of us who don't work on or play that
game, and then explain what you would change to allow a netbook user
to play more easily, presuming that they don't have another computer
to use for gaming and are reluctant to add hardware to their machine.

Since I don't actually play any graphical MMOGs (although I've been
toying with Blockland, a virtual world client based on good ol'
Legos), all I'll say is, keep your interface to no more than 600px
high (and resolution changes aren't available), and keep in mind the
limitations of a touchpad and "missing" cursor keys.

-- 
Zach Collins (Siege)
"If code can be speech, then software can be art."