The Evolving Language of Game Interfaces March 9, 2009

In Chapter 2 of The Language of New Media,  Manovich discusses how we use old cultural ideas to interface with computers. While the chapter is outdated, the ideas behind it are still very current. I’ve found that the language metaphor is useful to describe how technology is evolving. While gaming interfaces used to be large and clunky, contemporary players are able to understand games that feature very minimalist interfaces.  One solid example of a minimalist interface is that of Linear RPG by Sophie Houlden. When I found this game, I was able to pick up on it very quickly while I feel others may not be able to.

“Users are able to acquire new cultural languages, whether cinema a hundred years ago, or cultural interfaces today, because these languages are based on previous and already familiar cultural forms.” (79) I like to think that I am highly computer literate, and I feel that my gaming “language” abilities are what allowed me to so quickly understand Linear RPG. I think that games like this allow us to make the next step in this evolution–we are leaving the old cultural interfaces behind, because we are building on the interfaces that were built originally on the old cultural ideals (the middle generation). We have hit the next level, so to speak, in a gaming “language” and higher levels of comprehension are required to understand. It is a tricky language, often requiring one to have a history with games, to understand what other games have done and how they have done it. Many of my generation have grasped this new language (which is not solely restricted to games, but to all forms of computerized media), while I see that many of my grandparent’s generation cannot understand it. I feel that they are missing the history and the fluency of the middle generation, which allows a player to understand the current generation of gaming interfaces.

However, there is one area where both of these generations speak the same language: the Nintendo Wii. “And, more than any medium before it, HCI is like a chameleon that keeps changing its appearance, responding to how computers are used in any given period.” (89) This is an incredible example of how people interface with a computer–by using a sensitive Wiimote, the player has a great deal of influence over the screen; more so than a mouse could allow.  Because this is an easily accessible area of the current generation of game interfaces, many people can understand it quickly. It doesn’t require the player to be completely fluent with the language of gaming, but instead requires fluency in a small, easy to pick up part of the language. Another reason for the quick comprehension–it requires the player to move. The Wii has become akin to the virtual reality that Manovich discusses. “[VR] establishes a radically new type of relationship between the body of the viewer and the image. In contrast to cinema, where the mobile camera moves independently of hte immobile spectator, now the spectator actually has to move in physical space in order to experience movement in virtual space.” (109) Because the player moves, it references something that an older generation understands: not being glued to a screen.

Interface, regardless of the fluency level of the player, is an integral part of a game. It is “The window into a fictional world of a cinematic narrative has become a window in a datascape” (86) Without this, a game would be a movie or strings of code. It allows our entire culture to relate back to something that is easy to understand (Cinema), and apply it to something that might be more complex, a game. The design of interface is incredibly important because of this–the language needs to be clear to be understood. Noisy interfaces, or overly minimilstic ones like that of Linear RPG can make the language incredibly difficult to read. I feel that game designers need to be clear and concise with their interface language to ensure that the target demographic is able to fully understand their intentions and enjoy the game.

Also referenced:  The Language of New Media, Lev Manovich