FND's Blag » FAIL http://fnd.lewcid.org/blog Just Another Personal Wobsite Thu, 11 Mar 2010 15:19:16 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0 Usability in Gaming: Doing It Wrong http://fnd.lewcid.org/blog/archive/22 http://fnd.lewcid.org/blog/archive/22#comments Sun, 19 Oct 2008 09:35:31 +0000 FND http://fnd.lewcid.org/blog/?p=22 While computer/video games certainly have a number of good things to teach about usability in software and web design, there are also quite a few mind-bogglingly bad examples.

exhibit A: Mario Kart Wii

  1. turn on Wii console
  2. confirm health & safety warning
  3. from the console’s main menu, select “channel” Mario Kart Wii
  4. select Start
  5. confirm Wiimote wrist-strap warning
  6. confirm Mario Kart Wii portal screen
  7. select license (player profile)
  8. from the game’s main menu, select game mode (here: Single Player)
  9. select race type (here: Grand Prix[1])
  10. select vehicle class (50-150cc, karts and/or bikes)
  11. select player character
  12. select vehicle
  13. select drifting mode (manual/automatic)
  14. select cup (tracks)
  15. confirm selection

Each of those screens comes with a certain delay due to loading time or animations – why didn’t anybody notice and fix that before the release?

  1. Other game modes, e.g. multiplayer races, involve a few additional steps…
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