Are Button Prompts in Video Games a Sign of Bad Design?
For a long time I’ve considered button prompts in video games to be an element of lazy game design. “Shouldn’t a well-designed game give players a play space so rich with affordance and feedback that players would frictionlessly and joyously discover the game mechanics and their associated inputs?” Not only did I think this, but I thought game designers were pretty universal in the idea; if button prompts can be eliminated, then shouldn’t it be done?
But on episode 55 of the podcast “Play, Watch, Listen” Bithell dismissed the inherent goodness of an absent UI, saying it’s really just an aesthetic choice. I was surprised by this, because Mikey B is an awesome game designer and I had simply assumed every game designer would eliminate overt button prompts if they were capable enough.
So in this video I talk about how Mike Bithell helped me rethink user interface design, specifically in regards to on-screen button prompts. Thank you, Mike Bithell.
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Music credits
- Bossa Antigua by Kevin MacLeod, Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/3454-bossa-antigua, License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
- Pump by Kevin MacLeod, Link: https://incompetech.filmmusic.io/song/4252-pump, License: http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
