It’s clear the PS4 is an unqualified sales success. It’s sold around ten million units, roughly 2 to 1 against the Xbox One. Those are impressive enough sales to be a key factor in Sony’s profitability for Q1 2014 after years of losses.
But even hit consoles need work; almost a year into its lifecycle, the PS4 needs to improve its user interface. As I’ve argued previously, the UI gets the job done as a quick, no-frills game launcher. Yet its “horizontal ribbon” layout, with every app (in this post, ‘app’ is a loose interpretation encompassing both games and entertainment apps like Netflix) on the system ordered in strict reverse chronological order, is hampered by its lack of customization (note the upcoming major UI update, as of this writing, doesn’t alter the app layout at all.)
Customization matters
Core gamers, often with large game libraries, have the most immediate demand for a more organization-friendly UI. Yet it’s not just a traditional fan base that may juggle between many apps. Popular premium subscription services like PS Plus, Xbox Live Gold and the recently announced EA Access offer new “free” game downloads at regular intervals as long as you’re a member. And casual gamers that only buy a few $60 AAA titles may buy more games as inexpensive and free-to-play indie titles proliferate on the PSN store.
Also, in 2014, customization isn’t just a nice to have, it’s essential to the DNA of most modern tech gear. Every smartphone, tablet, or laptop allows you to organize apps into folders or across multiple home screens. If I’m paying the same price for a dedicated gaming console as I am for the next iPhone, I expect basic levels of customization to define it as my own.
There’s a philosophical argument as well: gaming is going through the same pattern as all media post-internet, splintering into fragmented, niche genres. With so many on the same base console but able to purse much more individualistic tastes, some basic UI customization helps distinguish my PS4 from somebody else’s.
A multi ribbon interface
With such a large install base, major UI changes can be tricky. Thankfully, the UI doesn’t need a redesign from the ground up, just evolutionary growth into a multi ribbon system. Users create as many additional ribbons as they want and move apps to any ribbon they choose. To keep things straightforward, like with iOS, there are no extra “shortcuts” or “aliases” of app icons, only a single canonical icon within a set of ribbons.
The original, single horizontal ribbon remains unchanged by default. Navigation and controls are identical to before, retaining the three row structure: settings, notifications and trophies are in the top row, apps in the middle, and details on an individual app or game at the bottom (figure A). Only one ribbon appears at a time.
Figure A: Start state of the proposed UI
Users tap the DualShock controller triggers (L2, R2) or speak voice commands to cycle through their ribbons. As each ribbon appears, the scrolling text region in the screen’s top left briefly displays the ribbon name (figure B).
Figure B: user jumps to a new ribbon
Reordering games and editing ribbons
To reorder apps in a single ribbon or move an app to another ribbon, users enter a special “app reorder mode” by holding both DualShock bumpers (L1 and R1) down for a few seconds. This is a nod to the “hold an icon until it wiggles to edit” paradigm in most mobile OSes.
The UI’s look in this mode changes significantly: the top and bottom rows are removed and the app icon the cursor is selecting no longer enlarges the icon. In addition, new text labels are added around the ribbon to clarify the name of the active ribbon and its order (Figure C).
Figure C: app reorder mode
A new, simplified control scheme applies in this mode:
Controller bumpers cycle through the current ribbon’s order options: chronological (default), alphabetical, and manual.
X selects an individual app for movement.
Options opens up a menu to change the current ribbon’s name. Upon creation, all ribbons have an automatic, sequential ordering naming convention like “Games 4” and “Games 5”. But for users with a lot of content or who want a particular organization, custom labels are helpful.
The D-pad and analog sticks navigate between ribbons (up/down) and individual apps on a ribbon (left/right).
Square exits app reorder mode.
Once an icon is selected, a visual change (e.g. change in selected icon border color or thickness, icon appears to hover) indicates it’s available to move. Up and down always shuffles the app between ribbons. To keep things simple, the ribbons cycle with a definitive beginning and end; the first is at the top, the last is at the bottom and there’s no looping. This way, to create a new ribbon, all it takes is moving ‘down’ from the last occupied ribbon (figure D, E). Conversely, to remove a ribbon the user removes all icons from it.
Figure D: Game 20 is selected, ready for movement.
Figure E: Moving Game 20 "down" once auto creates a new ribbon.
Small change, big impact
Adding smarter organization isn’t going to move the needle for PS4 sales. Nor is it likely to affect Sony’s ongoing battle against the Xbox One, a fight centered on game selection, exclusives, and raw performance. Instead, a stronger UI makes users happier while improving their attachment to the device. For a dedicated gaming console in an increasingly mobile-centric world, that’s an underrated, compelling factor in the long run.
I can see how this model would appeal to a developer. Without the popularity contests that fuel the top charts, the content gets more of a chance to speak for itself. I game earns a purchase by having a good trailer, screenshots, and maybe a demo instead of “I’m #1 in the store, so you should buy me like everyone else.”
Basically Matt argues the over reliance on top download lists are a main problem on other app stores like iOS. In their absence on places like PSN, you’re forced to browse the store and buy apps that appeal to you more on a personal level versus “falling in line behind the million people who have already gotten the same thing.”
That’s a strong thesis, but even with 100% curation, the PSN store has some serious shortcomings, both in its puzzling range of information density and constant pushes for you to upgrade to a PS Plus subscription when you’re already a paid subscriber.
Jaz Rignall conducts a long interview at US Gamer with part of the original LucasArts team. They reminisce over the golden years of the studio, where Monkey Island, Maniac Mansion and many others were produced. A must read if you grew up playing any 80s and 90s adventure games.
Speaking of gaming and diversity, Kotaku’s editor-in-chief wrote a smart piece on the subject recently as well:
The old game-length question stopped perpetually leading to outrage once it had been asked a lot. It only stopped creating blazing headlines once all the true or half-true or false answers had been tried and once we’d all played enough of the games about which it had been asked.
Today, you’ll see the occasional game developer get in trouble with releasing too short a game, but the scandal of game length has mostly settled into the steady-pulsed understanding that some games are long, some games are short, some games are good, some games are bad, not always respectively.
We’re not quite at the same level of understanding of diversity in games, and I wouldn’t expect us to be. The length of a game may involve issues of value and aesthetic quality. Diversity is far more important, and much more complicated. It can affect aesthetics, yes, but it can also affect the people who play games and how we think about the work we’ve expected to entertain or engage us.
Succinctly, Steven argues it’s going to be a messy issue to sort through, but the more we probe on this issue, the stronger gaming will be as an overall industry.
The problem faced by woman and minority-starring video games is largely the same as the problem facing traditionally underrepresented groups across all forms of representation: their failures are treated as definitive, and their successes are ignored. Dozens of white man-starring video games have underperformed, but their failures are treated as specific to that game. Every woman-starring game, though, has to bear an unfair burden, just like “Bridesmaids” was treated as a referendum on the very idea of woman-centered ensembles in theaters.
Kill Screen’s Jamin Warren compares the usage of the term “indie” in gaming versus other forms of media. Overall he finds the concept dated and little more than a marketing term at this point. I can’t agree 100 percent; it’s clear that “indie” suffers from overexposure. But there’s a world of difference between the development size of a game like Skyrim compared to a title like Rogue Legacy. The latter, with its tiny budget and development team and independence from big structure, feels absolutely fair to distinguish as “indie”.
A game that falls in the middle – something like Titanfall – by an team of under 100 employees working independently but through a mega-publisher like EA? That’s debatable. But it doesn’t mean the term loses validation entirely.
I have no idea how anybody else survives in games journalism. Well, actually, I do know now. It’s that other people just get day jobs. They do what I’ve done. If they’re lucky enough to find one that they can do in addition to journalism without wanting to die all the time. Maybe they just give up and get a full-time job that has nothing to do with journalism at all.
Eventually, if enough people tell you that your work isn’t valuable, you start to believe them. No matter how many high-minded ideals you have about writing having intrinsic value or journalistic ethics or whatever … continuing to hustle while you’re also hungry and depressed is basically impossible. I tried to do it. I failed.
It’s very disheartening reading posts like this. It’s another reminder journalism in almost any entertainment media (film, gaming, tv) is a dying full time occupation, in the process leading to a serious drop in quality and enthusiasm. Just as importantly, it’s a reminder of the amount of harassment and discrimination women often endure in this field, be it as journalists, developers, or even enthusiasts.
Six months in, the Xbox One still raises as many questions as it answers. What is Microsoft’s vision for this thing? Is it about the cloud, or online gaming, or is it about Kinect? Is it for watching TV, or as the company’s more recent messaging seems to suggest, is it now all about gamers and games?
It’s only natural that some unanswered questions remain, of course—no game console achieves its every goal in the first six months. All the same, Microsoft has yet to put forth a coherent vision for the Xbox One, nor have they clearly articulated why it’s worth spending hundreds of dollars to own one.
As I wrote about back in 2013 before the Xbox One and PS4 were released, vision was the biggest concern I had about Microsoft’s offering. This piece was written slightly before E3, where Microsoft standing by keeping its focus squarely on games. But many questions remain unanswered.
I rarely make a direct pitch for game downloads, but this one deserves an exception. Towerfall Ascension is a competitive platformer with up to four archers taking shots at each other. Its simple gameplay makes it a near perfect couch multiplayer game. And if you’re someone who games mostly solo (e.g. me) the Quest and Trials modes are still a blast. More than anything, there’s a level of polish to this title, from the great music to the incredibly tight controls. It’s one of my favorite titles released on the PS4 so far, and for PS Plus members it’s free for the month of July.
If there’s one trusted source for hard-core analysis of game performance, it’s Eurogamer’s Digital Foundry unit. This post breaks down the pros and cons of locked 30 frames per second versus an unlocked, variable frame rate. If that sounds technical, it is, but writer John Linneman does a solid job of introducing the basics:
So the question is, should console titles be allowed to operate at their absolute fastest? Or should performance be capped in order to enforce the kind of consistency that [Driveclub producer] Paul Rustchynsky talks about?
The short response is that there is no definitive answer. Different games target different experiences with different priorities, and gamers themselves have their own personal opinions on what works best. However, by looking at key titles, we can build up a picture of what works for us, which perhaps puts some of our tech analysis pieces on specific games into context.
