Interface Critique

There were many old technologies in the Media Archaeology lab that laid the foundation for what we consider modern interface design. The early Macintosh computers were the first to use a mouse to interact with things via a GUI. Some of the first video games like Oregon Trail and Tetris had all kinds of input methods, be it through text or just a couple of buttons.

I found a highly challenging (and highly illegal) bootleg of Super Mario Bros. for the Commodore 64 which used a joystick as opposed to a NES controller. Having this different input method dramatically affected how I played the game and how much I (didn’t) enjoy it. The analogue joystick felt very imprecise and clunky, which is crippling for a platforming game like Mario. The only way to jump was by pushing forward, or up, on the joystick. This essentially meant pushing the controller away from you to perform the most basic and necessary mechanics in the game. The one button on the joystick was used to sprint instead of jump, which when pressed gave you a better grip on the controller in exchange for moving too fast to function.

I concluded that joysticks were not at all the appropriate interface for a game as precise as Mario, however, with something simple like Space Invaders this is more acceptable. The movement is far less depended on precise inputs and more dependent on your general positioning in the screen to avoid enemies best.