It’s amazing how many of the top current generation games have major usability issues. I’ve taken a look at some of the biggest releases out now, and have highlighted a few of the usability and user experience issues that came up!
now that's just silly
Portal 2
- Entering the evil mirror-universe is not made explicit to the player. Consider giving Chell a goatee for emphasis.
- Asimov did not have a fourth law requiring all turrets to refer to the player as ‘Your Holiness’.
- Inclusion of the companion cube as an inert but playable character in co-op leads to a poor player experience. Consider allowing cube to rock side-to-side.
Deus Ex: Human Revolution
I wanted orange, it gave me lemon-lime
- Permanent sunglasses prevent the player from navigating dark areas of the game. License and implement Specsaver’s reactions lenses.
- ‘X’ button is currently mapped to philosophise. This should be auto-activated throughout.
- Tracer Tong is unlikely to be related to Pete Tong. Remove in-game references to his love of Garage and House music.
Driver: San Francisco
- Soundtrack continually loops David Bowie’s Life on Mars. “Next Track” button just increases the volume. Replace with Ashes to Ashes.
- Cars currently talk to the player in the voice of KITT from Knightrider. Appeal to a wider audience by adding the voices of Brum and Herbie.
- Shifting near the Ghostbusters can cause permanent player death. Replace with a minigame based around Dan Aykroyd trying to convince Bill Murray to be in a 3rd film.
Barbie’s Dream Adventure
- Ability to put injured citizens out of their misery is currently context dependent based on player’s decisions in the ‘pro-life vs pro choice’ round. Allow the player to euthanise civilians throughout.
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