The Design of Everday Things (pt. 2)

I've always been a fan of NCAA Football for the PlayStation 2 and now the Xbox 360. I played NCAA 02 on PlayStation 2 my freshman year of high school when I joined the football team. I played against my fellow teammates through 2005 (when I graduated) and in 2007 I got an Xbox 360 so I bought my first NCAA game (2008) on it when it came out that summer. The main problem I've had has been with the interface on the playcall screen.


The PlayStation 2 version looked like this:
Basically, after selecting a formation, you are given multiple "pages". On each page, you can press a button to select a play. You scroll through the "pages" using the control pad and can press the other unused button (triangle) to go back and pick a different formation. I got used to this after playing for 6 years. Also, if you wanted to make a different "package" (for example, use a receiver at the tight end position for just one play), you could press right when you're selecting a formation. But when I made the transition to 360, it looks like this:


Basically, you now have to highlight a play (and then press the A button) to select it. Of course, if you press another button (in the picture above, Y or RB), it will select a that certain play. To scroll from "page to page", you have to have to move the stick the direction of that border. For example, if I wanted to move to the right, I'd have to highlight PA TE Flood or Curl Combo in the picture above and THEN press right, so it takes TWO presses of a button. I've received a few Delay of Game calls because it takes so long to browse. It took me a while to figure it out (the instruction manual for the game is a joke) how to switch packages as well. On this scree, you have to use the RIGHT analog stick and that will scroll through the different packages.

EA Sports still makes an NCAA game for PS2, and the playcall screen is the same as it always has been. So when I play a friend who doesn't have a 360, I am lost because I've been used to using the XBox 360 format for the past 2 years. Even though it is a better format, I've grown accustomed to using the bad version (even though I'm not good at it), so I'm not used to it.

The book made me think of this; the more information, the more difficult it becomes to design an interface for it. And when something releases a new version, it's not always BETTER. In fact, it can regress over time. This is a perfect example/