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Halo 4 - Subject - Text Info near reticle

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#1 Wed, 07/11/2012 - 19:15
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Halo 4 - Subject - Text Info near reticle

Watch any current Halo 4 game video and you will see textual information appearing fairly close to the reticle. This has been bothering some people though not so much on 2old2play. Well, not so far.

Why I bring this to your attention now, is anybodies guess.

FYI similar information exists in REACH FF apparently. I never noticed.

 

Frankie comments 7.11.12

There are plenty of Halo Community Gaffers who played it. Ask them how it felt. I have obviously seen reams of test data regarding this fact, but talking to real people is more illuminating. Not ONE person I have asked about this had anything bad to say about it experientially.

It absolutely LOOKS distracting when you're watching. But in play, it's almost invisible and basically subliminal information. If this proves untrue when you try it I will personally buy you a shot.

 

 

Noticing and absorbing are not the same things. Here's a simple (relevant and connected) experiment. Go play Reach and mentally note the content of the text streams. They appear on the lower left of the screen.

Now play something super frighteningly abrupt, like SWAT or Snipers. Do the same thing.

Now think about your reticle - and what your eyes did, however briefly, while absorbing that information.

As to the "what's the point" question - there are dozens of points, all related to getting information and advice to all kinds of players. It's not going to be perfect for everyone, nothing is, but I suggest trying it - and again, I am fairly confident about this in real life.

 

Originally Posted by Risen: View Post
Truly in that example, the difference for me would be in how I relate to text in a game type that focuses on team play (default Reach), vs individual play (SWAT and Snipes) rather than a difference in type of action.

Of course noticing and absorbing are two different things... and I get moving the information in so far as when it's in the middle, more people will be able to catch what is delivered than when it was lower left. I'm sure it's part of making the game more accessible for people. The problem for me now is, I cannot escape seeing it where before I could choose to see it. Should I choose, I could check on who killed whom without seeing head shot, assist, medals, etc. I could absorb the important stuff and ignore the rest.

There is more information given than I personally value. The only information I value out of the text stream is who killed whom. Everything else is fluff.

For me... the rest adds no value to my game play experience DURING the game, and being notified of medals, assists, head shots, etc.; only adds value AFTER the game.

I'm not saying it's a particular problem (after all, I play other games with MUCH more going on than H4's display)... and I block that stuff out... nor am I worried about it exactly... just saying I'm in the camp of "less is more", and I play with a friends list full of people who feel the same way.

If I could choose where to place information, I'd rather it be out of the center... and could I choose the type of information, I'd rather not see things that have no bearing on the competition at hand. I want information that I value, to be accessible, but not necessarily overt.

Nothing wrong with these thoughts or opinions, but I will reiterate, you actually won't notice in gameplay. And on balance the benefits it provides are greater than the negatives. And we MUST balance those things.

 

 

Wed, 07/11/2012 - 19:30
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I honestly can't say what I think. I'd have to review current and past Halo games to see how it compares.

 

Thu, 07/12/2012 - 07:15
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I've heard the same impressions from people that have actually played H4, stating they didn't really notice the text. Obviously it's much easier for people watching videos to notice as we are not in the heat of battle. 

However, I have to wonder, if it's not noticed then why was it moved to the middle? Is it just a teensy bit faster to pick up the "subliminal" info with it being centered on the screen?

Thu, 07/12/2012 - 08:45
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It's amazing how this thing is blowing up and being made into an issue.

Thu, 07/12/2012 - 10:10 (Reply to #4)
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Dixon_Tufar wrote:

It's amazing how this thing is blowing up and being made into an issue.

Dude it's Halo. EVERYTHING gets blown out of proportion! cheeky

Thu, 07/12/2012 - 13:14 (Reply to #5)
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DarthTabasco wrote:

Dixon_Tufar wrote:

It's amazing how this thing is blowing up and being made into an issue.

Dude it's Halo. EVERYTHING gets blown out of proportion! cheeky

 

True.  This is one of those things where I'd agree with Deep's usual line.  These guys are professional game developers and this is so obvious to those viewing that it looks weird and would get past the first testing phase, however, I have faith in them enough to know they've gone past that and to stand by it.

 

Also, if things are pretty malleable, with UI and what not, you might be able to change it, although I doubt it.

Fri, 07/13/2012 - 11:50
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It's barely noticable in the video, even when concentrating on it. Coming from playing both Halo and Cod games for the past decade, it is never intrusive or distracting. I like the fact that I'll be certain when I get a kill or an assist. That is helpful to me and the one thing so far I'm glad they have 'borrowed' from other games that do the same.

Sat, 07/14/2012 - 11:37
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I play CoD quite abit and I think the scores do somewhat the same thing by poping up above your reticle. I'm not sure with out putting MW in, so that kinda tells me that it will not be an issue for me if I can't even recall where the points pop up in CoD.

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