Why Aren't all Console Menus Like This?

Doomed

Doomed

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Almost every menu in a video game is like this:
576010.jpg

(IMG from an old version of CoD4)

That type of menu system works great on a PC with a mouse or a tablet. Most game consoles do not have mice or touch screens, yet games still use this type of menu. Why? Every time I want to play a multiplayer game of Call of Duty, I have to press up on the analog stick twice. No Infinity Ward, I do not want to play the single player game now. Here's what the menu should look like:

cod4.png


Since most of the time you play CoD4 for the multiplayer, make that the default option. Just loading it up and pressing A takes you there. Want to resume your game? Press up, then A. Every menu item is two actions away. If you're the type who plays single player a lot, go into options and make resume game the default action. Everyone wins. Some games already use this menu system.

Viva Pinata
pp_menu.jpg


Halo Wars (In-game only)

Keep in mind it is a very crappy mockup I made. If an actual artist made it, using the real CoD assets, it would look better. ;)
 
The new 2K Sports games have menus exactly like that. I'm a fan, but I don't think it needs to be like that in every game.
 
IMO, radial menus usually end up looking cluttered and confusing. With a simple list you can quickly scan all of the available options without your eyes having to dart all over the place.
 
So, essentially you want a Pie Menu. They work nicely in Viva Pinata and the Sims, as once you learn them, you can perform actions very very quickly. Enough usage, and you can execute commands before the menu even pops up (through muscle memory). However, that's for experts. For beginners, they require more work initially. Since you really don't start new games all that often, it's unlikely that you'd commit the gestures and placement to memory.

Still, I won't say the CoD pic you provided is optimal either. They would have benefited greatly from having submenus for the options people probably almost never use.
 
if your too lazy to click the joystick a couple extra times you need to get on a treadmill or somethin bro
 
I like plain and simple text options to highlight and click on.

I navigate through my Xbox by hitting the big green button on my controller and using the quick and easy text menu that pops up. I hate the new xbox interface and it pisses me off that I am forced to use it. MS only forces you to use it to make sure you see all the advertising they put in there.
 
I'm not trying to sound smarmy, but if you're really interested in implementing them more often then what you're looking for are called 'pie menus.'

I use one on the Ubuntu partition (no I did not make it myself) and love it. I cannot wait for Windows 7 to use one native to Windows.
 
[quote name='seanhassars']are you for seriously? if this bothers you that much perhaps you need to take a break from the online nintendo.[/QUOTE]
I don't have Call of Duty for for Nintendo DS. I have it for Microsoft's gaming platform, the Xbox 360. CoD4 is out for Nintendo's other main gaming platform, the Wii, at the end of this month.

It bothers me (how much is "that much"?) because of how much it wastes. I've played CoD4 multiplayer for 4 days, 17 hours, and 33 minutes. (113.55 hours) Let's say each session is 2 hours long. (Quite an overestimate) I've pressed up and A 57 times for no reason other than because IW thinks I should resume my already completed single player game.

Do you want to take out a controller and press up, then A 57 times right now? No? It's boring and a waste of time. So why would I want to do that?
[quote name='GF_Eric']The new 2K Sports games have menus exactly like that. I'm a fan, but I don't think it needs to be like that in every game.[/QUOTE]
I don't think games need to have this. I think it's a nice thing to have.
[quote name='Ryuukishi']IMO, radial menus usually end up looking cluttered and confusing. With a simple list you can quickly scan all of the available options without your eyes having to dart all over the place.[/QUOTE]
Why not have an option the old menu, for people who like pressing down 5 times instead of once? I'm not an artist. The menu could be spread apart way more, and much more visually appealing.
[quote name='Malik112099']the list looks less like a clusterfuck[/QUOTE]
Which list?
[quote name='Salamando3000']So, essentially you want a Pie Menu. They work nicely in Viva Pinata and the Sims, as once you learn them, you can perform actions very very quickly. Enough usage, and you can execute commands before the menu even pops up (through muscle memory).[/QUOTE]
Absolutely. I do this all the time with Halo Wars' Circle Menu. (that is what it is called in-game)
[quote name='Salamando3000']However, that's for experts. For beginners, they require more work initially. Since you really don't start new games all that often, it's unlikely that you'd commit the gestures and placement to memory.[/QUOTE]
You just contradicted yourself. More work initially for less work in the long run and not starting new games often go hand in hand.

For when you do start a game that doesn't get played much, and it has 5+ main menu options, do you commit the placement of the menu items in the normal menus to memory? What makes you think you'd have to remember the placement of menu items in a pie menu?
[quote name='Salamando3000']
Still, I won't say the CoD pic you provided is optimal either. They would have benefited greatly from having submenus for the options people probably almost never use.[/QUOTE]
Yeah, most of the single player stuff should have gone under a menu item called "single player".
[quote name='knotfan123']if your too lazy to click the joystick a couple extra times you need to get on a treadmill or somethin bro[/QUOTE]
I hate clicking joysticks. I absolutely despise the 360 controller for including clickable and concave joysticks. I am 90% sure I am developing some kind of hand problem because of clicking joysticks.

Oh, did you mean move a joystick?
[quote name='Doomed, earlier in this post']
It bothers me because of how much it wastes. I've played CoD4 multiplayer for 4 days, 17 hours, and 33 minutes. (113.55 hours) Let's say each session is 2 hours long. (Quite an overestimate) I've pressed up and A 57 times for no reason other than because IW thinks I should resume my already completed single player game.[/QUOTE]
As for needing to "get on a treadmill or something bro", why? I'm not in any sports, but I'm not really fat. Though I'm by no means an amazing runner, over the past few weeks I've brought my time for running one mile down to :lol:
8:30
[quote name='cochesecochese']I'm not trying to sound smarmy, but if you're really interested in implementing them more often then what you're looking for are called 'pie menus.'

I use one on the Ubuntu partition (no I did not make it myself) and love it. I cannot wait for Windows 7 to use one native to Windows.[/QUOTE]
Not really, I think normal menus work fine on a device with a touch screen or mouse.
 
At least it's better then last gen. I swear almost every game used to start on the "New Game" option. Invariably you hit it at least a few times and have to spend 2 min skipping through into cutscenes and load screens or resetting the console. Gods that pissed me off.

My number one peeve though is not being able to invert the Y-axis (pilot controls). I swear, the spaceship portions of R&C were ruined because I couldn't warp my mind around the up means down ship controls.
 
Let's combine this thread with this one and calculate just how much time in our lives we've wasted doing nothing but waiting and menu hopping.

And then punch ourselves in the nuts.
 
[quote name='Doomed']
You just contradicted yourself. More work initially for less work in the long run and not starting new games often go hand in hand.

For when you do start a game that doesn't get played much, and it has 5+ main menu options, do you commit the placement of the menu items in the normal menus to memory? What makes you think you'd have to remember the placement of menu items in a pie menu?[/QUOTE]

Still, the principal reason why someone would use a Pie menu over something else is the quickness with which one can perform operations that they've performed dozens or hundreds of times before. For the person who uses it enough, it will save seconds over conventional menus. In Halo Wars or Sims or Ratchet & Clank, you end up using them hundreds and hundreds of times, saving a lot of time.

You, on the other hand, are looking at the main menu. By your own admission, you've seen it ~ sixty times to pick Multiplayer. Even if a pie menu would've saved you two seconds each time, you're ultimately only saving two minutes. Considering how a list usually looks cleaner and is easier to use for people just starting to play, the time savings seems like small potatoes.

Your real problem just seems to be the desire to select where you want your cursor to default to...which, in this age of hard drives and save files, is something much easier to do via "remembering last menu" option, or even by having modular menus and allowing the user to specify the order they want.
 
[quote name='Puffa469']I like plain and simple text options to highlight and click on.

I navigate through my Xbox by hitting the big green button on my controller and using the quick and easy text menu that pops up. I hate the new xbox interface and it pisses me off that I am forced to use it. MS only forces you to use it to make sure you see all the advertising they put in there.[/QUOTE]


You contradict yourself. If you were forced to use the new interface you wouldnt have the option to use the quicker text menu by pressing the guide button.
 
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