Mass Effect employs the Manual interface for both the Xbox 360 console and the PC, though I'll focus on the Xbox, since I've not played the PC version. The controller layout for action gameplay is similar to
Gears of War, though a bit more complex and a little more sluggish because they are not designed simply for tearing things into bloody pieces. You can use the D-pad to give your squad mates orders and the bumper buttons to switch/select weapons and use powers. The powers are the most awkward thing to control as a result of using only one button. This is unfortunate because the X button simply takes your weapons out, which can be done just as easily with either the right or left trigger. It's just a poorly utilized button, especially considering you need to use the inconveniently placed Back button to throw and detonate grenades. Overall, however, the shooting is really easy to get the hang of, especially for anyone who has played a shooter before or just turns the auto-targeting on and the difficulty to easy.
During combat you'll see the HUD, the heads-up interface, which is passive. It displays relevant information about Shepard and his allies like how much health and shields they have left, the commands your team is following, the minimap for navigation (which could use more detail), and how close Shepard's weapon is to overheating. There is no ammunition to worry about in
Mass Effect. This is definitely a relief because combat is not the coolest part of the game for me by far. If you are engaged with any enemies, they're name, shield, and health data will appear at the top of the HUD when you lock on to them.
Mass Effect is not an extremely envelope-pushing game, however, one of it's key innovations is in its conversation system, which presents different options for dialogue in a circular formation that can easily be chosen by rotation of the right analogue stick. Rather than giving the full line of dialogue for the player to choose, the game presents a brief summary that Shepard will transform into his/her own words when selected. I've come to think of these short lines as the thoughts going through Shepard's mind at the time. This system makes selecting what you want to say so much easier than scrolling up or down and reading through long lines of dialogue, keeps the flow of the conversation realistic, and actually allows the player character to speak audibly! For even greater ease of use, the mean options are usually at around 5:00 on the clock-like configuration while the nice responses are around 2:00. More investigative choices are over at 9:00. The Persuade and Intimidate techniques can also be used with the wheel just like talking regularly except they appear in blue and red respectively. The one problem with talking through abbreviated lines is that sometimes the thought will differ slightly from what Shepard actually says and sometimes the thought is funnier than the actual line. That is what makes me think the dialogue options represent thoughts. We humans often have extreme emotions and impulses that are disguised by more mellow words.
The best part about this new conversation system is that the characters actually act, emotionally and physically, during the dialogue portions of the game. You have no direct control over how Shepard follows your orders, he/she just does as you tell him/her, but it's a HUGE improvement over
KotOR's stiff looking characters, repetitive gestures and motions, and fade outs whenever their was an implied action with no animation. This wheel system can also be used to control actions. Sometimes during a conversation, an option such as [Shoot Him] will appear and Shepard will comply if this is selected. Sometimes, the context of the thought is enough to get Shepard to take action. Other times, the wheel is only used for actions and not conversation, as seen below.
In addition to the HUD, the occasional cinematics are another passive interface that exists to tell
Mass Effect's story. Most of the plot is laid out in front of Shepard's and the player's eyes during the above-mentioned conversation sequences, but even the Spectre can't be everywhere at once. After the first mission, for example, a cutscene shows Saren getting all agitated about one of his plans being foiled. It reveals a bit of his character and evil plan that cannot be witnessed by the player character who is in a coma at the time.
The character creation interface functions well. It is designed for precise detailing of your characters face. Changes to most of the sliders do not significantly change things and different preset structures form the basis for Shepard's face. However, it still allows for a very different face every time you play the game. One of my favorite features is the scar slider that provides you a selection of slashes and burns to make your Shepard into an unlucky soldier or gnarled veteran if you want. It's not hard to make a sexy character either, though rugged may be more realistic. My female version of Shepard was much too fine to be running around fighting aliens.
Like most of the interfaces in the game, the player creation interface is active. Another example is the pause menu. There are a bunch of options available to the player here, including the Options menu, the Equipment management interface, the Codex (basically just a Galactic encyclopedia that completes itself as you advance), the progress Journal, the Squad screen, and the options to Load or Save a game. The "Options" menu has the basic audio, visual, and difficulty customization choices as well as some other related items. The Squad screen allows you to level up Shepard and your team. You can also access a Map from the pause menu, which permits you to see the constrained area in which the action is taking place.
Along with this map comes a chart on a much larger scale, the Galaxy Map. This tool looks pretty cool as a floating hologram in your ship. It makes navigating the vast galaxy as easy as finding Waldo, even if it's a bit repetitive. You zoom in on star systems and then on planets, while the map calculates your Mass Relay route automatically. Getting a close up view of planets is interesting because every single one has its own description, even if you can't land on it. The only problem I had with the Galaxy Map was trying to zoom out. You're supposed to press X but my intuition kept telling me to press B, which exits the map. Then it has to load again if you want to go anywhere.
As for the audio in
Mass Effect, I would not consider it part of the interface. The only time it comes into gameplay is when your teammates constantly yell out "Shepard's been hit!" or "Enemy Sighted!" Other than that, the music and sounds really only serve to make the experience intense and dramatic and they are only of high quality during the cinematics and conversations.
Mass Effect employs the Manual interface for both the Xbox 360 console and the PC, though I'll focus on the Xbox, since I've not played the PC version. The controller layout for action gameplay is similar to Gears of War, though a bit more complex and a little more sluggish because they are not designed simply for tearing things into bloody pieces. You can use the D-pad to give your squad mates orders and the bumper buttons to switch/select weapons and use powers. The powers are the most awkward thing to control as a result of using only one button. This is unfortunate because the X button simply takes your weapons out, which can be done just as easily with either the right or left trigger. It's just a poorly utilized button, especially considering you need to use the inconveniently placed Back button to throw and detonate grenades. Overall, however, the shooting is really easy to get the hang of, especially for anyone who has played a shooter before or just turns the auto-targeting on and the difficulty to easy.
During combat you'll see the HUD, the heads-up interface, which is passive. It displays relevant information about Shepard and his allies like how much health and shields they have left, the commands your team is following, the minimap for navigation (which could use more detail), and how close Shepard's weapon is to overheating. There is no ammunition to worry about in Mass Effect. This is definitely a relief because combat is not the coolest part of the game for me by far. If you are engaged with any enemies, they're name, shield, and health data will appear at the top of the HUD when you lock on to them.
Mass Effect is not an extremely envelope-pushing game, however, one of it's key innovations is in its conversation system, which presents different options for dialogue in a circular formation that can easily be chosen by rotation of the right analogue stick. Rather than giving the full line of dialogue for the player to choose, the game presents a brief summary that Shepard will transform into his/her own words when selected. I've come to think of these short lines as the thoughts going through Shepard's mind at the time. This system makes selecting what you want to say so much easier than scrolling up or down and reading through long lines of dialogue, keeps the flow of the conversation realistic, and actually allows the player character to speak audibly! For even greater ease of use, the mean options are usually at around 5:00 on the clock-like configuration while the nice responses are around 2:00. More investigative choices are over at 9:00. The Persuade and Intimidate techniques can also be used with the wheel just like talking regularly except they appear in blue and red respectively. The one problem with talking through abbreviated lines is that sometimes the thought will differ slightly from what Shepard actually says and sometimes the thought is funnier than the actual line. That is what makes me think the dialogue options represent thoughts. We humans often have extreme emotions and impulses that are disguised by more mellow words. 
The best part about this new conversation system is that the characters actually act, emotionally and physically, during the dialogue portions of the game. You have no direct control over how Shepard follows your orders, he/she just does as you tell him/her, but it's a HUGE improvement over KotOR's stiff looking characters, repetitive gestures and motions, and fade outs whenever their was an implied action with no animation. This wheel system can also be used to control actions. Sometimes during a conversation, an option such as [Shoot Him] will appear and Shepard will comply if this is selected. Sometimes, the context of the thought is enough to get Shepard to take action. Other times, the wheel is only used for actions and not conversation, as seen below. 
In addition to the HUD, the occasional cinematics are another passive interface that exists to tell Mass Effect's story. Most of the plot is laid out in front of Shepard's and the player's eyes during the above-mentioned conversation sequences, but even the Spectre can't be everywhere at once. After the first mission, for example, a cutscene shows Saren getting all agitated about one of his plans being foiled. It reveals a bit of his character and evil plan that cannot be witnessed by the player character who is in a coma at the time. 
The character creation interface functions well. It is designed for precise detailing of your characters face. Changes to most of the sliders do not significantly change things and different preset structures form the basis for Shepard's face. However, it still allows for a very different face every time you play the game. One of my favorite features is the scar slider that provides you a selection of slashes and burns to make your Shepard into an unlucky soldier or gnarled veteran if you want. It's not hard to make a sexy character either, though rugged may be more realistic. My female version of Shepard was much too fine to be running around fighting aliens. 
Like most of the interfaces in the game, the player creation interface is active. Another example is the pause menu. There are a bunch of options available to the player here, including the Options menu, the Equipment management interface, the Codex (basically just a Galactic encyclopedia that completes itself as you advance), the progress Journal, the Squad screen, and the options to Load or Save a game. The "Options" menu has the basic audio, visual, and difficulty customization choices as well as some other related items. The Squad screen allows you to level up Shepard and your team. You can also access a Map from the pause menu, which permits you to see the constrained area in which the action is taking place. 
Along with this map comes a chart on a much larger scale, the Galaxy Map. This tool looks pretty cool as a floating hologram in your ship. It makes navigating the vast galaxy as easy as finding Waldo, even if it's a bit repetitive. You zoom in on star systems and then on planets, while the map calculates your Mass Relay route automatically. Getting a close up view of planets is interesting because every single one has its own description, even if you can't land on it. The only problem I had with the Galaxy Map was trying to zoom out. You're supposed to press X but my intuition kept telling me to press B, which exits the map. Then it has to load again if you want to go anywhere. 
As for the audio in Mass Effect, I would not consider it part of the interface. The only time it comes into gameplay is when your teammates constantly yell out "Shepard's been hit!" or "Enemy Sighted!" Other than that, the music and sounds really only serve to make the experience intense and dramatic and they are only of high quality during the cinematics and conversations.
good details about your game - the pictures help illustrate your points too. I would like to see a little more use of the terminology from the boo - you mention passive interface but I don't see too many other terms.
ReplyDelete8/10