Plain Interface

Three Hundred Eighty Sixth Post: Plain Interface

Today kids grow up seeing special effects in movies and play video games that have amazing graphics. But as we all know graphics alone don’t make a good game. If you think about it some of the most interesting games are ones that have a plain interface.

Myself, I like the occasional first person shooter, but then I give up and play classic games like chess. I also do a lot of math with geometry and graphics. But as interesting as the math puzzles get they rely on simple graphics, such as the graph of a parabola. With math and programming you see plain interfaces often having text commands. However this does not make the calculations any less interesting.

My point is clearly understood when comparing a graphing calculator to a handheld Nintendo DS. The DS has interactive games, but the calculator is not to be out done. The calculator is about imagination and building something. Even though the calculator seems plain, the concepts behind it are what makes it interesting. It has a different application the video games, but its creations are far more impressive.

So what does this mean. It means that kids are missing a lot of experiences playing these video games. Of course there are games where the player “constructs” something. Level design, first person shooter tactics, and simulation games are all based on thinking through a problem or building something. Admittedly video games today actually require this building and thinking. Gone are the days of impossible jumps and starting from the beginning of the level after losing. But the point is to get kids involved with something other than video games and the Internet. They would be very interested in other things once they learned that a plain interface isn’t visually impressive, but more importantly a plain interface leaves room for a creative imagination. A graph of a parabola not look very impressive, but what it represents is important. It has a deeper meaning (possibly many). That is something you wouldn’t see without further exploration.

But until you construct something that just might have a plain interface... May the Creative Force be with You