Points of Disinterest.
I was trying my hand at the Puzzle Quest PC demo earlier tonight. Have you all played that game already because if you haven’t, you’re doing yourself a disservice. If Microsoft knows what’s good for them, they better petition to get that on the Live Arcade immediately, it’s really, really addicting. I think a copy for my PSP is a near definite. Unfortunately, Puzzle Quest carries along with it the dreaded gameplay feature that we’ve become all too familiar with. An exclamation point marking a point of interest.
I’m not sure how this trend began, Metal Gear Solid way back on the original Playstation tossed exclamation points above startled soldiers, but was that the beginning? World of Warcraft was one of the first games I can remember that used it in a "point of interest" form but I’m sure other RPG’s and MMO’s used it before then.
Although many titles use an exclamation point to garner a gamer’s attention, it’s really no longer become just use, it’s now borderline abuse. I don’t think it’s an ineffective way of getting my attention, I just think it’s time to consider some new options. What kind of options, you ask?
Find a few of my solutions inside and be sure to let me know if you can think of a better idea.
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The American Approach I think the Hot Dog icon would work really well, especially for games developed in the United States. I could say that games developed in the UK could use something that reflects the European flavor, maybe a Ham n’ Cheese Toasty, but I digress. |
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The Microsoft Named after the money-making monster itself, "The Microsoft" will always get your attention. Of course, the dollar sign insignia would be replaced by the € for European players. |
The Canadian – This one’s for Shane, beautiful ay? The Maple Leaf and Canada are inseparable, I’ll bet Canadians would love the option of having a massive red maple leaf hovering over points of interest. I can almost see the leaf now, fluttering in the wind as you journey towards it. Kind of majestic, don’t you think?
The Blatant – What better way to direct your fan base than some hideous arrows. Sadly, this isn’t far off from many games out there. You’d think that we could find our target a bit easier than this? If not, who’s fault is that?
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http://www.farbot.com/ Paul Munn
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http://www.routermall.com used cisco
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DouggyD
