Video games have come a long way from their humble beginnings. The main problem is now that they have saturated the hard-core gaming market, they are looking to expand. In 02009 everyone has been claiming that casual games are the future. This is the highest growth area of people who like to play games, but don’t want to invest the time and effort into building a character. They just want to escape for a few hours and relax, sort of like playing Solitaire or Minesweeper.
The Nintendo Wii is the learder with casual games. But even with games aimed at short intervals and simple tasks, there is still a learning curve. This is difficult to overcome. The people playing will come from various background and experiences. This makes it very difficult for a one-size fits all type game. When Nintendo came out with Wii Music there was certainly a risk involved. People who are musicians need a simple way to get in and start playing, but at the same time you can’t leave people who’ve never played an instrument out in the cold. If you cater to people who are learning how to play an instrument, you bore and isolate all the people who do know how to play. It is a difficult position to be in!
Nintendo did it well. They managed to follow closely the steps of a mythic journey. From the moment you switch the game on to when you are jamming away, the system does an excellent job of holding your hand when you need it and letting you go when you don’t.
If we look into the steps of a mythic journey you’ll see that it starts with a challenge. Then some help comes along and before the end your learnt something. Wii Music parallels this nicely. It starts out with a limited set of options and Meastro is there to help teach you how the instruments are played using the Wii controller. (This is important if you’re new or a seasoned musician) You then take a practice round and they slowly build on top with more and more features. After playing the Maestro goes away and lets you take control. Eventually you unlock more and more game modes, instruments and options until you can create your own music videos.
Wii Music isn’t the pinnacle of gaming. It is a focused, niche game which has a limited shelf-life and interest, but it excellently demonstrates how to guide someone through an unfamiliar land. This is true of everything from visiting a website to driving a car! When you are new to the system, things are daunting and confusing. Designers cut and cut features so you are left with only the basics so it is near impossible to mess-up. The less items, the less distractions and the more you can concentrate, the better chance of success. The flip side is once you understand the system and are comfortable, the lack of features are inhibiting. In a physical world you’re sort of stuck with what is in front of you, but in a digital world, the very interface can change and morph with you.
Some applications let you choose between Classic or Expert Mode, or to use a Wizard or Go it alone. This isn’t helping the user grow and learn, it is just throwing them down one of two hallways and hope they can find their own way. How does someone ease from that Classic Mode into Expert? What are the steps in between, do they have to unlearn everything and then relearn it all in a new mode? That’s a waste of everyone’s time. This brings us back to Wii Music, because they do a really good job of only showing you what you need when you need it. The first time you start the difficult songs are not available yet, you have to practice the easy ones first. That way you’re not thrown directly into the deep end and feel like you are worthless. The Maestro explains how the instruments work, then after a few sessions he simply tells you how you can get help if you need it, then he stops reminding you altogether. It is weening you off the need for him, but he’s still there incase you lose your balance. This is truly teaching and learning. This isn’t Pick A Mode and hope for the best, it is a clean gradient over time with as many stops as needed for the people playing.
We can learn a lot about gaming interaction, building a community and knowing when to help and when to get out of the way from Wii Music. As casual gaming grows larger and larger, the only possible way to scale up the phenominon is to have as small a gap between the types of players. Having only Beginners and Experts is a wide gap. They speak two different languages and can’t help each other, but if you have a slow gradient of skill levels, then there is the ability for moderate players to teach beginner and experts to help improve the moderate players.
In Wii Music, the jam session allows for an easy mix of talented and non-talented people. For the true musicians, it is possible to find your own beat and make your own music, where as beginners can turn on the staff and watch the notes whiz past alerting them when and how to play along. All of this within the same screen. Plenty of games do this like Rock Band and Guitar Hero. You can select your difficulty level. But with those games the only way to practice is memorization and putting the loads of hours playing and trying harder and harder settings. With Wii Music, there is no EASY, NORMAL, HARD modes, it is just YOUR mode. The Maestro dips in and out letting you make mistakes and improve yourself, offering suggestions here and there, but generally letting you put in the hard work and seeing your skills improve musically rather than simple memorization.
