Post

Robin-Yann Storm
@rystorm.com

I know some folks see the yellow paint discourse as repeating old discussions. But do you have any idea how much of a repeat it actually is? Here is a video from Egoraptor explaining why players feel terrible about being handheld in less than a minute. Can you guess when this video was released?

5 reposts39 likes

Jake V
@viraldonutz.bsky.social

Ah, okay. I was aware of it as a UI design mechanic, but was not aware that it's gained such a strong reputation that can be routinely referred to so broadly... Thank you.

Robin-Yann Storm
@rystorm.com

Yeah! So many universities have. I think every game student I've ever talked to has seen this. Which is why it surprises me when game devs themselves have not.

Robin-Yann Storm
@rystorm.com

But wait, there's more! It's all the same arguments everyone is still having all these years, again explained within one minute, and this was made by a non-gamedev at the time!

Sapient PC-98 Tapedeck (Cosette)
@cosettetape.bsky.social

I GENUINELY do not get why this & the related presumptive "easy modes are accomdative" discussions are built on the assumption that someone not engaging with the thing in front of them is a failure of the thing inherently. Same vibe as "Starship Troopers is bad satire bc fascists play along w/it".

Sapient PC-98 Tapedeck (Cosette)
@cosettetape.bsky.social

Signposting is great! Diagetically justified blatant signposting (i.e. the rock art in God of War '18) is good! Yellow paint for the sake of having it is artistically awful & looks cheap. It drags the incredible photoreal assets it's slathered on out of their element & makes them look like props.

Robin-Yann Storm
@rystorm.com

And for the arguments of "Well, 20% of players will always get stuck, so we just have to have incredibly ham-fisted and immersion breaking UX in our games.", alright, but if: 1. You do not mind the other 80% are now annoyed as hell. 2. You are crunching to get it done. bsky.app/profile/ryst...

Robin-Yann Storm@rystorm.com

And many designers know this. But when an exec comes in and throws away months of hard work on a whim, and then tells you to redesign something better in 1 month, you throw some paint on there and add some self talk to save it. So, it’s a combo of yellow paint and this: bsky.app/profile/mary...

Jeroen D Stout
@jeroendstout.bsky.social

Its bleakly funny how TV discourse is having a moment around Netflix exec's going "what if someone is cooking pasta while watching this show, maybe the characters should announce what they are doing" and people mock it, meanwhile games discourse is often doing a weird defence of the same thing.

Robin-Yann Storm
@rystorm.com

In most cases the correct answer is "The level design and game design are not meshing together well, and we cannot resolve this for time, political, or expertise reasons. So, just slap some paint on that thing and call it done." and you feel this when you play it. Not your fault, but you do feel it.