Critique 1 - Xbox 360 Controller (12/2/2010)

Affordances

• Buttons: A, X, B, Y, Guide, Start, Back, Bumpers, Triggers - used for standard interfaces
• Analog Sticks: Left/Right - contours to thumbs and feature grip dots
• D-Pad - standard d-pad interface with a circular platform to register diagonal selections
• Contoured shape - fits to the shape of a user's hands

Constraints

• Triggers are pressure sensitive and offer spring-loaded resistance
• Analog sticks click when pressed down all the way

Visibility

• Xbox Guide button is the centerpiece. The silver coloring draws the user's eyes and also lights up when controller is activated.
• Primary colored buttons on right hand side grab attention.

Mapping

• Triggers, bumpers, and buttons are all labeled.
• Guide button has numbered quarters surrounding the button. The corresponding number that lights up is dependent upon what "player" is controlled by it.

Feedback

• Guide button lights up when controller is activated.
• A rumble feature that shakes controller based on in game happenings

Coloring

• Controller is mostly white with colored A, X, Y, and B buttons. This color coding is used to further differentiate a button from the others.

User's conceptual model

1. See numerous buttons but ultimately drawn to Guide button in the center.
2. Guide button is pressed and controller activates. A light indicator soon informs user of which player the controller is assigned to (i.e. 1, 2, 3, 4).
3. Brief experimentation reveals that analog sticks control. movement/selection. Green coloring of A button indicates a "confirm" button while red colored B button indicates a "cancel" or "back" button.
4. Once basic navigation is mastered, accessing a game's control scheme will further reveal functions of controller.

Design critique

Controller fits nicely in hands of users in the target audience (teens and adults) but is functional in smaller hands. Buttons are intuitively placed and triggers rest nicely against fingers. Amount of controls may seem daunting at first but colored buttons and inclusion of a D-Pad make this a somewhat simple control scheme to figure out.

Overall this is a pleasure to use; the shape fits nicely in your hands, the button colors are informative, and the light weight means it can be held for hours at a time.

Improvements

D-Pad doesn't always respond the way one would like it to, specifically diagonal selections.