Interfaces: X-Wing targeting computer
As part of my Interfaces series (if two entries can be called a series), I thought it might be fun to look at the way people imagine human-machine interaction in science fiction. I admit, this is sort of a spin-off on Jakob Nielsen's recent column, Usability in the Movies, but in my defense, I had the idea back in November but then [insert excuse here].Spoiler Alert: The following post reveals the ending of the original/1st/4th Star Wars movie. If you've never seen Star Wars, kindly leave my blog and never return. Ok, you can return, but at least add it to your NetFlix queue before you come back.
In the climactic final battle of Star Wars, Luke is forced to make a choice, and it all revolves around usability. He has to hit the Death Star's ventilation shaft with a proton torpedo with pinpoint accuracy, and he soons discovers that his X-Wing targeting computer just isn't right for the job. Sure, some people think it was all about Luke discovering the Force, but I think he was really wondering why he lived in a culture that had somehow invented hyperspace travel and yet had never gotten around to developing a CGA graphics card. In fairness, maybe it was just the best the rebels could find on short notice.
Sadly, Luke's best alternative was the Force, which, judging only by the original Star Wars, was interfaced primarily by waving your hands and wearing a dirty helmet. When dirty helmets beat out a computer for usability, it's time for the spaceship design team to go back to the drawing board.
Sean
· Friday, January 12While this is a great idea for a series of entries, I'd like to see a discussion based around the concept of 'is the interface doing its job?'
Look at the targeting image. What is it telling me, as a gunner? I'm waiting for the two red lines to converge, but is that necessarily the best way to determine when something has lined up for targeting? There is a certain point when the two lines are close, maybe even touching, but not truly converged that they will look like they have converged: a false positive.
When designing interfaces the designer needs to ask the critical question of "what is the purpose of this interface?" Obviously the designer of the targeting computer visual interface was more concerned about using a low grade monitor than shooting proton torpedoes accurately.
Dr. Pete
· Friday, January 12Admittedly, just because it's simple doesn't mean it's a bad interface. Maybe removing all of the noise of 3D space, not to mention being attacked by TIE Fighters, actually makes targeting that much easier. Plus, it kind of reminds me of Zaxxon; good times...
Of course, it's also not quite fair to compare an expert-level system to an interface for everyday folk (like a consumer website). An F-18 targeting system, for example, is a pretty elaborate thing, but it's designed for highly-trained experts and isn't meant to be accessible for someone seeing it for the first time.