The Hidden Lessons Of Trust And Transparency From Celeste’s Assist Mode
Introduction
I recently started playing an Indie Platformer Game on my Nintendo Switch called Celeste. This game is about a girl named Madeline, whose goal is to climb the top of Celeste Mountain amidst obstacles both physically and mentally.
The game has received critical acclaim for its climbing mechanic, level design, and emotionally charged storytelling. However, the one thing that impressed me the most was in the user experience of the game’s Assist Mode, which allows players the ability to adjust the difficulty of the game.
Let me break it down to explain the brilliance of the user experience of Celeste’s Assist Mode.
How The Game Introduces Assist Mode
As I started the game, there was a salient prompt labelled, Assist Mode. Being quite the gamer, I was all too familiar with difficulty settings being introduced before the start of a game. I wanted to understand what this mode was about and decided to hit the prompt.
As I opened up the Assist Mode prompt, I was greeted by succinctly chunked text prompts that were easy to scan and understand. Everything from the adjustment of my character’s speed to the level of invincibility provided within the mode was clearly explained. Additionally, there was a suggestion that the game was meant to be played without assist mode, but that I had access to it if need be.
The writing for Assist Mode was very transparent, persuasive, and kind. It not only briefly explained to me the features provided by Assist Mode but also acknowledged from the start to try the game without Assist Mode to get the true feeling of the game. By displaying no as the default option while also allowing the freedom to select yes, the game has kindly nudged the player to select the definitive experience without making them feel condescended to.
Accessing Assist Mode Options
I remember having some difficulty in a runaway sequence of the Celestial Resort level. I had trouble with timing my jumps and avoiding the dark matter, so after about 10 tries or so, I decided to see if I could access Assist Mode.
So I hit the start button and lo and behold Assist Mode is there. Once I selected the Assist Mode, I was greeted with lots of options to modify my experience to my liking.
Looking at the display of options was like seeing Jakob Nielsen’s heuristics of User Control And Freedom and Flexibility And Efficiency Of Use in action. I could quickly and easily change my options on the fly and return back to the game. If I feel stuck in an area, no problem, I can just pull up the menu and make adjustments to my speed and invincibility. If I feel more comfortable with the game mechanics and want a challenge, I can easily turn off such features from Assist Mode and play the game like how it was ideally meant to be played.
The freedom and flexibility offered by the menu allow the player the power to set their own difficulty curve to whatever suits best for them.
Reflection
Celeste’s Assist Mode made me realize how impactful good copywriting and ease of access to settings can have on the player’s trust towards the system. When I was informed about how Assist Mode works, it made me feel ok to take a risk and get a feel for the game first with the solace that I can always turn it on if I am having a difficult time.
While the application of trust and transparency in a video game may seem frivolous, it has many implications for apps that involve managing personal data from personal finance to energy monitoring apps. It can be nerve-wracking to constantly have a system monitor such activity but with the power of good communication and easy access to settings, I believe we can bring peace of mind to the users and make adoption of emerging technologies faster.
References
Brown, M. [Game Maker’s Toolkit]. (2018, February 21st). What Makes Celeste’s Assist Mode Special[Video file]. Retrieved from https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NInNVEHj_G4&t=678s
Nielsen, J. (1995, January 1st). 10 Usability Heuristics For User Interface Design. Nielsen Norman Group. Retrieved from https://www.nngroup.com/articles/ten-usability-heuristics/
