Confirm Menu Choices (Concept)

Confirm Menu Choices

CONCEPT

Games that ask the player whether they are sure about the decision that they have just made.

Overview

The sciences of Human-Computer Interaction and Interface Design are very well represented in electronic games. Menus, buttons, toggles, and making selections is inherent to the process of interacting with almost every game ever made.

Because most games provide an interface unique unto that title, standardized conventions of design can be few and far between. Because most platforms have different methods of input, no one action can be trusted to behave the same way from one game to the next.

Whether players believe it is helpful or annoying, some games choose to request confirm actions immediately after after they are made, as though players might have made the choice mistakenly. This design element can serve as a guard against hasty decisions, but most often doubles the amount of time and interactions required for the player to make decisions. It could triple the actions required if the confirmation defaults to No.

Example: navigating and selecting a menu option that says Load Data, and then having to choose a Yes or No prompt asking if data should be loaded.

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