The Playstation System Interface and Design

Running Head: PLAYSTATION SYSTEM INTERACTION 1

The PlayStation 4 System Design and Interaction

Griffin Hermann

Dr. Pat Jinkins

19 April, 2015

PLAYSTATION SYSTEM INTERACTION 2

The PlayStation 4 system (PS4) is a video game console created by Sony Computer

Entertainment. It is the successor of the popular PlayStation 3 system. The PS4 was released in

the United States on November 15th, 2013. The PS4 and the Xbox One, the rival system created

by Microsoft, are considered as the next generation of console gaming. With these gaming

systems getting more and more complex, the ease of interaction has become a faucet of their

designs. As the systems are marketed to a broad range of users, interaction must be intuitive

and learnable. The PS4 (Figure 1) accomplishes this goal by using a variety of ways for the user

to interact with the system. The console’s graphical interface, The DualShock 4 controller, the

PlayStation Eye, touchscreens, and voice recognition software all provide unique ways to use

the PS4.

Figure 1. The PlayStation 4 system with the DualShock 4 controller and Playstation Eye. From http://whatisplaystation4.com/playstation-4-specs-and-capabilities/


The PS4 console (see Figure 2) is a highly complex system that is more advanced than

any gaming system before it. Boasting a powerful 64bit central processing unit (CPU) and an

AMD Radeon graphics processing unit (GPU), the PS4 uses the combination of these two to

provide the next-generation gaming experience (“The Teardown”, 2014). As can be seen in

Table 1, the PS4 has many complex parts that the average user would not understand.

With all of the components combined inside the console, the designers then had

the important job of creating the software for the system. The PS4 outputs its graphical user

interface (GUI) on a separate screen, such as a television screen. The GUI allows users to

interact with a computer by using images like a cursor or folders, instead of command line text

(Fennigkoh, 2013). The GUI had to be designed so it was usable and intuitive to a large target

user group. Dr. Larry Fennigkoh (2013) says in his paper, Visual, Perceptual, and Cognitive

Factors in Human-Computer Interface Design and Use, that “Computer jargon, even written in

English, can seem to be a foreign language”.

Figure 2. The PlayStation console. Featuring power and eject buttons on the front. From http://cdn3.dualshockers.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/05/PS4x.jpg?eaa32fTable 1: Sony PS4 Components (“The Teardown”, 2014).


The resulting PS4 GUI (Figure 3) combined important human cognitive factors for the

user. Colors have the unique trait in that they can affect cognition by changing the way a user

feels (Fennigkoh, 2013). The background of the home screen seen in figure 3 is blue. In western

societies, blue is often associated with “trust, loyalty, depth, and stability” along with “coolness,

tranquility, and calmness” (Fennigkoh, 2013).

To interact with certain aspects of the interface, icons are used to represent different

functions. As Wickens and Hollands (2013) wrote in their book, Engineering Psychology and

Human Performance, “it is important that the meaning of each icon is clear…. And not

confusable with other icons in the set”. Looking at figure 3, there are several icons at the top of

the home screen. A shopping bag representing the PlayStation Store, a pair of faces showing

how to get to the friends list, and a toolbox to show how to get to the settings menu. Menus

are also an important feature of the PS4’s GUI. All the relevant features intended for the user


are too numerous to fit on the home screen. Menus are a popular option for interaction

because “…human recognition memory is much better than absolute recall” (Fennigkoh, 2013).

With the graphical interface in place, designers needed a way for the user to use it. The

DualShock 4 controller (Figure 4) is packaged with every PlayStation system. The front of the

controller consists of two analog sticks, direction buttons (or D-pad) to the left, shape buttons

to the right, a small speaker, and a large touchpad in the middle. The top of the controller has

trigger style buttons and an LED powered light bar (Figure 5). The LED light bar communicates

with the PS4 and allows the DualShock 4 to be used as a motion controller as well (Hsu, 2013).

The console itself has buttons on the outside to interact with as well. A very

minimal amount of buttons do to the reliance of other interaction methods. The PS4 console

has a power button in front along with a disc eject button. The buttons have no writing only the

familiar icons for “power” and “eject” (see Figure 2).


The user can traverse the home screen and subsequent screens by using the directional

buttons or analog stick. Selections can be made by using the “X” button on the desired

application. The touchpad is a new feature to handheld controllers. It acts as a single button for

certain applications, but can also be used for gestures as well. Swiping up, down, left or right

can all be input gestures for certain games and applications.

The DualShock 4 controller utilizes haptic technology in its design. Alex Wright describes

haptics in his article, The Touchy Subject of Haptics. Wright (2011) says haptics is “technology

that invokes our sense of touch”. When utilizing features on the home screen or playing a

game, the controller has the ability to vibrate at different levels. Vibration could be considered

another information channel that could help lessen the cognitive load by transmitting data to

the brain from the feel of the vibration (Wright, 2011). Instead of having visual or auditory

feedback to the user, the controller can provide feedback that is “…in an abstract way without

conscious attention” (Wright, 2011).

Figure 4. The front of the DualShock 4. From http://www.meijer.com/assets/product_images/styles/xlarge/1000947_711719100379_A_400.jpg

Figure 5. The light bar and trigger buttons of the DualShock 4. From http://whatisplaystation4.com/playstation-4-specs-and-capabilities/


The PlayStation Eye is an accessory to the PS4 system that is sold separately (Figure 6). It

costs about 60 dollars extra, but it provides extra capabilities. The camera can detect the

movement of the DualShock 4 controller along with the gestures and voice of the user. This

gives the user the ability to use movement and their voice to interact with the system.

In some games and applications, the PlayStation Eye uses augmented reality (AR)

to engage the user into the action. AR shows computer generated imagery over real world

environments (Wickens & Hollands, 2013). Users can access this augmented reality feature by

using the Playroom application found on the home screen. Fun games include AR Bots (Figure

7), where you have live AR bots inside your controller and you can flick them onto the screen

using the touchpad. AR Hockey (Figure 8) challenges friends to a holographic game of air

hockey (“The Playroom”, n.d).

Figure 6. The PlayStation 4 Eye with its specifications. From http://whatisplaystation4.com/playstation-4-specs-and-capabilities/

Figure 7. AR Bots is an augmented reality game using the PlayStation Eye. From https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-playroom-ps4/

Figure 8. AR Hockey makes the users play each other in a holographic air hockey game. From https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-playroom-ps4/


The Playroom application also supports the use of smart phones or touchscreens. They

can connect to the PS4 by Bluetooth. A game called Toy Maker, seen in Figure 9, lets the user

create their very own character (“The Playroom”, n.d). Authors of the paper, Game interface

enhancement under smartphone platform focused on touchscreen interaction, talk about the

best gestures to use when using a smartphone interface. The multi-tap method, user puts two

fingers on the screen, was found to be the most intuitive and has better learnability (Kim & Lee,

2015). This correlates to using the multi-touch gesture to create the character in Toy Maker.

The PlayStation Eye provides the ability to use body movement as the controller.

In the paper by Hannah R. Marston, Design Recommendations for Digital Game Design within

an Ageing Society, she makes valid points that can apply to all users. She says that

“encompassing body movement as one of the design guidelines will facilitate greater user

engagement and experience” (Marston, 2013). The PlayStation Eye uses augmented reality to

engage the user in a different way than what is expected.

The PlayStation Eye also has speech recognition software to let

the user execute commands just by talking. It has a 4 channel microphone array that can pick

up basic commands such as “start this application” or “open friends list”. Speech interaction

can be good and bad thing. In the paper Speech-driven environmental control systems--a

qualitative analysis of users' perceptions, by Simon Judge, Zoe Robertson, Mark Hawley, and

Pam Enderby (2009), they talk about the experiences of participants using speech-driven

systems. A reason to favor speech recognition features is that users may believe that “the

potential gains from using their voice outweigh the annoyance of errors” (Judge et al., 2009).

They authors found that reliability was the key issue when using speech as an access method.

(Judge et al., 2009). So although the PlayStation Eye supports speech recognition, the feature

may not be utilized unless it is very reliable.


The PlayStation 4 system and accessories provide the user with many ways to interact

and use the system. The graphical user interface of the home screen is organized and utilizes

menus to provide all the necessary features. The classic controller style interaction in the

DualShock 4 with the addition of haptic feedback from vibration. The PlayStation Eye uses

augmented reality and speech recognition to engage the user. Touchscreen and smart surfaces

are yet another type of interaction that can used.

As gaming systems become more complex, the ways to interact with them

increases. Instead of holding the controller, people will be the controller. As the technology

grows, these types of interaction will become normal. The next generation of gaming is more

than just the games, it is the experience.

Figure 9. The Toy Maker game in the Playroom utilizes touchscreen and smart surfaces to create the user’s own character. From https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-playroom-ps4/


References

Fennigkoh, L. (2013). Visual, perceptual, and cognitive factors in human-computer interface design and use. Biomedical Instrumentation & Technology, 18-23. doi:10.2345/0899-8205-47.s2.18

Hsu, D. (2013, October 24). The PlayStation 4 controller: A close look at the touchpad, light bar, design, and everything else (part 4, exclusive). Retrieved April 20, 2015, from http://venturebeat.com/2013/10/24/the-playstation-4-controller-a-close-look-at-the-touchpad-

Judge, S., Robertson, Z., Hawley, M., & Enderby, P. (2009). Speech-driven environmental control systems--a qualitative analysis of users' perceptions. Disability And Rehabilitation. Assistive Technology, 4(3), 151-157. doi:10.1080/17483100802715100

Kim, Y., & Lee, J. (2015). Game interface enhancement under smartphone platform focused on touchscreen interaction. Computers & Industrial Engineering, 8045-61. doi:10.1016/j.cie.2014.11.017

Marston, H. R. (2013). Design Recommendations for Digital Game Design within an Ageing Society. Educational Gerontology, 39(2), 103-118. doi:10.1080/03601277.2012.689936 light-bar-design-and-everything-else-part-4-exclusive/view-all/

The Playroom™. (n.d.). Retrieved April 21, 2015, from https://www.playstation.com/en-us/games/the-playroom-ps4/

The Teardown. (2014). Engineering & Technology (17509637), 9(1), 88-89.

Wickens, Christopher D. and Justin G.Hollands. Engineering Psychology and Human Performance. 4th ed. Prentice-Hall. 2013.

Wright, A. (2011). The Touchy Subject of Haptics. Communications Of The ACM, 54(1), 20-22. doi:10.1145/1866739.1866746

The Playstation System Interface and Design

Documents

Transcript of The Playstation System Interface and Design