For several years, I've put lots of thought into game design, story telling techniques, control schemes and gameplay elements. I've got a very long history as a gamer; I have owned many systems from the Atari 2600 to the Wii. As a long-time spectator of the growth of gaming, I have spent many hours contemplating the philosophies behind some of my favorite and least favorite games.

I noticed some serious changes happening during the Gamecube/PS2/Xbox era. Game stopping cut scenes were gaining prominence as the main story telling device. Even more troubling was the rise of overly complex controls. I noticed this with Prince of Persia: The Sands of Time. Roughly a month after I beat the game, a visiting friend wanted to see the game. He asked that I show him how to control the game before he put some time into it. In the time since I finished the game, I could not remember how to control the prince. It was very annoying, and led me to the realization that gameplay was becoming convoluted and unnecessarily complex.

When I think back on the classic games like Pac-Man, Joust, Centipede, Mega Man and Super Mario Bros., the play mechanics were simple and effective. Whenever a player revisits these games, there is no re-education to be had. The game is so intuitive that the player can just play. There may be a second or two of remembering which button does what but that is quickly remedied through trial and error. Over the years, I have labeled this as clarity of gameplay. By this definition, the controls are simple; the challenging part is the actual design of the game. Mega Man is a very good example. There is no question that the d-pad controls Mega Man and that one button shoots and the other is for jumping. The challenge is in using this control scheme effectively to defeat the enemies. Ikaruga is another great example. The game uses three buttons and a d-pad.

Space Invaders Extreme is perhaps the greatest example of the concept of clarity of gameplay. Despite not having played Space Invaders in more than 20 years, the basics are still in my brain. Maybe the design has changed a bit and some new elements are present, but the core gameplay is the same. Move the cannon using the d-pad or paddle and fire with a button. It's simple but extremely engaging and the challenge is provided by the design not the control scheme.