Context Sensitivity 

I don't know if/when I'll be making another video so assume there's nothing else coming and enjoy this one for what it is. 👍

im impressed that matthew managed to mention fixed cameras without bringing up W101. that must have taken restraint

I've made peace with the fact that most of the RU-vid channels that I'm subscribed to don't or won't ever upload content on a frequent basis, if at all. It just means that if they do, I have something to look forward to re-watching several dozen times over. So thank you Matthew, I'm glad to see you're still doing you. Best of luck on your future endeavors.

An incredible video! It reminds me of Hidemaro Fujibayashi, the Legend of Zelda Breath of the Wild director, explaining why there isn't a "pet the dog" boutton in the game: “In the game it seems like you can do anything, but what it really is are all these interlocking systems where you actually have a pretty limited number of actions that can do a ton of different things. So if it came down to something like petting a dog, we would actually have to put in a custom action just for petting a dog that couldn’t really be used for anything else.” “In terms of design philosophy, it just didn’t fit with how we actually made the game world. It’s actually more about taking a smaller number of actions and using them in as many ways as possible.”

The developers of Breath of the Wild absolutely designed the game with minimizing context sensitivity in mind, and actually the quote that proves this comes from an IGN article where they asked why you couldn't pet dogs in the game, lol. Here's the quote: “In the game it seems like you can do anything, but what it really is are all these interlocking systems where you actually have a pretty limited number of actions that can do a ton of different things,” Fujibayashi told IGN. “So if it came down to something like petting a dog, we would actually have to put in a custom action just for petting a dog that couldn't really be used for anything else.” “In terms of design philosophy, it just didn't fit with how we actually made the game world,” he added. “It's actually more about taking a smaller number of actions and using them in as many ways as possible.” Goes to show just how well thought out the game really was in my opinion!

The most egregious case has got to be Deus Ex Mankind Divided, where the button to fast forward a conversation was the same as the instakill takedown. So you'd be mashing it to finish the dialog, and then accidentally murder the shit out of the NPC. The first time it happened I was first shocked, and then outraged at whoever decided that that was an acceptable control scheme.

Ghost Trick has a context sensitive button because the scenarios in that game are too diverse to be accounted by a more unified control scheme. More consistent (less context sensitive) controls require a limited or fixed amount of actions that are repeated over and over throughout the game. Disco Elysium is another example of this, almost every action in the game is context sensitive to the point where there is little or no traditional gameplay and everything is handled within the dialogue system. Basically any game that requires a vast array of possible actions to be performed by the player has to use context sensitive commands, as is especially evident from games that try to integrate the gameplay with the narrative.

Didn't know real life could have plot twists but Matt dropping a video after almost two years is as close as it gets holy shit

about 10 minutes in. reminds me of when years ago i got into an argument with someone about how the context sensitive interactivity and canned animations for things like pulling switches in the new doom games is worse than having a universal 'interact' action like in the original, which functions the same no matter if its a door, button or secret wall (i guess i had nothing better to do that day). i didnt really know how to articulate the mechanical difference at the time, but this explains it really well. you're one of the few game analysis channels that always gives genuinely unique insights

>Matthew makes a new Video >The Queen of England Dies Ireland bros we won

My man! I'm so happy to hear you pontificate on game design with a tight script again.

There is no channel just quite like this one. It amazes how Matthew's words are just spot on and the way he thinks about stuff is just expanding my horizon. "[Talking about trends in video games] Shooting is the DEFAULT method of interaction for 3D games." and surrounding this claim with some hard hitting examples, Matt kind of 'invented' some definitions, which totally stand for themselves, and put into words a nebulous characteristic of a medium that's so young and fast changing, it baffles me. I would love to have a drink with this guy!

I already miss him. Nothing hits the same.

26:33 This point about constantly adjusting the analog stick as the camera angle changes can be compared and contrasted to the death of tank controls as a control method. Tank controls were developed for the express purpose of making it easier to control a character with a shifting camera. So many people disliked this control scheme, that eventually it died off completely. In the end, people decided it was far more preferable to keep track of where your thumb is pointing than it was to keep track of the on-screen character's facing. Almost nobody except old-school horror fans will seriously advocate for tank controls anymore.

The term (context sensitive) will forever remind me of the first level in Conkers Bad Fur Day. Beardy saying IT'S CONTEXT SENSITIVE, THAT MEANS IT'S SENSITIVE TO CONTEXT is forever in my mind.

This reminds me of what CS Lewis wrote about evil acts. Every evil act is a a perversion of a good act. Depending on the context, killing a man could be a good and honorable thing to do, or an evil thing to do. Depending on the context, making love to a woman could be a good and beautiful thing, or an immoral thing. Very philosophical and fundamental idea that transcends gaming, and I don’t doubt you had that in mind while making this video. Thanks for your work.

"It means context sensitive...it's sensitive to context. Try it over there" "Oh, just what I needed! In fact, it would seem to me that these give me just what I need at that moment in time...context sensitive, clever!"

I loved the attempt Assassins Creed made at writing controls and how they’re represented with “head”, “right arm”, “left arm” and legs that all did something related to those buttons with high profile and low profile versions. It was such a neat idea, where you could work out the controls without looking at any prompts necessary.

Bringing up BOTW reminds me of that interview where they mentioned they didn't add a "Pet the dog" function because it would clash with the design philosophy of the game. "In the game it seems like you can do anything, but what it really is are all these interlocking systems where you actually have a pretty limited number of actions that can do a ton of different things" - Fujibayashi. They really were going out of their way to curb as many contextual actions as possible.

You have officially confirmed my suspicion that your foray into game development has greatly enhanced your ability to write on games. If nothing else you've gained a lot of intimacy with the function of games at their core in your time away. I encourage you to continue your journey and I look forward to watching the arc of your essays unfold as your gamedev experience grows. This made my day. :)

I'm a little surprised that Conker was never brought up once despite its satirical take on the concept of context sensitivity, but perhaps that would've been too obvious. Either way, absolutely fantastic work as always.

Love these deep dives into such basic aspects of games. This one puts me in my if how in Kirby and the Forgotten Land they adapted to 3D by lessening the precision. If you look like you hit the ground from your perspective, you’ll jump again instead of floating. If the camera angle makes it look like an enemy was in range of an attack, the enemy will get hit. I suppose that’s changing the context sensitivity by lessening the tolerance of the context

Everyone knows about context sensitivity! You press "B", the light comes on, and it makes the ting noise, "ting." That's it.

My favorite example of a good context sensitive action is how sliding is implemented in many games. There's a button for crouching (going low), there's a button for sprinting, so crouching while sprinting makes you slide on the floor. Feels very intuitive, to the point where I feel disappointed whenever a game that has crouch and sprint doesn't allow me to do this.

just had the worst day ever, seeing this has completely flipped that. your videos are a constant inspiration and something i expected i would never see again after meta microvideos. i finished ghost trick last week on your recommendation too and i love it this comment is valueless cuz i havent actually watched the vid lol so i will do that pleasse continue to pour your time into whatever outlet fulfills you

You've made a lot of good points I've never considered before. Context sensitivity strikes me as such a small part of video games that I never considered how large an impact it can make on how a game "feels" or "plays."

Let out a somewhat embarrassing yell of excitement when I saw this in my feed. Your works are outstanding, and I hope your future is bright!

Glad you’re doing well, Matthew.

You just made me realize something. VR solves a lot of these context sensitively issues simply by the increased axis of movement you get from you 2 controllers and Headset. All 3 have 6 Degrees of Freedom which normally requires around 2 analog sticks each. It's probably why VR describe things as feeling more "natural" because the camera issues and some of the controller issues are easy to figure out and require less abstraction.

A shining gift in the midst of a dark time

Ahh, man, I've had this concept vaguely swirling around in my brain for ages. My earliest memory of this pertains to a puzzle in the great deku tree in OoT - that one where you have to burn away a spiderweb on the floor in B1. I think there are a couple of ways to go about it, but my favorite is pressing the shield button while holding a flaming stick, causing Link to crouch down, which burns away the web. I couldn't articulate this feeling as a child, but the fact that the internal logic was consistent enough to make this a valid solution surprised and delighted me. Much more satisfying than the action button changing to the word "Burn" when you got near.

After a long slumber, the Matthewmatosis awakens once again

Making the kick in RE4 context sensitive helps in one major way. It guarantees that you are invulnerable during the animation. With a dedicated hit button, even if you only gave Leon i-frames on successful hits, the game would need to know in advance that your move will be successful. Otherwise, you would either be invincible all the time during it which would lead to abusing the mechanic like timing wall jumps or ladders. Or it would cause uncertainty in moments where other enemies are attacking you during the starting animation. While this makes the system less challenging, it actually decreases uncertainty.

I've heard you talk about context sensitive actions on streams before so it's very nice to have a video where you elaborate on your ideas in depth. The bit about changing our input when the camera moves with the player is especially enlightening since that's something I've been doing since I was a kid but never thought too much about other than it being a constant annoyance in certain games.

This video is exactly how video game analysis should be, not just “I summarize the Wikipedia page and here’s one theme I think is interesting, so I made a 50 minutes video about it”

I recently discovered your videos and was disappointed to see you weren’t making them anymore. Needless to say I’m thrilled to see some new content from you. Keep up the good work Matt, your the best person taking about games currently on the internet!

i think breath of the wild is a really good example, especially because the one case of context sensitivity is really evident every time it happens. i always get so annoyed when link decides to do that huge dive instead of just jumping into water, and that's the only context sensitive action i can picture

i love that even after 10 years of youtube, matthew's voice sounds practically identical to when he first started

Usually when I watch game related video essays I am at very least entertained, but generally don't get much else out of them other than hearing someone else's opinion. Your videos have consistently presented some interesting perspectives or ideas that I had not heard or considered before. That's not to say the videos *aren't* entertaining, but I guess I'd call them more interesting than fun. Either way, a lot of what you've said over the past 10 or so years have stuck with me and it has heavily contributed to me viewing and playing games differently. For the better. I thought the previous video would have been a very fitting end to the channel, but it's of course nice to see another one pop up. If this is the last one, I'm content with that. That is not a pun, but I wish you can be content too with whatever you choose to pursue in life in the future.

I haven't been using the context framing device for it but this concept is something I've been thinking about a lot recently. With the return of a lot of my favorite developers and franchises over these last few years (DMC and Capcom in general being one of the biggest examples of this) I've fallen in love with gaming again on a level I haven't experienced since the early 2000s. And it took games like that to make me realize why. It's exactly that automation you talk about. On a base level I have no problem with it but I feel like many developers use it as a crutch. Instead of making fun core gameplay with simple game structure to let that core gameplay shine (go to point a, b, c and complete the same objective but each experience is different because the toolset we've given you and how you choose to use it) a lot of design has changed to weaker core gameplay and then substituting that with a more mini-game like design to fill in the gaps (go to point a, b, c, and each of these objectives will feature completely bespoke systems and goals.) The most extreme example of that everyone turns to is the "Ubisoft open world" design, but, it ain't just open world games that do this. Plenty of linear games also do that as well, in fact there is probably no better example of the concept than Uncharted 2 and 3 to me. Was never really into those games like other people but at the time I could not put my finger on why. Why was this just not doing it for me? It's taken like a decade but thanks to games like Breath of the Wild, Monster Hunter, DMC5, and so on I understand better now. I think less people say it today but the fun of Uncharted 2 at the time was "it's like you're playing a movie!" They made all these completely unique set piece scenarios for players to play through. Each one is a completely different gimmick and experience with the goal of wowing the player. But when you wipe all that away and look at the gameplay, what are you left with? A bog standard cover shooter that even die hard fans and reviews of the day would admit is not as mechanically good as many other shooters. That's not to say I think Uncharted is a bad game per se, but, I realize nowadays that there is a certain threshold in game design where the developers lose me. And a lot of developers had been really hitting that edge over the last decade. Someone can come back in a few decades and make fun of me if they want, but, personally I think the 360/PS3 era where a lot of this style of design started to take over is going to be looked back on with the phrase of "aged poorly" when younger generations go back to play a lot of heavier hitters of the day.

Immersive Sims have this one quality making those games really intriguing to me and I've never been able to quite describe what quality that is. And watching this I realized that a lack of context sensitivity in your actions tends to make for really good immersive sims. I've been wondering why the Hitman series didn't grab me the same way that many ImSims do, even though both involve having you play with mostly rigid systems that react in a way that you can almost always intuit and figure out. But where ImSims mostly use unchanging tools that you've been given in advance, many actions in Hitman seem to be context sensitive often not letting me figure out that you can use this tool to achieve that outcome but instead presenting me with a button prompt that lets me know that I've 'solved the puzzle'. There is something very interesting about a lack of context sensitivity. It makes you feel like you're thinking out of the box while also feeling completely natural. Either way, great video and I'm very glad to have watched it.

This instantly made me think about how controllers could change to accomodate just a bit more precision. I think at a certain point, too many buttons means many players have to consciously remember what buttons are even there, taking them away from the game. The success of the Wii would point to this too- remember they wanted complete casuals, people who absolutely never played games, to understand the controller. I’ve seen older people struggle to remember where buttons are on standardised controllers and even if they remember the button layout, they might not remember what particular buttons do- the same people have never needed me to remind them of the Wii remote or Nunchuck’s layout (other than the occasional mixup of which is A/B or Z/C). But even if you ignore that extreme, I find that many of my friends- who are about the same age and have no issue with standardised controllers or challenging games- find keyboards intimidating or strange. They aren’t used to that option and as a PC gamer, I am. It’s hard for me to imagine many changes to controllers due to that- triggers or a pad on the back may work, and gyro has been a great option for shooting in particular, but on the PS4 something as simple as a front-pad is barely used and the speaker and light are usually seen as a gimmick (mostly the speaker, the light is more unobtrusive, often mirrors HUD elements and Inscryption went so far as to use it for an ARG). They may have particular use cases, but it shows that a lot of people are very comfortable with what we currently have, to the point even these things can be seen as a gimmick. I think developers shy away from them as unintuitive and uncommon controls, even if more precise once understood, may draw criticism. I could imagine many people would never realise the purpose of how you wall jump in Super Metroid and would write it off as stupid for being unintuitive to them. I think clicking analog sticks has been useful as an extra option, mostly for things like toggling into first-person view- something I find I’m usually doing when I stand still, so the analog is still- and this removes the small but common issue of FPV being bound to some generic “action” button that prevents that view in certain contexts. I hear there’s a deluxe XBox controller with some special extra triggers, but I have no experience with that, and even the analog click has its weaknesses. If you want to click the analog while moving it around at the same time, that just isn’t pleasant as it disrupts the motion and I find it distracting to do while moving- even with the D-Pad- due to how I associate movement with analog sticks. And yes, I have seen games where I wanted to move and perform an action forcibly mapped to the analog click, so bad design there. I actually play fighting games with a keyboard (which yes, my friends find ridiculous, but I don’t like arcade sticks) and maybe it’s habit, but I still find myself “limiting” keybinds to an extent in all games. It’s physically more comfortable. Since PC gaming allows many more controller options, I could try making more unorthodox controllers myself but that would become expensive and the process of designing and learning it probably isn’t something I would enjoy, unless it’s for an all-time favorite game and I had a very strong idea for the button layout. I still haven’t made a personal hitbox since, on top of the cost, I think it would be frustrating to design and assemble- I don’t know anybody who would design or assemble it for me- and for that particular genre, my keyboard is more comfortable to me than anything else I’ve tried, so I stick with it even though I think a custom hitbox would be an upgrade. I already know I would want a different hitbox layout for at least four of those games, but I only have a strong design in mind for one of them. At this point, I’m physically used to that keyboard, so I might never get around to a hitbox. There’s something to be said about intuition/comfort zone vs what could potentially be a more precise control scheme with more buttons. Reminding yourself of context, though it highlights that you are playing a game, may still be less distracting than trying to learn a controller. I can imagine a world where every game has a uniquely designed, idealised input system but even if the development and distribution of those controllers weren’t an issue, the intuition and need to learn them would be. That’s subjective and even a surmountable learning curve may turn people away, so we have a standardised controller and due to physical limits clashing with design choices and desires, we get context sensitivity. Of course there are many jarring, poorly-implemented examples of context sensitivity, I’m not arguing against that. But for minor things such as speaking to an NPC, context-sensitive buttons / a generic “action” input work fairly well. I don’t even think QTEs are that bad- we’re better for having moved past them as a popular trend, it’s just that a huge number of them were poorly designed- though when they are better, the frantic input can bring a very chaotic feel that an animation on its own would not. You could also look at HUDs for something similar, you need to juggle readability of the most important pieces while avoiding an obtrusively large HUD. For certain games you may want to minimise the HUD for the best FOV, but it would become unreadable to many players. (Allow player options/customisation for cases like this.) In text-heavy games, or text-heavy moments in action-based games, you may want to increase the size of the text. You likely want health to be the most visible part of a HUD, or if you are giving equal importance to other information like ammo, at least avoid cluttering them around the health bar. My point is the intuition of these systems is subjective. There are also actions that may simply not translate to good gameplay and are better as contextual moments, but that has infinite variation and potential for subversion and niche uses (depends on context itself). I will say I generally prefer cutscenes over stretches of walking with narrative, but no gameplay, since at least cutscenes can be skipped- I’m almost never narratively-driven by games as I overwhelmingly prefer other mediums for storytelling, so I almost always hate that being integrated into gameplay, even if it makes it more consistent with the game logic. Even BoTW errs too much into walking over padded landscapes for me, and I think the actual design under the mechanics is lacking in many ways, that’s a game I admire more than I actually enjoy playing it. Also, I wish Z-Targeting would evolve somehow. Even before you bought it up, I’ve noticed it as a sore spot many times. Ocarina had a great initial concept there and it doesn’t feel like the system has been updated for many games since. There is trusting the system with auto-targeting vs knowing the context in which you’re using it, which I think can be interesting in itself as it demands you pay attention to context, but that depends very much on the game’s design and indeed can be a sore spot at high-level play. Though the eyetracker idea does mean players might slow down their vision, otherwise you could trust things happening a certain way and look away. Still a cool thought. For your wall jump example I could imagine using a button to start a slide down a wall rather than a flush fall, press jump from that slide for a wall jump. I’m sure there’s something you wouldn’t use in a midair context that could fill that contextual action on modern controllers. To be fair, any game that lacks a double jump or other midair action on the same button as jump doesn’t really need to worry about this, as a jump button wouldn’t be used for anything else in the air anyway. You could even have the option to slide down a wall and do a flush release if you wanted that for whatever reason, such as baiting an enemy attack. Excellent video as usual, shame I was late to this one.

Using footage of Symphony of the Night over that quote, I love it.

I think the original Assassin’s creed is interesting as it tries to provide the player some context at all times to the player by assigning each the buttons to a part of the body. Triangle is for instance, the head. X is the legs. Square and circle are the left are right arms respectively. This means that regardless of the context, you will have a general idea of what to press to get a desired outcome even if you’re in a new situation. At least, that’s the theory.

I like that you shoot the doors to open them in metroid rather than pressing A in front of it

In Dragon's Dogma there's a dedicate grab button that allows you to carry objects, carry people, grapple enemies, and latch on to giant foes so you could scale them. It always bugged me how I couldn't use the same button for Ladders. In order to climb one, you have to hit an interact button at the base of it to enter a "climbing ladder state" where you cant freely jump off at any point. This is contradictory to how climbing mechanics against giant foes work where you can grab on to them from a jumping or standing state and let go or jump off at any point. For ladders, you either need to finish climbing up, slide down, or get hit by a staggering attack to manually get off. I never had a term for these until now. So thank you. My friends wouldn't hear the end of it. 😂

Thank you for saying this! It's exactly what's getting on my nerves with many games! I really prefer combat in many older 3D games in which context sensitivity wasn't as prevalent yet. Few things feel as precise as a shooter like SWAT 4 - the only control issue most players with this game, for example, was that the shout and interact button were the same, resulting in player characters yelling at doors to surrender, thereby alerting suspects nearby, instead of quietly closing the door as intended. But the control ini file was accessible and could be edited (I miss the days of actually owning my purchased games and being allowed to mess with their inner workings), and many, many players mapped interact to a different button. It does also include good examples of context sensitivity (like holding a mouse button for a prolonged time at a specific part of a door automatically equipping the item used at that part, like a breaching charge above the handle, a lockpick at the key hole, or a spy camera at the gap below the door), but even these were the only parts of the game that I occasionally found frustrating because I wanted to pick a lock, but aimed a little to high and pulled out a breaching charge instead. Granted, that's easily fixed by pressing the designated lockpick button instead, which was also available by default; these options were luckily quite optional for the most part. But yeah. I remember playing it a lot back in the day, to the point of remapping my entire keyboard and actually printing out little signs that I stuck onto my keys so that - in the days before voice chat was commonly used - I could easily form entire sentences in chat by macro. That's what control is. This video is exactly what I felt, put eloquently. Keep it up.

I feel in some way whether something is "context sensitive" really boils down to interactivity. An action that is not context sensitive never takes away from interactivity and can even add to it. An action that is context sensitive always diminishes interactivity and is probably why it "feels" so bad when it happens compared to the alternative.

I feel the game design work has helped your video essay writing :) So in chess you have a lot of context sensitive mechanics. En passant, pinning, not being able to move into check, etc. Go/Baduk has Ko, and no self suicide, but besides that probably has the most freedom with simple context of any board game, given that there are only like 5 rules. However to play well is to take more and more of the context of the game state into each move.

Thank you for putting into words so well the main thing I find dissatisfying about most modern AAA games, and the reason that I've gravitated away from them more and more over time. This video has been like finding the answer to a question I've been asking myself for years--"Why don't I play big-budget games anymore, and when I do, it's almost always a shooter?" People have often tried to explain it as "making games too much like movies", which is kind of true, but I've never really objected to the whole concept of a cutscene. It's because the core gameplay loop in AAA games usually doesn't satisfy me, and that in turn is because of exactly what you describe in this video--I don't feel like I'm truly in control of what's happening because of excessive reliance on context-sensitive, automated actions.

Using the fire example from BotW is actually interesting, because I remember being totally stumped in the first dungeon of Ocarina of Time with the puzzle where you have to light a stick on fire and then use it to burn some spider webs. In a game that up until that point demonstrated that if something can be done as an interaction that there will be a button prompt telling you, you'd think you'd light a stick on fire, walk up to the web, and press A to have Link burn the web, but instead you have to actually touch the fire to the webs using game mechanics. There isn't really much else like that in the game, so, that puzzle always felt out of place to me. Whereas doing something like that in BotW makes total sense because it always has the attitude of "if you want to do something, do it with the mechanics we gave you."

Watching this has made me realise that perhaps I'm not actually much of a fan of "controlling" my character. As one of my favourite, if not my favourite game, is Thracia 776, I've realised that what is true is that what I like is _directing_ what I see on the screen, putting an order that satisfies me into it; a game is satisfactory when I'm satisfied by the finishing touches it allows me to give. The model of a game where I am pretty much playing no role whatsoever except for giving orders that even then I do not have control over (i.e. a hit is always possible to miss) is the ethos I prefer. Of course it isn't the only way I like to play, and with many things I am bothered by randomness, but it seems to be a general thread (just as a possibly relevant mention, my other big favourite is Resident Evil 1 Remake). So when I play God Hand, I don't want to "feel" like Gene, I want to make Gene to do cool things, as that is what fits the proposed vision of the game best, and I want to do it as I find that vision satisfactory. Video games are, in a strange way, communal even in a single player context, even if the community you're taking part of is more or less a faceless abstraction. Like being invited to place the final piece in a puzzle that has taken enough time for many of the people working on solving it to be forgotten. As if it were possible for a random person to come to a basically finalised film and simply add the subtle touches. [Also, one minute into the extrinsic motivation video, I think you are touching on precisely this, haha.] Now this goes hand in hand with my idea of games being better as, in a way, theater, but what I misunderstood is that I assumed the intent was simply to _act_ in the play... But I also, and perhaps mostly, want to _direct_ it. Of course this isn't an absolute either... It's a strange role where you are partial director of an already directed work and partial actor of a character already acted at the same time... ... Maybe David Cage was right. But his stuff doesn't feel good to direct.

When the world needed him most, he emerged from the shadows to deliver a complete banger.

This is great video. But I think a better way to think of this distinction is between context sensitive actions and context sensitive outcomes. In the former, the action performed by a button press depends on the context. In the latter, the action performed by the button may be the same but the outcome changes because of the context. So in Breath of the wild, you can swing an axe at thin air, at an enemy or a tree and the outcome is vastly different. And it feels like you are controlling the character and the world is reacting to your actions. Whereas with context sensitive actions, the context is fettering your freedom of action.

26:40 Tank controls are one way to reduce ‘context sensitivity’ in 3D games. Even when the camera shifts, the player character moves in the same direction.

This is one of absolute my favourite video of yours to date, thank you for making it Matthew. My friends and I differ in our game selections often, and I think a key distinction was that I owned mostly Nintendo consoles as a child, whilst they had Xbox and PlayStation. I have tried to encourage them to play Nintendo games because I had a sense they offered more "mechanical freedom" or "deeper gameplay" or something like that, but I could never articulate fully why, having grown up on Nintendo games, I found modern games so lacking. I still might not be able to get them to play Breath of the Wild, but at least now I can get them to watch this video ;) so thank you, and best of luck with continuing to make Mushido. Having similarly quit my job to start making games, I know who all-consuming they can be, and it can be nice to take a little "work break" now and then, so I hope you enjoyed making this. I can't speak for all Patrons, but I'm more happy to keep supporting all of your endeavours, whether games or videos on games, or videos on movies/TV shows or whatever. I don't expect you to make a load of videos just because I like them, but I want to feed back that if all I heard from you in 2 years was a periodic game update and maybe 1 video, I would consider that an excellent investment from my perspective. Keep doing what you want! Chris

Well this was one of the best game design videos I've seen.

"You see those buttons...Actually, you'll find that eh, eh, they're called 'Context Sensitive'." - Birdy the Scarecrow, Conker's Bad Fur Day 2001

The lack of context sensitivity was actually what drew me to the Souls games in the first place. I just didn't know how to articulate it. It's also why the grappling hook in Sekiro seemed out of place.

This reminds me of one thing I really liked about Nier Automata. It's a 3D action game, but occasionally there are shmup sections or the camera positions itself in a fixed way to make a certain section play 2d-ish. Yet these changes are smooth because the controls are consistent. The melee, shooting, and burst attacks may differ between their shmup and 3d versions, but the buttons are the same.

I almost never leave comments on videos, and I don't expect that you'll see this, but I want you to know that I appreciate you and everything you've done on youtube so far. You've helped me enjoy games that I didn't before, and enjoy games that I already did more than I realized. You have been the voice I hear in my head when I critically think about game design, and have brought me hours and hours of enjoyable content. I hope you're happy and fulfilled in anything that you do in your life, because what you've done on youtube is brilliant, and I'm sure you'll be just as fantastic at anything else you focus yourself into.

The eye tracking thing at face value sounds like an amazing evolution in controller design however I play games like this often and realize that once you've gotten into its rhythm your eyes aren't focused on the enemy you want to target hit right now and instead on enemies that aren't being comboed. The eyetracker is not and will never be a good method of player input because our input device for the game to send information to our brains. So while how it works will be easily predictable for the player, there will be many unintentional moments where you won't hit target you want to because you looked at something else. I actually don't know a solutions short of growing extra pair of limbs so we can use more analog sticks. Although maybe gyroscopic controls might be an answer.

One thing about RE4's kick is that it applies invincibility during the animation, if they just made the kick done through a dedicated button you can do anytime, the invincibility would be grossly abused. I think they intentionally made it context sensitive and invincible on purpose to reward skilled gameplay.

I think a good example of doing this well is something like Final Fantasy 12, where the gambit system allows you to define how you AI-controlled party members respond to their situation. I tend not to like having to rely on AI partners in RPGs, and having control over what the AI chooses to prioritize made a huge difference for me personally.

Surprised DOOM's glory kills weren't brought up! They seem like a near-perfect mix of precision control and context sensitivity- It's especially impressive how natural they feel in such a chaotic environment.

This is probably one of the most thought-provoking videos I've seen on game design in quite a while, really interesting stuff to ponder.

I was wondering if he would mention VR games in terms of context-sensitive actions. One of the huge benefits of a VR headset and hand-tracking controllers is that you no longer have to rely on an ambiguous control analogue, like a controller, to replicate reality - your controls are now based on the limits of your body. In a third person game, if I want to pick up a small object on the ground, I have to rely on a button prompt the developers give me, whereas in VR, I can just bend down and pick it up. Conversely, this is why context-sensitive controls, ones that try and patch up the many limitations VR have right now, feel especially jarring in VR; "point-and-click" teleporting movement, and control-stick movement in general, to name some. Because it's moving away from a freedom of action that requires no learning - a hand controller does exactly what a hand should in real life.

No one ever understands when I lament the death of the Wii's pointer controls as Nintendo opted to go in a different direction which eventually resulted in motion controls almost always being optional. When Matthew brought up eye tracking as a targeting mechanic I finally fucking felt vindicated. Seriously. Wii style pointers added to traditional controllers IS a necessary evolution and this video explains all of my thought process as to why as clearly as possible in regards to controlling 3D games. It is, for all intents and purposes, a 3rd analog stick (assuming that aside from the pointer, the "wiimote-like" controller has all the bells and whistles that a traditional controller has, which the wiimote lacked). Having a controller be held as two separate pieces in either hand and having pointers on both (which you can choose which hand to use, based on being left or right handed) should have been the next evolution of the controller after the Dual Shock invented the modern controller shape. When I explain this to people they can never understand why, describing it as a "third analog stick" is not sufficient because they do not understand why they NEED a third analog stick, because they've gotten so used to the way game's control they don't realize what they're missing. Z targeting has worked the same way in action games for fucking decades and NO GAME has it work perfectly, and all you ever needed was the ability to fucking POINT at the enemy you want to target. 15 years ago Nintendo experimented with technology in a game controller that should have changed the way games are controlled forever... and it just didn't happen. I can't possibly express how upset by that I am.

"If you're not on the ground you can't jump." Matthew Matosis - 2018

Seeing what has been said about BotW here, it is ironic to see how Totk got a massive context sensitive problem with its companions system

Instead of thinking of this issue as one of "context sensitivity" in general, I think its more helpful to think of it as trying to avoid the situation where multiple actions that share the same input are not mutually exclusive. If you have a jump button but can also go prone in the game, since it's not possible to jump while prone then the jump button can be reused for an action that you can only take while prone. Standing and being prone are mutually exclusive states, any any actions that depend on their states need to be exclusive to each of them as well.

14:00 On this topic I REALLY thought you'd bring up Stray given that it's a recent 3D example in which many people either complained or defended the button prompts.

The game that came to mind right away for me was Kingdom Hearts 2, which took the old combat system from Kingdom Hearts 1 and added the context-sensitive Triangle button. It allows the game to have much more cinematic boss fights, but it also can turn some fights into "Hunt-Down-The-Reaction-Command" events. (Looking at you, Demyx!)

The work you do nowadays is ALWAYS impressive, as is the journey of your channel. Exhausting every point and way of thinking about a topic in just a few concise sentences - it's 🔥 I feel like my brain can finally relax when listening to you. No filler - just analysis, considerations, and ideas. Sometimes about video games, but really you go far beyond that. Truly inspiring. You convey so much and put so much thought and life experience in your craft, it feels like classical music or a movie made with passion and conviction. A well done interview with you would be so interesting to me, I feel. I hope you continue growing and sharing this process with us, but most of all I hope you are happy. Thank you, Matthew, for everything you gave me - and us - "just" by doing these videos - which I know is much, much more than what we might ever see by watching them. ❤

Thanks for this bit of perspective. Shooters being low in context sinsitivity feels so intuitive. I enjoy shooters, all sorts in different ways. I always liked the very nature of it. Performing one action, seeing the result, having a prediction on how it will go and adjusting accordingly. The ark and speed of the projectile, the aiming, the satisfaction of hitting a target, seeing the result of the impact. It feels very similar to 2D platformers and jumping. It is essentially the same action, just that jumping turns you yourself into the projectile. The rest stays the same, the launch, the ark, the impact. I often pondered this orb, what some games lack, why they feel wrong, are less fun to me. But this bit of language, the lack of context sensitivity can equate to control and how to think about what contributes or takes away from this control, it just feels correct, so generally applicable, so basic. I like it.

Last possible Mathewmatosis of this timeline just dropped

One thing this video made me think of was how you manipulate objects in (frictionals) Amnesia (and to a downgraded degree in SOMA). You dont open doors or drawers, or draw around chairs, but rather hold a button (IIRC Y) and then move the mouse. Add the WSAD keys for more force or shoving. Youve done this for searching, blockading doors or even to solve puzzles. It was always a bit weird and inconsistent, but to me this detail really added to the immersion. I thought less about the buttons to press, and more about the action I wanted to make. Especially when chased by a monster, drawing objects to block a door and shove around side blockers really felt much more organic and tense. Wonderfull stuff :D The gameplay bit was interesting too. I guess that precision is part of why I enjoy shooter mechanics a lot; its not just precision, but also the instant reaction that is so satisfying and adding to the precision. Otoh, Dark Souls is obviously a great example and feels very grounded due to its controls, but there is still a delay and lots of movement by my charachter. Later Souls games are also so much about learning enemy patterns that they almost feel context sensitive; like theres a button prompt but it just doesnt show you, because only a perfect reaction is rewarded. Is that maybe a side effect of difficulty? Idk. Either way, always nice to see a Matthewmatosis vid, they always give me a lot of fun stuff to think about. I hope some devs take notice too! :D

i love that this video hones in on the issues surronding lock-on that has been so often mentioned in your souls reviews, having a notable spot in your "lost art of souls" video. Great work.

But I have 2 index fingers... I require more context.

It's kind of a strange feeling having my thoughts and opinions about games and controlling them over decades of doing it get put into a short video that expresses them in more detail and with more fines then I could possibly manage. You're a genius.

"...there's no silver bullet solution, but thinking every challenge can be solved the same way is half the problem in the first place" That closing line was amazing dude. As a fighting gamer, I vastly prefer the titles where "throw" command is just pressing 2 buttons at once (Street Fighter 3), rather than a "proximity" input that requires you to press forward+HeavyPunch when you're super close to the opponent (SF2). I like the certainty of being able to punch while stepping forward at any distance, and throwing only when I mean to. While an extension of this philosophy (i.e. using every button combination available) could lead to an overcomplicated arsenal of mechanics, I think the "certainty" of the attacks/defenses more than makes up for the finger gymnastics required to practice first.

Thank you man. You've been an inspiration. Your craftsmanship ethics are unmatched

Matthew is such an enigma to me. He's by far one of the most wellspoken and intelligent content creators in the gaming genre (and his name is based off of one of my favorite Radiohead songs to boot) and yet he rarely uploads and when he does he tells us it's probably going to be his last video. I don't know if I should be delighted by having new Matt content to watch or if I should be depressed.

Saw that damned bike and said, "Finally, more Ghost Trick content."

The Mass Effect trilogy is sweating in the corner with its infamous x button (though that’s only the surface).

It's crazy that we've basically had this sort of thing in games for the longest time yet I don't think i've ever heard anyone break it down so that it makes sense as well as you have here. It's a very insightful take and puts into words what I like about certain games more than others better than I possibly could've.

You're the absolute best at what you do, man. You've informed the way I consider games as a medium more than anyone save my older brother while I was growing up lol. If you're done with this chapter of your life then best of luck, but I'll be on the lookout just in case. All the best.

queen is dead and new matthewmatosis video, what an incredible day

This is the first time I see a video that points out how RE4's core mechanics are used for most things in that game, not just combat, but also puzzles, treasures, traps, breaking crates. Even the knife could've been a button press like the kick, but you still need to aim it just like your guns. This has been one of your best videos Matt, you've talked about so much. I certainly didn't expect to see such a believable reason for platformers going out of favor when I clicked on this.

This is your best video. Delved deeper and cuts sharper then ever before. Thanks.

Thanks for making my day dude! I was starting to fear you stopped making videos.

Perfectly articulated video, as always. Glad to have you back. One of the pros of context sensitivity is that they increase certainty for lower skill level players. While it's not clear who you're soft locked to in devil may cry, knowing you can only jump in a game like stray when the button is on screen is kind of like a constant tutorial for more casual players who would otherwise be overwhelmed by choice. Also, I really hope that the advent of VR games will allow for more control and more creative forms of control with time.

This is a magic moment. Rewatched your Last of Us II review and Meta Microvideos yesterday. Some of my favorite stuff on the website. Haven’t even started watching this yet but I’m incredibly grateful that it’s here.

Roblox's camera it's the future of Gaming cameras its just as simple as "free look" and "tied look" where the camera locks on the shoulder or head of the avatar. This is 100% intuitive. For me this is the definitive camera for all types of games.

Watching the video, I was finding the topic pretty interesting, but then 32:34 blew my mind: I always thought wall jumps were that way to make them more difficult to master, given that it's basically a secret mechanic that can make the game easier, but avoiding accidental wall jumping seems now the developers' original goal. Yet another reason why Super Metroid is still one of the best games ever made, even in a post-Hollow Knight world; still awe inspiring.

I love Matthewmatosis videos. I learn a lot not only about video games, but also about objective reviews and criticism. Thank you Matthew, I hope whatever you are working on is going well, and I can't wait to experience it.

Great video. I think this concept can be used to help explain why even the best of the 3D Sonic games are controversial, because those games are very context sensitive. If you press the jump button while Sonic is in the air, the resulting action is either a short airdash forward or a homing attack that snaps the player to a nearby enemy. This context sensitive action results in many cases where Sonic does not move as intended. While the homing attack may be necessary for a 3D sonic game to even function, the fact that the homing attack is such a crucial part of Sonic's moveset means that there is a degree of control taken away from the player. Long strings of homing attacks can feel like a quicktime event where the game is basically playing itself. These games also have a ton of automation in them so having part of the core moveset feel automated is not doing it any favors. There's also the issue of the camera. As was mentioned in the video, the camera is a big issue with 3D platformers. The camera in 3D Sonic is like Crash Bandicoot in that it changes angles frequently and the player just has to react to it. But the fact that the player has to react to these camera changes so fast in 3D Sonic games has resulted in many cheap deaths. There's also the 2D sections in games like Sonic Generations where the player is expected to understand that the entire control scheme has changed based on the fact that the camera has suddenly shifted to a 2D view. Something Sonic Team could take notes from with the camera is a Sonic inspired indie game series called Spark the Electric Jester which allows for full camera control. Camera control at high speeds brings some new challenges with it but it generally allows for better control of the player character. If anyone has other examples of context sensitivity in 3D Sonic games I'd love to hear them. There are people who love the less context sensitive 2D Sonic games but couldn't get into Sonic Adventure and Sonic Generations, so I think there might be something here with this concept.

I feel like I’m back in middle school watching an episode of Stand Alone Complex at midnight. Matthewmatosis is like the Dark Souls of video game commentary.

I was playing Red dead redemption 2 recently and i couldn't understand why the mini games and activities in that game felt so exhausting to me ( and i don't just mean the animations which are also too slow ), this video explains exactly my problem with the game each mini game felt like a different game and pushed me to want to interact less with the mechanics and just follow the story.

watched you since forever, and though they werent ever exactly videos that came out often, and my words will be lost in this ocean of other collections of similar phrases, i appreciate what you have produced. be well.