10 Secret Ways Video Games Totally Waste Your Time
3. Clunky & Sluggish User Interfaces
One of the most important yet most underappreciated elements of any video game is user interface design - there's a lot to be said for a snappy, intuitive UI which allows players to quickly prepare for the task ahead and get things in order.
But even some of the most acclaimed video games of all time can't manage to offer up fluid, well-designed UIs, as best evidenced by the more recent Fallout games.
As neat an idea as it was to use the Pip-Boy as the game's menu from Fallout 3 onward, in reality the UI has been an absolute time-wasting headache to operate.
Navigating the nested menus is more confusing than it should be, but worse than anything, moving from one tab to the next is agonisingly slow, ensuring you spend way more time fussing over the small details than, you know, actually exploring this expansive world.
It's far from the only culprit - The Witcher 3's launch UI was widely complained about until it received a patch, and the Gran Turismo series has touted some of the most infuriatingly obtuse and ugly interfaces of any AAA franchise in history.
All this tells us is that UI design is a lot tougher than you might think, and when a game gets it right, you most likely don't even notice - because you're too busy actually playing the game.