The Player, the Web and the Interface

[JonO]

You've got that right. When I play a game, I don't want the game, itself, to annoy the living Hell out of me. That's what my enemies in games are for.

There's a story about the creation of Amazon.com. Back when it was just an idea, Jeff Bezos hired a programmer and explained that central to the creation of his website was the idea of 1-click ordering. The programmer assured Bezos that he understood and designed a prototype. Bezos was very impressed - until, after he had selected a book and clicked on "Purchase," a confirmation box popped up and asked if he was sure he wanted to buy it. The concept of user-friendly meaning treating the user like he's five years old was so ingrained that the programmer implemented 1-click, with a requirement to click twice.