Interaction - a key component in videogames. It absorbs the player into the game world and creates a powerful illusion of being in control. Players often find themselves lost in the world of videogames, and in the process transferred their thoughts into an otherwise inanimate character, be it Mario, Nathan Drake or simply an avatar in World of Warcraft. All of a sudden, the players are bestowed the power to breathe fire or to produce ice from thin air, none of which would be possible in real life.
This level of immersion compells users. The protagonist and his band of followers become someone to care about, and the antagonist someone players love to hate. Together with the illusion of empowerment, players can spend a great amount of time immersed in a videogame - something non-players find hard to comprehend. Attempts at understanding them often end in failure, for videogames used to come with a high barrier to entry - the hardware that connects the player to the game world.
Evolution of Videogame Controllers
It all begins with a series of controllers designed for videogames called Paddle in 1972, together with the game “Pong”. It features a knob built onto the machine that powers the game, which can be controlled simply by turning the knob clockwise or counterclockwise. Eventually, the knob is separated from the console and players could hold the controller in their hands, as long as the wire from the controller remains plugged into the machine.
Joysticks arrive around late 1977s and are still being used to this day as aircraft controllers. Instead of turning, players control by tilting the knob in the direction they desire - a design that is more intuitive than the original. The joystick also saw the inclusion of a button which would later become a staple of gaming controllers. With it, players no longer simply control movement, they can fire, execute, activate.
The next milestone comes in the form of a GamePad/JoyPad in the early 1980s, which define the shape and button placements for many controllers to come, even to this day. The gamepad introduces the D-pad, a cross-shaped interface, which has the same functions as the knob on the Joystick but no longer features a stick. Buttons are placed on the right, and the D-pad on the left.
There were no major milestones in videogame controllers for about 20 years. The GamePad is the pinnacle of videogame controller design. In the 20 or so years, the shape of the controller changes to become more ergonomically friendly and begin to feature more and more buttons in an attempt to give more control to players. However, this may be the time where the divide between players and non-players start to emerge. It has become increasingly difficult to tell the functions of each button on the controller. The Saturn controller, for instance, features 6 buttons.
While not a major milestone, the Nintendo 64 controller saw some interesting new design. The controller not only features 6 buttons on the right of the gamepad, but also 2 shoulder buttons, which are mounted on top of the controller. As if to embrace the technology in the 70s, the knob is back and becomes what we know as the analog joystick.
2006 saw the year where the design of videogame controllers begin to diverge. On one hand, gamepads such as the SIXAXIS (for Playstation 3) and Xbox 360 controller continue to prevail and remains popular up to this day. On the other hand, Motion Sensing Controllers begin to emerge with the Nintendo Wii.
The Wiimote is worlds apart from the gamepad. Buttons are kept to a bare minimum, and players need only point (or fling) the wiimote to control. The Wiimote resembles a conventional remote, which most people are familiar with. The Nintendo Wii goes on to achieve immense success in terms of units sold, in contrast to its competitors Playstation 3 and Xbox 360. The barrier of entry to videogames is reduced.Microsoft later on up the game with the introduction of the Kinect for the Xbox 360, which is more of a camera than a controller. Players no longer need to press buttons for the whole controller is removed from the equation. The Kinect recognises joint movements and registers them on screen. There is no longer a learning curve involved in playing, and the barrier to entry has been set down to a minimum.
GamePad vs Motion Gaming Controllers
Perhaps some application of HCI concepts will explain why Motion Gaming Controllers is clearly superior to that of GamePad controls. The Wiimote, for instance, heavily acts on people’s ‘familiarility’ to a remote control, regardless of whether they have held a traditional gamepad or not. Any user can easily use their knowledge of the remote control to help them understand the Wiimote. Near the center of the Wiimote is a big “A” button, on which the thumb will normally rest when one holds a remote control. This helps in the ‘visibility’ and ‘affordance’ aspect, as users will instantly recognise pressing a button will activate something on screen. Pointing and pressing like using a mouse is as natural as a device can get in ‘navigation’.
Pointing and pressing is just a single form of control of the Wiimote. The wiimote is incredibly flexible in the way which it can be used. For instance, in a game of Wii Sports Resorts, one can swing the Wiimote sideways like a table tennis racket or in fencing. One can also do a swing up motion to play a game of bowling.
A Wiimote is indeed a good example of a device with great HCI design, but does it succeed? In terms of sales, it truly does, as mentioned above. However, an interesting phenomenon has occurred in the midst of this generation’s ‘console war’. Despite having clear leading position on sales, the Wii is the most underutilised console when put against its fellow competitors (PS3, Xbox 360) which still use the gamepad (minus their motion controlled games which they also released some couple of years ago).
One could of course argue that this is due to the hardware limitation of the Wii, which still supports only SD quality despite the shift into the HD era. However, much of it probably has to do with the controller.
Videogames are perhaps quite different from the usual design of applications, with game design contributing more to the overall entertainment value of a game than the controls that allows it. For instance, a same game with identical performance would probably sell equally well on a PS3 and a Wii. With that said, game designs are heavily constrained by the controllers and that is where the crux of problem comes in.
Just as aircraft simulators are prevalent in the era of joysticks, the genres of games that can be effectively designed with motion gaming are extremely limiting. For instance, the game market for Kinect are populated with dance games, with a distinct lack of First-Person-Shooter, sidescrollers and so on which are genres that have been improved repeatedly throughout videogame history. With their complex controls and many different actions and guestures, immersive games such as Skyrim or Uncharted could hardly be transferred to a Wii because of its emphasis on motion controls and lack of buttons.
Motion gaming, however, is still at its infancy stage, with many possibilities unexplored. While most players might still prefer to play using the traditional controls at this time, the new controls might just become better as game design evolves and finds new and creative ways of utilising it.
reference : http://www.videogameconsolelibrary.com/art-controller.htm
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