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Peripherals are a very important part of gaming these days, there is a large market for them and they can add to any gaming experience, from control pads, steering wheels, skate boards, dj decks to multi taps, modems and light guns. All consoles are like very advanced input/output systems. You provide an input using some peripheral and the console processes your input to produce a form off output usually graphical and sound.
The most popular peripheral of all time is without a shadow of doubt the control pad. Since the earliest consoles this has always been the preferred way of interacting with most games. The console has evolved a lot of the past 20 years and the controller has too. They are now very comfortable to control and have far more buttons than they originally did. With the extra buttons it means that games can allow more input and interaction from the gamer making them more fun to play as the range of things the character can do has been improved. The first controller to really change things was the SNES, all of today’s controllers are similar to its design. The PS2 controller now offers feedback in the form of a vibration and has analogue controls. No doubt the GameCube and X-Box controls will have new technology in them improving the way that users can interact with games. Everyone has different taste when it comes to controllers but my favourite so far is the PS2 pad as it fits perfectly into my hands and there is no struggling to find the right buttons.
Next in the list is probably the light gun, for shooting games the only real way to play them is with a light gun. The G-con gun that was released on the PSX offered a very accurate and precise shot and the newer version is even better. The NES was the first console I ever played with a light gun and it was a lot of fun, the basic idea is still there but with the aide of technology the quality of the light gun has improved (as to have the games) to a higher level making the games even more fun to play. I remember the SNES gun it was more like a rocket launcher, it was still fun to play but I prefer the plain and simple hand gun for most games. I would like a sniper rifle style peripheral for silent scope but I feel the cost for such a peripheral may be a little too much.
Ok now lets get on to the future ones.
By far the best idea for a peripheral I have seen has to be the one that Sony are working on, it shows butterflies being attracted to coloured spheres, one sphere attracts them and a different coloured one repels them. The basic idea in this could see star wars light sabre games in the future using a light sabre peripheral. For any star wars fan out there this is probably a dream come true (if it happens) as they finally get the chance to fight properly with a light sabre in a game and if the game can recreate the magic of the early films then it is definitely one to get. This idea could be used for lots of things in various ways, sword fighting games, it could be used in boxing games with sensors in gloves that detect where you are swinging your punch.
Which leads me on to the next one. I noticed in the latest Special Reserve magazine a peripheral for fighting games. It was a mat with two poles that seemed to be for kicking or something similar. So what can we expect in the future for peripherals similar to this. How about a peripheral where you stand in the centre and when you kick or punch sensors pick up your movements and your character recreates them within the game. For those who have played Police 911 in the arcade where you actually have to dodge to make your character avoid bullets then the idea would be slightly similar to this. It could be used in boxing games, fighting games and maybe even sports games.
What about the ultimate peripheral ever? What would it be? How about a helmet that you put on your head that actually reads your thoughts and plays the game according to your commands. Could such a thing ever be possible? I’m not sure if this could and would be the ultimate peripheral as it could take a lot of the fun out of the game as you wouldn’t really feel like you are interacting with the game as best as you can. If your opponent is beating you it could send a sharp shock to their control pad causing them to drop it allowing you to once again take the lead. But what would happen if you got side tracked from the game and thought of something else? Picture the situation…… “Look there your next door neighbour is sunbathing naked” after taking a peek you are no longer concentrating on the game, you then look back at the screen. “What is Snake doing to that guard??????” :-)
I think that in the future the control pad will still be the preferred input for most games, the control pad will have improved with time and get better and better. But I do see a slight problem in that there are only so many buttons that can be used as we as humans can only use so many at one time, this means that the way we control games depends on the number of controls we can use, so maybe games will only advance as far as the standard of the input peripherals that we use for controlling the game. In saying that we could see combinations of peripherals, like a control pad which uses a microphone, motion sensors etc to increase what we can do to provide more input for the game. Old favourites like the light gun and steering wheels will also still be around and also improve with time. I am sure there will also be a lot more new peripherals released, some will be hugely successful and some will be about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
I think as time goes on we will see better peripherals for input and output, I think we will see motion sensors and voice used more as input to provide a better gaming experience.
Voice
The idea of this is very simple using your voice as an input to control the game in some way. In my opinion it does have a lot of potential to be used along side another means of input such as a control pad but I don't think that it could be used on its own and I don't think it would be as much fun on its own.
I think that first person shooters and RPG's could benefit the most, and if computer A.I reaches the standard where you could have a fully inteligent conversation with the computer or console game then maybe we could see games where you have to ask the questions and comunicate to find out the required information to progress, such a thing may be a while away but could make gaming a lot better.
Imagine playing a first person shooter and controlling your allied troops using your voice, giving commands like "Move out" and "retreat" or telling them what targets to hit or to provide back up.
I know this is starting to take off a little in Japan, a football game over there used this technology for commands such as pass and shoot, although I would imagine this would be quite mad when 2 players are playing both shouting different commands, maybe individual head sets are needed. :)
I do see some problems with this technology though, even the PC voice recognition isn't that great at the moment, it will get better but could a game cope with all the extra coding needed or maybe it would have to be loaded sepearately onto the hard disk? Also how will it cope with different dialects as my Scottish accent is a lot different to a Liverpudlian or Geordie, Irish or Welsh accent. Maybe the software will analyse the way you say certain letters and combination of letters to set it up the first time and save your data allowing others to use the software on your console.
Body Motion
Again the concept is quite simple, you move and the console using some peripheral devices such as cameras or motion sensors detects your movement and uses it as part of the input. Probably the best example is the Police 24/7 arcade and soon to be PS2 game. It is a first person shooter where you have to physically move to avoid bullets, a camera detects your movement and makes the on screen character perform the same actions.
Again this is something a bit different that depends on technology and also on cost as the cost has to be suitable to make it appeal to the mass number of gamers worldwide.
I think the potential is with the first person shooters and maybe with fighting games like Tekken or even boxing games. I think there is a market out there for this sort of input and the above mentioned genres really could be improved using ti in my view, I guess it all depends on what developers want to use and include in their games.
Similar to the voice recognition is the idea of the software code needed to allow it could be used on a game to improve the graphics, gameplay etc so maybe it is up to the console developer to produce a standard device and software that can be installed to the hard disk and then developers can make use of that.
Who knows? Soon we could have realistic fights where you roll around kicking, scratching and making too much effort in trying to hit your opponent and then opting for a good kick to the groin to finish them off.Or boxing games that really do prove you swing like a girl or have a glass jaw.
In terms of output I think maybe smells could also be used, there is a device which mixes chemicals to make smells common to most games like burning rubber for racing games or rotting flesh for games like resident evil or silent hill. I know this device was being developed last year but I am not sure if it is still planned to be released or if the idea has been scrapped.
Along with the decent peripherals being released there is also a lot of crazy and wacky peripherals that get released. So what is the craziest peripheral available to buy? Well I guess that is all down to personal preference. There have been fishing rods for the good old fishing games. I’m not a fan of fishing games (or fishing in general) but I would guess there isn’t that much excitement in the game but I would guess that it is better to fish in the real world and not in the game. There have also been controls for trains released for the good old train driving games. A while back my dad got loaned MS Train simulator from a friend, I seen no point to this game and it bored me straight away. Obviously games like these must appeal to some people and the peripheral is a dream come true for them as now they can interact the way it should be done.
Other peripherals like Skateboards, which can be used with skateboarding games and snowboarding games not only add to the feel of the game and allow you to interact better with them but they also can improve the game a lot too. So what other crazy peripherals can we expect to see in the future?
How about a pair of football boots and a ball and how hard and where you kick the ball determines how the character on the screen behaves in the football game. How about a steering wheel with a proper gear stick, accelerator, brake and clutch that behaves like the controls of a real life car. This is one peripheral I would like to see available and games to use it as it would make driving games that little bit more realistic. Although I do think that creating such a peripheral would be extremely difficult.
One of the big problems with peripherals is the cost. There is no point in making them if the cost to make them is so high that the selling price is also very high. Sure if the final product is good some will buy it but maybe not enough to make a decent profit or even to operate without making a loss. It is the cost that could see a lot of great ideas not being turned into reality as it just wouldn’t be a good business approach to release something without knowing it is going to do well.
So what’s is your favourite peripheral? What do you think is the craziest peripheral you have ever seen? Out of a matter of interest what is your personal favourite control pad of all time?
Also If you were designing a peripheral for he future what would it be and how would it be used?
The most popular peripheral of all time is without a shadow of doubt the control pad. Since the earliest consoles this has always been the preferred way of interacting with most games. The console has evolved a lot of the past 20 years and the controller has too. They are now very comfortable to control and have far more buttons than they originally did. With the extra buttons it means that games can allow more input and interaction from the gamer making them more fun to play as the range of things the character can do has been improved. The first controller to really change things was the SNES, all of today’s controllers are similar to its design. The PS2 controller now offers feedback in the form of a vibration and has analogue controls. No doubt the GameCube and X-Box controls will have new technology in them improving the way that users can interact with games. Everyone has different taste when it comes to controllers but my favourite so far is the PS2 pad as it fits perfectly into my hands and there is no struggling to find the right buttons.
Next in the list is probably the light gun, for shooting games the only real way to play them is with a light gun. The G-con gun that was released on the PSX offered a very accurate and precise shot and the newer version is even better. The NES was the first console I ever played with a light gun and it was a lot of fun, the basic idea is still there but with the aide of technology the quality of the light gun has improved (as to have the games) to a higher level making the games even more fun to play. I remember the SNES gun it was more like a rocket launcher, it was still fun to play but I prefer the plain and simple hand gun for most games. I would like a sniper rifle style peripheral for silent scope but I feel the cost for such a peripheral may be a little too much.
Ok now lets get on to the future ones.
By far the best idea for a peripheral I have seen has to be the one that Sony are working on, it shows butterflies being attracted to coloured spheres, one sphere attracts them and a different coloured one repels them. The basic idea in this could see star wars light sabre games in the future using a light sabre peripheral. For any star wars fan out there this is probably a dream come true (if it happens) as they finally get the chance to fight properly with a light sabre in a game and if the game can recreate the magic of the early films then it is definitely one to get. This idea could be used for lots of things in various ways, sword fighting games, it could be used in boxing games with sensors in gloves that detect where you are swinging your punch.
Which leads me on to the next one. I noticed in the latest Special Reserve magazine a peripheral for fighting games. It was a mat with two poles that seemed to be for kicking or something similar. So what can we expect in the future for peripherals similar to this. How about a peripheral where you stand in the centre and when you kick or punch sensors pick up your movements and your character recreates them within the game. For those who have played Police 911 in the arcade where you actually have to dodge to make your character avoid bullets then the idea would be slightly similar to this. It could be used in boxing games, fighting games and maybe even sports games.
What about the ultimate peripheral ever? What would it be? How about a helmet that you put on your head that actually reads your thoughts and plays the game according to your commands. Could such a thing ever be possible? I’m not sure if this could and would be the ultimate peripheral as it could take a lot of the fun out of the game as you wouldn’t really feel like you are interacting with the game as best as you can. If your opponent is beating you it could send a sharp shock to their control pad causing them to drop it allowing you to once again take the lead. But what would happen if you got side tracked from the game and thought of something else? Picture the situation…… “Look there your next door neighbour is sunbathing naked” after taking a peek you are no longer concentrating on the game, you then look back at the screen. “What is Snake doing to that guard??????” :-)
I think that in the future the control pad will still be the preferred input for most games, the control pad will have improved with time and get better and better. But I do see a slight problem in that there are only so many buttons that can be used as we as humans can only use so many at one time, this means that the way we control games depends on the number of controls we can use, so maybe games will only advance as far as the standard of the input peripherals that we use for controlling the game. In saying that we could see combinations of peripherals, like a control pad which uses a microphone, motion sensors etc to increase what we can do to provide more input for the game. Old favourites like the light gun and steering wheels will also still be around and also improve with time. I am sure there will also be a lot more new peripherals released, some will be hugely successful and some will be about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
I think as time goes on we will see better peripherals for input and output, I think we will see motion sensors and voice used more as input to provide a better gaming experience.
Voice
The idea of this is very simple using your voice as an input to control the game in some way. In my opinion it does have a lot of potential to be used along side another means of input such as a control pad but I don't think that it could be used on its own and I don't think it would be as much fun on its own.
I think that first person shooters and RPG's could benefit the most, and if computer A.I reaches the standard where you could have a fully inteligent conversation with the computer or console game then maybe we could see games where you have to ask the questions and comunicate to find out the required information to progress, such a thing may be a while away but could make gaming a lot better.
Imagine playing a first person shooter and controlling your allied troops using your voice, giving commands like "Move out" and "retreat" or telling them what targets to hit or to provide back up.
I know this is starting to take off a little in Japan, a football game over there used this technology for commands such as pass and shoot, although I would imagine this would be quite mad when 2 players are playing both shouting different commands, maybe individual head sets are needed. :)
I do see some problems with this technology though, even the PC voice recognition isn't that great at the moment, it will get better but could a game cope with all the extra coding needed or maybe it would have to be loaded sepearately onto the hard disk? Also how will it cope with different dialects as my Scottish accent is a lot different to a Liverpudlian or Geordie, Irish or Welsh accent. Maybe the software will analyse the way you say certain letters and combination of letters to set it up the first time and save your data allowing others to use the software on your console.
Body Motion
Again the concept is quite simple, you move and the console using some peripheral devices such as cameras or motion sensors detects your movement and uses it as part of the input. Probably the best example is the Police 24/7 arcade and soon to be PS2 game. It is a first person shooter where you have to physically move to avoid bullets, a camera detects your movement and makes the on screen character perform the same actions.
Again this is something a bit different that depends on technology and also on cost as the cost has to be suitable to make it appeal to the mass number of gamers worldwide.
I think the potential is with the first person shooters and maybe with fighting games like Tekken or even boxing games. I think there is a market out there for this sort of input and the above mentioned genres really could be improved using ti in my view, I guess it all depends on what developers want to use and include in their games.
Similar to the voice recognition is the idea of the software code needed to allow it could be used on a game to improve the graphics, gameplay etc so maybe it is up to the console developer to produce a standard device and software that can be installed to the hard disk and then developers can make use of that.
Who knows? Soon we could have realistic fights where you roll around kicking, scratching and making too much effort in trying to hit your opponent and then opting for a good kick to the groin to finish them off.Or boxing games that really do prove you swing like a girl or have a glass jaw.
In terms of output I think maybe smells could also be used, there is a device which mixes chemicals to make smells common to most games like burning rubber for racing games or rotting flesh for games like resident evil or silent hill. I know this device was being developed last year but I am not sure if it is still planned to be released or if the idea has been scrapped.
Along with the decent peripherals being released there is also a lot of crazy and wacky peripherals that get released. So what is the craziest peripheral available to buy? Well I guess that is all down to personal preference. There have been fishing rods for the good old fishing games. I’m not a fan of fishing games (or fishing in general) but I would guess there isn’t that much excitement in the game but I would guess that it is better to fish in the real world and not in the game. There have also been controls for trains released for the good old train driving games. A while back my dad got loaned MS Train simulator from a friend, I seen no point to this game and it bored me straight away. Obviously games like these must appeal to some people and the peripheral is a dream come true for them as now they can interact the way it should be done.
Other peripherals like Skateboards, which can be used with skateboarding games and snowboarding games not only add to the feel of the game and allow you to interact better with them but they also can improve the game a lot too. So what other crazy peripherals can we expect to see in the future?
How about a pair of football boots and a ball and how hard and where you kick the ball determines how the character on the screen behaves in the football game. How about a steering wheel with a proper gear stick, accelerator, brake and clutch that behaves like the controls of a real life car. This is one peripheral I would like to see available and games to use it as it would make driving games that little bit more realistic. Although I do think that creating such a peripheral would be extremely difficult.
One of the big problems with peripherals is the cost. There is no point in making them if the cost to make them is so high that the selling price is also very high. Sure if the final product is good some will buy it but maybe not enough to make a decent profit or even to operate without making a loss. It is the cost that could see a lot of great ideas not being turned into reality as it just wouldn’t be a good business approach to release something without knowing it is going to do well.
So what’s is your favourite peripheral? What do you think is the craziest peripheral you have ever seen? Out of a matter of interest what is your personal favourite control pad of all time?
Also If you were designing a peripheral for he future what would it be and how would it be used?
I agree that the SNES control pad was one of the best and in a way all of the control pads which followed on from it have been based on the SNES controller. It was easy to use and comfortable. Hopefully all consoles of the future will realise that a comfy and well designed control pad is an important part of the console too.
Moving with the technology, my favourite has to be the light gun. It gives you a better experience for shooting games like Time Crisis 2.
Very good post!
Very good post!
Personal Favourite pad of all time? Has to be the official Nes pads. Small, simple, not over crowded with loads of buttons and very very light. Ok the games were not very demanding so there is no need for all the buttons but it really was a user friendly pad that a person of any age had no problem using it.
The stearing wheels are also another very good peripheral, brings the racing series a whole step further and that little bit more realistic when you are presented with the real thing, and you never know, one day it might be used to go along side a virtual home version for practising your driving lessons. :D
The stearing wheels are also another very good peripheral, brings the racing series a whole step further and that little bit more realistic when you are presented with the real thing, and you never know, one day it might be used to go along side a virtual home version for practising your driving lessons. :D
Good (but very big) post, AliBoy.
My favourite peripheral would have to be the steering wheel and pedals, as they turn racing games into much more of an exciting game and it also makes it real. It could even make you believe that you are a racer. Great stuff!
The rumble pak's a cool idea too, but it is growing a little old now. That would be the actual Rumble Pak, the one that was seperate from the controller. But now we can all have fun, as it is built into the controller.
AJ.
My favourite peripheral would have to be the steering wheel and pedals, as they turn racing games into much more of an exciting game and it also makes it real. It could even make you believe that you are a racer. Great stuff!
The rumble pak's a cool idea too, but it is growing a little old now. That would be the actual Rumble Pak, the one that was seperate from the controller. But now we can all have fun, as it is built into the controller.
AJ.
Peripherals are a very important part of gaming these days, there is a large market for them and they can add to any gaming experience, from control pads, steering wheels, skate boards, dj decks to multi taps, modems and light guns. All consoles are like very advanced input/output systems. You provide an input using some peripheral and the console processes your input to produce a form off output usually graphical and sound.
The most popular peripheral of all time is without a shadow of doubt the control pad. Since the earliest consoles this has always been the preferred way of interacting with most games. The console has evolved a lot of the past 20 years and the controller has too. They are now very comfortable to control and have far more buttons than they originally did. With the extra buttons it means that games can allow more input and interaction from the gamer making them more fun to play as the range of things the character can do has been improved. The first controller to really change things was the SNES, all of today’s controllers are similar to its design. The PS2 controller now offers feedback in the form of a vibration and has analogue controls. No doubt the GameCube and X-Box controls will have new technology in them improving the way that users can interact with games. Everyone has different taste when it comes to controllers but my favourite so far is the PS2 pad as it fits perfectly into my hands and there is no struggling to find the right buttons.
Next in the list is probably the light gun, for shooting games the only real way to play them is with a light gun. The G-con gun that was released on the PSX offered a very accurate and precise shot and the newer version is even better. The NES was the first console I ever played with a light gun and it was a lot of fun, the basic idea is still there but with the aide of technology the quality of the light gun has improved (as to have the games) to a higher level making the games even more fun to play. I remember the SNES gun it was more like a rocket launcher, it was still fun to play but I prefer the plain and simple hand gun for most games. I would like a sniper rifle style peripheral for silent scope but I feel the cost for such a peripheral may be a little too much.
Ok now lets get on to the future ones.
By far the best idea for a peripheral I have seen has to be the one that Sony are working on, it shows butterflies being attracted to coloured spheres, one sphere attracts them and a different coloured one repels them. The basic idea in this could see star wars light sabre games in the future using a light sabre peripheral. For any star wars fan out there this is probably a dream come true (if it happens) as they finally get the chance to fight properly with a light sabre in a game and if the game can recreate the magic of the early films then it is definitely one to get. This idea could be used for lots of things in various ways, sword fighting games, it could be used in boxing games with sensors in gloves that detect where you are swinging your punch.
Which leads me on to the next one. I noticed in the latest Special Reserve magazine a peripheral for fighting games. It was a mat with two poles that seemed to be for kicking or something similar. So what can we expect in the future for peripherals similar to this. How about a peripheral where you stand in the centre and when you kick or punch sensors pick up your movements and your character recreates them within the game. For those who have played Police 911 in the arcade where you actually have to dodge to make your character avoid bullets then the idea would be slightly similar to this. It could be used in boxing games, fighting games and maybe even sports games.
What about the ultimate peripheral ever? What would it be? How about a helmet that you put on your head that actually reads your thoughts and plays the game according to your commands. Could such a thing ever be possible? I’m not sure if this could and would be the ultimate peripheral as it could take a lot of the fun out of the game as you wouldn’t really feel like you are interacting with the game as best as you can. If your opponent is beating you it could send a sharp shock to their control pad causing them to drop it allowing you to once again take the lead. But what would happen if you got side tracked from the game and thought of something else? Picture the situation…… “Look there your next door neighbour is sunbathing naked” after taking a peek you are no longer concentrating on the game, you then look back at the screen. “What is Snake doing to that guard??????” :-)
I think that in the future the control pad will still be the preferred input for most games, the control pad will have improved with time and get better and better. But I do see a slight problem in that there are only so many buttons that can be used as we as humans can only use so many at one time, this means that the way we control games depends on the number of controls we can use, so maybe games will only advance as far as the standard of the input peripherals that we use for controlling the game. In saying that we could see combinations of peripherals, like a control pad which uses a microphone, motion sensors etc to increase what we can do to provide more input for the game. Old favourites like the light gun and steering wheels will also still be around and also improve with time. I am sure there will also be a lot more new peripherals released, some will be hugely successful and some will be about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
I think as time goes on we will see better peripherals for input and output, I think we will see motion sensors and voice used more as input to provide a better gaming experience.
Voice
The idea of this is very simple using your voice as an input to control the game in some way. In my opinion it does have a lot of potential to be used along side another means of input such as a control pad but I don't think that it could be used on its own and I don't think it would be as much fun on its own.
I think that first person shooters and RPG's could benefit the most, and if computer A.I reaches the standard where you could have a fully inteligent conversation with the computer or console game then maybe we could see games where you have to ask the questions and comunicate to find out the required information to progress, such a thing may be a while away but could make gaming a lot better.
Imagine playing a first person shooter and controlling your allied troops using your voice, giving commands like "Move out" and "retreat" or telling them what targets to hit or to provide back up.
I know this is starting to take off a little in Japan, a football game over there used this technology for commands such as pass and shoot, although I would imagine this would be quite mad when 2 players are playing both shouting different commands, maybe individual head sets are needed. :)
I do see some problems with this technology though, even the PC voice recognition isn't that great at the moment, it will get better but could a game cope with all the extra coding needed or maybe it would have to be loaded sepearately onto the hard disk? Also how will it cope with different dialects as my Scottish accent is a lot different to a Liverpudlian or Geordie, Irish or Welsh accent. Maybe the software will analyse the way you say certain letters and combination of letters to set it up the first time and save your data allowing others to use the software on your console.
Body Motion
Again the concept is quite simple, you move and the console using some peripheral devices such as cameras or motion sensors detects your movement and uses it as part of the input. Probably the best example is the Police 24/7 arcade and soon to be PS2 game. It is a first person shooter where you have to physically move to avoid bullets, a camera detects your movement and makes the on screen character perform the same actions.
Again this is something a bit different that depends on technology and also on cost as the cost has to be suitable to make it appeal to the mass number of gamers worldwide.
I think the potential is with the first person shooters and maybe with fighting games like Tekken or even boxing games. I think there is a market out there for this sort of input and the above mentioned genres really could be improved using ti in my view, I guess it all depends on what developers want to use and include in their games.
Similar to the voice recognition is the idea of the software code needed to allow it could be used on a game to improve the graphics, gameplay etc so maybe it is up to the console developer to produce a standard device and software that can be installed to the hard disk and then developers can make use of that.
Who knows? Soon we could have realistic fights where you roll around kicking, scratching and making too much effort in trying to hit your opponent and then opting for a good kick to the groin to finish them off.Or boxing games that really do prove you swing like a girl or have a glass jaw.
In terms of output I think maybe smells could also be used, there is a device which mixes chemicals to make smells common to most games like burning rubber for racing games or rotting flesh for games like resident evil or silent hill. I know this device was being developed last year but I am not sure if it is still planned to be released or if the idea has been scrapped.
Along with the decent peripherals being released there is also a lot of crazy and wacky peripherals that get released. So what is the craziest peripheral available to buy? Well I guess that is all down to personal preference. There have been fishing rods for the good old fishing games. I’m not a fan of fishing games (or fishing in general) but I would guess there isn’t that much excitement in the game but I would guess that it is better to fish in the real world and not in the game. There have also been controls for trains released for the good old train driving games. A while back my dad got loaned MS Train simulator from a friend, I seen no point to this game and it bored me straight away. Obviously games like these must appeal to some people and the peripheral is a dream come true for them as now they can interact the way it should be done.
Other peripherals like Skateboards, which can be used with skateboarding games and snowboarding games not only add to the feel of the game and allow you to interact better with them but they also can improve the game a lot too. So what other crazy peripherals can we expect to see in the future?
How about a pair of football boots and a ball and how hard and where you kick the ball determines how the character on the screen behaves in the football game. How about a steering wheel with a proper gear stick, accelerator, brake and clutch that behaves like the controls of a real life car. This is one peripheral I would like to see available and games to use it as it would make driving games that little bit more realistic. Although I do think that creating such a peripheral would be extremely difficult.
One of the big problems with peripherals is the cost. There is no point in making them if the cost to make them is so high that the selling price is also very high. Sure if the final product is good some will buy it but maybe not enough to make a decent profit or even to operate without making a loss. It is the cost that could see a lot of great ideas not being turned into reality as it just wouldn’t be a good business approach to release something without knowing it is going to do well.
So what’s is your favourite peripheral? What do you think is the craziest peripheral you have ever seen? Out of a matter of interest what is your personal favourite control pad of all time?
Also If you were designing a peripheral for he future what would it be and how would it be used?
The most popular peripheral of all time is without a shadow of doubt the control pad. Since the earliest consoles this has always been the preferred way of interacting with most games. The console has evolved a lot of the past 20 years and the controller has too. They are now very comfortable to control and have far more buttons than they originally did. With the extra buttons it means that games can allow more input and interaction from the gamer making them more fun to play as the range of things the character can do has been improved. The first controller to really change things was the SNES, all of today’s controllers are similar to its design. The PS2 controller now offers feedback in the form of a vibration and has analogue controls. No doubt the GameCube and X-Box controls will have new technology in them improving the way that users can interact with games. Everyone has different taste when it comes to controllers but my favourite so far is the PS2 pad as it fits perfectly into my hands and there is no struggling to find the right buttons.
Next in the list is probably the light gun, for shooting games the only real way to play them is with a light gun. The G-con gun that was released on the PSX offered a very accurate and precise shot and the newer version is even better. The NES was the first console I ever played with a light gun and it was a lot of fun, the basic idea is still there but with the aide of technology the quality of the light gun has improved (as to have the games) to a higher level making the games even more fun to play. I remember the SNES gun it was more like a rocket launcher, it was still fun to play but I prefer the plain and simple hand gun for most games. I would like a sniper rifle style peripheral for silent scope but I feel the cost for such a peripheral may be a little too much.
Ok now lets get on to the future ones.
By far the best idea for a peripheral I have seen has to be the one that Sony are working on, it shows butterflies being attracted to coloured spheres, one sphere attracts them and a different coloured one repels them. The basic idea in this could see star wars light sabre games in the future using a light sabre peripheral. For any star wars fan out there this is probably a dream come true (if it happens) as they finally get the chance to fight properly with a light sabre in a game and if the game can recreate the magic of the early films then it is definitely one to get. This idea could be used for lots of things in various ways, sword fighting games, it could be used in boxing games with sensors in gloves that detect where you are swinging your punch.
Which leads me on to the next one. I noticed in the latest Special Reserve magazine a peripheral for fighting games. It was a mat with two poles that seemed to be for kicking or something similar. So what can we expect in the future for peripherals similar to this. How about a peripheral where you stand in the centre and when you kick or punch sensors pick up your movements and your character recreates them within the game. For those who have played Police 911 in the arcade where you actually have to dodge to make your character avoid bullets then the idea would be slightly similar to this. It could be used in boxing games, fighting games and maybe even sports games.
What about the ultimate peripheral ever? What would it be? How about a helmet that you put on your head that actually reads your thoughts and plays the game according to your commands. Could such a thing ever be possible? I’m not sure if this could and would be the ultimate peripheral as it could take a lot of the fun out of the game as you wouldn’t really feel like you are interacting with the game as best as you can. If your opponent is beating you it could send a sharp shock to their control pad causing them to drop it allowing you to once again take the lead. But what would happen if you got side tracked from the game and thought of something else? Picture the situation…… “Look there your next door neighbour is sunbathing naked” after taking a peek you are no longer concentrating on the game, you then look back at the screen. “What is Snake doing to that guard??????” :-)
I think that in the future the control pad will still be the preferred input for most games, the control pad will have improved with time and get better and better. But I do see a slight problem in that there are only so many buttons that can be used as we as humans can only use so many at one time, this means that the way we control games depends on the number of controls we can use, so maybe games will only advance as far as the standard of the input peripherals that we use for controlling the game. In saying that we could see combinations of peripherals, like a control pad which uses a microphone, motion sensors etc to increase what we can do to provide more input for the game. Old favourites like the light gun and steering wheels will also still be around and also improve with time. I am sure there will also be a lot more new peripherals released, some will be hugely successful and some will be about as much use as a chocolate fire guard.
I think as time goes on we will see better peripherals for input and output, I think we will see motion sensors and voice used more as input to provide a better gaming experience.
Voice
The idea of this is very simple using your voice as an input to control the game in some way. In my opinion it does have a lot of potential to be used along side another means of input such as a control pad but I don't think that it could be used on its own and I don't think it would be as much fun on its own.
I think that first person shooters and RPG's could benefit the most, and if computer A.I reaches the standard where you could have a fully inteligent conversation with the computer or console game then maybe we could see games where you have to ask the questions and comunicate to find out the required information to progress, such a thing may be a while away but could make gaming a lot better.
Imagine playing a first person shooter and controlling your allied troops using your voice, giving commands like "Move out" and "retreat" or telling them what targets to hit or to provide back up.
I know this is starting to take off a little in Japan, a football game over there used this technology for commands such as pass and shoot, although I would imagine this would be quite mad when 2 players are playing both shouting different commands, maybe individual head sets are needed. :)
I do see some problems with this technology though, even the PC voice recognition isn't that great at the moment, it will get better but could a game cope with all the extra coding needed or maybe it would have to be loaded sepearately onto the hard disk? Also how will it cope with different dialects as my Scottish accent is a lot different to a Liverpudlian or Geordie, Irish or Welsh accent. Maybe the software will analyse the way you say certain letters and combination of letters to set it up the first time and save your data allowing others to use the software on your console.
Body Motion
Again the concept is quite simple, you move and the console using some peripheral devices such as cameras or motion sensors detects your movement and uses it as part of the input. Probably the best example is the Police 24/7 arcade and soon to be PS2 game. It is a first person shooter where you have to physically move to avoid bullets, a camera detects your movement and makes the on screen character perform the same actions.
Again this is something a bit different that depends on technology and also on cost as the cost has to be suitable to make it appeal to the mass number of gamers worldwide.
I think the potential is with the first person shooters and maybe with fighting games like Tekken or even boxing games. I think there is a market out there for this sort of input and the above mentioned genres really could be improved using ti in my view, I guess it all depends on what developers want to use and include in their games.
Similar to the voice recognition is the idea of the software code needed to allow it could be used on a game to improve the graphics, gameplay etc so maybe it is up to the console developer to produce a standard device and software that can be installed to the hard disk and then developers can make use of that.
Who knows? Soon we could have realistic fights where you roll around kicking, scratching and making too much effort in trying to hit your opponent and then opting for a good kick to the groin to finish them off.Or boxing games that really do prove you swing like a girl or have a glass jaw.
In terms of output I think maybe smells could also be used, there is a device which mixes chemicals to make smells common to most games like burning rubber for racing games or rotting flesh for games like resident evil or silent hill. I know this device was being developed last year but I am not sure if it is still planned to be released or if the idea has been scrapped.
Along with the decent peripherals being released there is also a lot of crazy and wacky peripherals that get released. So what is the craziest peripheral available to buy? Well I guess that is all down to personal preference. There have been fishing rods for the good old fishing games. I’m not a fan of fishing games (or fishing in general) but I would guess there isn’t that much excitement in the game but I would guess that it is better to fish in the real world and not in the game. There have also been controls for trains released for the good old train driving games. A while back my dad got loaned MS Train simulator from a friend, I seen no point to this game and it bored me straight away. Obviously games like these must appeal to some people and the peripheral is a dream come true for them as now they can interact the way it should be done.
Other peripherals like Skateboards, which can be used with skateboarding games and snowboarding games not only add to the feel of the game and allow you to interact better with them but they also can improve the game a lot too. So what other crazy peripherals can we expect to see in the future?
How about a pair of football boots and a ball and how hard and where you kick the ball determines how the character on the screen behaves in the football game. How about a steering wheel with a proper gear stick, accelerator, brake and clutch that behaves like the controls of a real life car. This is one peripheral I would like to see available and games to use it as it would make driving games that little bit more realistic. Although I do think that creating such a peripheral would be extremely difficult.
One of the big problems with peripherals is the cost. There is no point in making them if the cost to make them is so high that the selling price is also very high. Sure if the final product is good some will buy it but maybe not enough to make a decent profit or even to operate without making a loss. It is the cost that could see a lot of great ideas not being turned into reality as it just wouldn’t be a good business approach to release something without knowing it is going to do well.
So what’s is your favourite peripheral? What do you think is the craziest peripheral you have ever seen? Out of a matter of interest what is your personal favourite control pad of all time?
Also If you were designing a peripheral for he future what would it be and how would it be used?