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Cast you mind back to the early days. The days when Space Invaders was the thing everyone was talking about. Now have another think. What were you or other Space Invader enthusiasts using to control the little space ship around the screen? I expect most of you have a vision in your mind now of a little box with a stick and a single button on the top of it. Quite a simple little device wasn’t it? But just supposing this little box not only had one button, but two! Think of the possibilities. Not only would the gamer not be limited to single missiles anymore but also a whole new option could have been deployed! The gamer could of had the choice to fire cluster bombs, lasers, and all sorts of devastating devices as well as the boring old single shot missile. The game play would have been broadened hence the game would have been a lot more fun to play. All because of an additional button. Some may argue that the programmers wanted the game how it was, but surely if there was a simple way to make it better then they would have took it in their stride to achieve this.
Nowadays if you look at the original Pong and then have a look at Atari’s recent attempt on the PSOne, then it is clear to see which is better (The recent one of course!). Not only is this to do with better graphics capabilities, but also the choice to add more options when it comes to control. The Playstation controller allowed new additions to the play such as the choice to deploy special moves with a tap R1 and also the chance to change the speed of the bats thanks to the analogue control.
It’s not just past controllers that can be improved on. Take the new Playstation 2 Dual Shock 2 controller. Imagine now that your playing Tekken Tag with it. Now just supposing there was an extra button placed right in the center of all the other fire buttons (Triangle, Circle, X, and Square). Lets for now call this extra button the ‘Zigzag’ button (purely made up). Now go back to playing Tekken Tag. Imagine you’re a bit of a master, you’ve beat the game, learnt the moves ect. Supposing though Sony released their new controller with the extra ‘Zigzag’ button and to coincide Namco released a new version of their popular Tekken series. Being a fan of the game, you are very excited about this prospect. The thing that gets you even more excited is the whole new set of fighting moves promised. And thanks to Sony’s new revolutionary controller this now means that there are over a hundred more move combos just because of that one extra button! This would mean the game would take a lot longer to master, there would be more moves to discover, and on the whole the game is better for it. Now a whole lot more can be added to every game. MGS 3 could now have the option to make your character jump, FIFA 2003 could have a punch button to make things more interesting, and V-Rally 4 could have brilliant rain affects obscuring the wind screen which you could clear with your new wind screen wiper activator button! And none of these options would have to sacrifice any other buttons meaning you can still have all your usual commands as well as some nice extras!
Ok I understand this is all fiction, but that kind of change has been shown in the past. Remember when Playstation was first released. All we had to hold was a small gray device with all the simple command buttons. Then as games got more advance Sony had to try and improve their controller. Such improvements like the analogue sticks meant better movement and overall more control for the player. Now instead of just pressing the D-Pad and making a car swerve off to the side more than you wanted, the analogue sticks meant the player could control the exact angle that your car turned, making for a more precise and enjoyable experience. And not just driving games benefited. Platform, sports, and even puzzle games improved in one way or another and this was in some ways just down to better controller design. Since then improvements to the controllers we all know have include rumble features, now used on most controller devices, and also analogue buttons, and hopefully in the future further improvements will make our gaming even better.
Sometimes however the simple controller just isn’t enough for playing some games. When Die Hard Trilogy was released on the Playstation and Sega Saturn consoles neither controller was adapted very well for the shooting levels. So straight from the Arcades came the Light gun. This revolutionary device allowed the player to shoot on screen objects just by pointing the gun at the T.V. screen and pressing a trigger. Many people where impressed, and light gun games became very popular among consoles owners. The Time Crisis series is a great example of this.
Another fine device, the steering wheel, also came from the arcades. Sega Rally was really the game that influenced peripheral makers such as Blaze and Mad Catz to bring the steering wheel into the console market. At first very simple designs were created but over the time, evolution in the steering wheel has seen great improvements, like the excellent Gran Turismo Force Feedback steering wheel. No one can deny this greatly improves the game play of the already brilliant GT3 and really gives the player the feel of driving a real car.
Just recently the gaming market has see a whole load of wacky interactive controllers. It’s pretty hard to walk into an Arcade today without seeing some sort of giant interactive device that sees the gamer jumping around like a nutter as though they were really in the game. It’s how games are evolving, and when you look at it it’s all down to the controllers. And pretty soon you could be experience this in your own home. Already we’ve seen dance mats, cameras that can track your movement, and even now an interactive football mat! Gaming really is becoming more advanced, not only in what we see, but how we control it. Sony’s new I-Toy looks like it’s going to be another barrier breaker. It’s a revolutionary device that basically tracks a ball that you can hold in your hand and effects what is on screen when the ball moves. This will be great for sword fighting games or even games that require you to throw a ball around i.e. baseball. Things really are getting better. Soon we could even own our very own interactive arena where we can do all sorts of activities that affect what happens on screen.
Of course all this is in the future. So for now I want you all to go over to your console (or PC) and stare at the controller. And then think to yourself, ‘If it wasn’t for this little device I wouldn’t have been able to do all the gaming delights I enjoy. I wouldn’t be able to win world cups, or fight against gorgeous women. I would lose all control’. Because my friends, it may not be big, fancy, or hi tech, but it sure does offer you a door into a living fantasy. It has been created so anything is possible from playing football to shooting zombies. It is the ultimate weapon, and no matter how much people may criticize it, they can’t deny it’s a stroke of pure genius.
Thanks for reading.
Please reply on,
How you think controller design effects game play,
What sort of controllers you enjoy,
What you think we will see in the future,
And any other things you wish to discuss on the matter of controllers.
Thanks,
Nath
Nowadays if you look at the original Pong and then have a look at Atari’s recent attempt on the PSOne, then it is clear to see which is better (The recent one of course!). Not only is this to do with better graphics capabilities, but also the choice to add more options when it comes to control. The Playstation controller allowed new additions to the play such as the choice to deploy special moves with a tap R1 and also the chance to change the speed of the bats thanks to the analogue control.
It’s not just past controllers that can be improved on. Take the new Playstation 2 Dual Shock 2 controller. Imagine now that your playing Tekken Tag with it. Now just supposing there was an extra button placed right in the center of all the other fire buttons (Triangle, Circle, X, and Square). Lets for now call this extra button the ‘Zigzag’ button (purely made up). Now go back to playing Tekken Tag. Imagine you’re a bit of a master, you’ve beat the game, learnt the moves ect. Supposing though Sony released their new controller with the extra ‘Zigzag’ button and to coincide Namco released a new version of their popular Tekken series. Being a fan of the game, you are very excited about this prospect. The thing that gets you even more excited is the whole new set of fighting moves promised. And thanks to Sony’s new revolutionary controller this now means that there are over a hundred more move combos just because of that one extra button! This would mean the game would take a lot longer to master, there would be more moves to discover, and on the whole the game is better for it. Now a whole lot more can be added to every game. MGS 3 could now have the option to make your character jump, FIFA 2003 could have a punch button to make things more interesting, and V-Rally 4 could have brilliant rain affects obscuring the wind screen which you could clear with your new wind screen wiper activator button! And none of these options would have to sacrifice any other buttons meaning you can still have all your usual commands as well as some nice extras!
Ok I understand this is all fiction, but that kind of change has been shown in the past. Remember when Playstation was first released. All we had to hold was a small gray device with all the simple command buttons. Then as games got more advance Sony had to try and improve their controller. Such improvements like the analogue sticks meant better movement and overall more control for the player. Now instead of just pressing the D-Pad and making a car swerve off to the side more than you wanted, the analogue sticks meant the player could control the exact angle that your car turned, making for a more precise and enjoyable experience. And not just driving games benefited. Platform, sports, and even puzzle games improved in one way or another and this was in some ways just down to better controller design. Since then improvements to the controllers we all know have include rumble features, now used on most controller devices, and also analogue buttons, and hopefully in the future further improvements will make our gaming even better.
Sometimes however the simple controller just isn’t enough for playing some games. When Die Hard Trilogy was released on the Playstation and Sega Saturn consoles neither controller was adapted very well for the shooting levels. So straight from the Arcades came the Light gun. This revolutionary device allowed the player to shoot on screen objects just by pointing the gun at the T.V. screen and pressing a trigger. Many people where impressed, and light gun games became very popular among consoles owners. The Time Crisis series is a great example of this.
Another fine device, the steering wheel, also came from the arcades. Sega Rally was really the game that influenced peripheral makers such as Blaze and Mad Catz to bring the steering wheel into the console market. At first very simple designs were created but over the time, evolution in the steering wheel has seen great improvements, like the excellent Gran Turismo Force Feedback steering wheel. No one can deny this greatly improves the game play of the already brilliant GT3 and really gives the player the feel of driving a real car.
Just recently the gaming market has see a whole load of wacky interactive controllers. It’s pretty hard to walk into an Arcade today without seeing some sort of giant interactive device that sees the gamer jumping around like a nutter as though they were really in the game. It’s how games are evolving, and when you look at it it’s all down to the controllers. And pretty soon you could be experience this in your own home. Already we’ve seen dance mats, cameras that can track your movement, and even now an interactive football mat! Gaming really is becoming more advanced, not only in what we see, but how we control it. Sony’s new I-Toy looks like it’s going to be another barrier breaker. It’s a revolutionary device that basically tracks a ball that you can hold in your hand and effects what is on screen when the ball moves. This will be great for sword fighting games or even games that require you to throw a ball around i.e. baseball. Things really are getting better. Soon we could even own our very own interactive arena where we can do all sorts of activities that affect what happens on screen.
Of course all this is in the future. So for now I want you all to go over to your console (or PC) and stare at the controller. And then think to yourself, ‘If it wasn’t for this little device I wouldn’t have been able to do all the gaming delights I enjoy. I wouldn’t be able to win world cups, or fight against gorgeous women. I would lose all control’. Because my friends, it may not be big, fancy, or hi tech, but it sure does offer you a door into a living fantasy. It has been created so anything is possible from playing football to shooting zombies. It is the ultimate weapon, and no matter how much people may criticize it, they can’t deny it’s a stroke of pure genius.
Thanks for reading.
Please reply on,
How you think controller design effects game play,
What sort of controllers you enjoy,
What you think we will see in the future,
And any other things you wish to discuss on the matter of controllers.
Thanks,
Nath
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Precisely therefore it is more downto the controllers limitations rather than the producer.
Yeah, exactly, which would be a good thing for some games, adds more variety and could make the games even easier to play, so you know longer have to press two buttons to walk on tomb raider for example.
Yer but like i sed about the zig zag button....if a new button was added...then even more moves could be iniciated.
Yes but some games just need to have lots of buttons to plainly work and play. Take Tomb Raider for example, would this game be as easy to control and play through if there were less buttons on the pad? It would be near impossible to try and go back now.
Yet, this game is fairly simple to play even with many different commands on the pad.
Goes back to my point about its down to the developer.
Yet, this game is fairly simple to play even with many different commands on the pad.
Goes back to my point about its down to the developer.
Which goes back to my point...the best controllers are simple but also give the games maker enough scope. If a games maker wants to make a complex game with few controls then they can because controllers are so cleverly designed that they are simple to use but allow the producer to make all sorts of complicated controls. Take gitaroo man...it only used a few buttons but loads of commands thanks to the pressure sensitive buttons. Different commands were achieved by different pressures. The game was complex.....but it all worked using a simple controller.
Pro Evo wrote:
>
> In the end though, its just how the gaming world has changed, older
> people are now into gaming, and they need challanges, which simple
> games dont have for them all that much. So there is a need for more
> demanding stuff.
But in my opinion, you can gave demanding games and simple controls - just look at Ocarina of Time. Arguably the greatest game ever made, the majority of games are based around one button. When I said simple games I didn't mean a modern day version of Pong, as games can be complex and have simple controls. To me, it reflects the skill of the developer.
>
> In the end though, its just how the gaming world has changed, older
> people are now into gaming, and they need challanges, which simple
> games dont have for them all that much. So there is a need for more
> demanding stuff.
But in my opinion, you can gave demanding games and simple controls - just look at Ocarina of Time. Arguably the greatest game ever made, the majority of games are based around one button. When I said simple games I didn't mean a modern day version of Pong, as games can be complex and have simple controls. To me, it reflects the skill of the developer.
yer i think designs that are simple but also have enough buttons for the producer to play with are the best sort.....and all the time cosole makers are trying to improve to make developers have more scope when making controls
Yeah, of course, simple pads have there advantages too, you can just pick them up and play due to there limitations. Also, there a perfect place to start playing if your young. Think about it, are you going to get more enjoyment out of the Nes games or PS2 games with all the buttons.
In the end though, its just how the gaming world has changed, older people are now into gaming, and they need challanges, which simple games dont have for them all that much. So there is a need for more demanding stuff.
In the end though, its just how the gaming world has changed, older people are now into gaming, and they need challanges, which simple games dont have for them all that much. So there is a need for more demanding stuff.
Na†ßu© wrote:
> Indeed matthen..thanks....and Pro Evo...i agrre the FPS on a PC is
> easy.....and it goes with quite alot of games.....ie gun games are
> useless without a gun even though u can use a controller...and driving
> games are easily better with a wheel....but even still...i think we
> should praise all simple controllers for being somethink everone will
> use no matter wat game they are playing. Evn if some are easier than
> others.
What i meant to say was......I think we should praise simple controllers for being something every CAN use no matter wat game they are playing.....the design some how manages to work for all games.....this is partly to do with games makers configuring their games to work this way...and thats probably why some FPS are useless on PS2........but if u look at Deus Ex....that works better on PS2 as the developer took time to look at the controller and work out how to make the controls a good standard....
there thats better i think
> Indeed matthen..thanks....and Pro Evo...i agrre the FPS on a PC is
> easy.....and it goes with quite alot of games.....ie gun games are
> useless without a gun even though u can use a controller...and driving
> games are easily better with a wheel....but even still...i think we
> should praise all simple controllers for being somethink everone will
> use no matter wat game they are playing. Evn if some are easier than
> others.
What i meant to say was......I think we should praise simple controllers for being something every CAN use no matter wat game they are playing.....the design some how manages to work for all games.....this is partly to do with games makers configuring their games to work this way...and thats probably why some FPS are useless on PS2........but if u look at Deus Ex....that works better on PS2 as the developer took time to look at the controller and work out how to make the controls a good standard....
there thats better i think
Indeed matthen..thanks....and Pro Evo...i agrre the FPS on a PC is easy.....and it goes with quite alot of games.....ie gun games are useless without a gun even though u can use a controller...and driving games are easily better with a wheel....but even still...i think we should praise all simple controllers for being somethink everone will use no matter wat game they are playing. Evn if some are easier than others.
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