How we interface with games has changed a lot over the past
few years and is continuing to change in exciting ways. As the seventh
generation consoles are being weeded out and the eighth generation begins
forcing on us many new-fangled gimmicks, how much of their innovations do we
need? How beneficial are they?
The PS4’s Dualshock 4 controller continues with the trend of
utilising motion controls, but adds a touchpad to add in new ways of
interaction. This of course isn’t a new thing in the industry but the design of
it is quite unobtrusive, something that is more important than you’d think-
just look at the Wii U.
The Wii U is currently not doing as well as Nintendo
would’ve hoped. The original Wii was a huge success with its motion controls
appealing to many different kinds of people, and not only gamers. The new entry
uses the same controllers with the addition of a large tablet controller with a
huge touch screen. The ability to play games solely on this screen is very
interesting, and it really does add a lot to interaction in party games.
However, this controller takes up a lot of space and doesn’t look massively
appealing either- I know my main reason for not wanting a Wii U was having to
put up with that controller.
Then there’s the Xbox One and the infamous Kinect. Making it
mandatory was certainly an unnecessary move, but fortunately it isn’t being too
much of a deterrent. The technology of course is not new, but it has been much
improved from the previous generation, with the voice controls being far more
accurate. It’s not perfect but there’s still room for the technology to
advance. For actual gaming though there’s very little need for voice controls.
I’ve played PC games before that used them and opted out in favour of regular
button pressing.
PC gaming is much the same as it’s always been, many people
opt to use controllers (generally the Xbox 360 gamepad is the most popular) but
the keyboard and mouse setup always has its benefits. There is little change
other than maybe the increasing popularity of mechanical keyboards for
accuracy’s sake.
But now we get to the fun stuff- the future stuff. Namely
the Oculus Rift. Recently bought up by Facebook in a move that’s not pleased
many fans and investors, the second version of the Oculus’ development kit has
just recently been announced. DK2 has a higher resolution of 960x1080 for each
eye and lower persistency to combat motion blur. On top of that the head
tracking has been improved and the control box removed. Sony is also developing
its own VR headset titled Morpheus, but whether the industry has room for
multiple competitors in this particular market only time will tell.
As additional peripherals start being developed for this new
technology, such as multi-directional treadmills for walking and motion sensors
to remove the need for a gamepad, it’s exciting to see how immersive the
technology can become. That’s what it comes down to really- a good method of
control should keep you immersed in the game, and I’d say it doesn’t get more
immersive than this. There have been so many failed attempts at virtual reality
in the past; it’s about time we got it right.
Other References- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dhfLBTPcG6U
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