Entry Level 4 - Hang on... Where's My Controller Gone?

Howdy everyone.

Yes, yes another late post. You must forgive me, I had given in to the call of several pints of Happy Santa, very tasty ale. If you can get it, drink it.

The congruity and immersion in a game is, and always will be, vital to the success of delivery and execution. Up until the Nintendo Wii, we were thumbing joysticks, smashing buttons and pulling triggers. Either by themselves, or combined, they allowed us to walk, run, jump, shoot, examine, talk, laugh, chase, hide, pass, swing, slice; basically if it had been done for real, it was done in game. I believe that no one had an issue here really, but as with techonolgy, the future was always careering closer and closer, meaning something needed to develop and change.

What is interesting, is that there have been multiple attempts at disbanding of the standard controller. The Novint Falcon struck me as an impressive Mouse replacement, as it allowed for a fully interactive 3D experience. The best example of how it works is in this video.

Personally, I do find this to be rather fascinating. Although the video only shows example of a 3D modelling environment, it has already been made compatible with FPS games on the PC, offering force feedback in firing weapons, and reflexes on being hit etc. I am confident it has sold well, however, something like this to me should be doing far better than it is.

The second example, and might I say a rather unorthodox one, is the NIA Game Controller. Funnily, this reminds me of crazy visions of the future that are depicted in TV and film. When I put it in that context, it makes perfect sense. In reality, I hope never to sit in a room with the guys that put this together for a mind-mapping session. Take a look.

I do not know how best to put this... so I will not. Your comment may be as good, if not, better than mine.

Safe to say, the most popular periphals have been the motion controllers. Now, I am going to go out on a whim here, lay my cards on the table and probably shoot myself in the foot a little. I am a big fan of Sony. My Mp3/4 player is Sony, my Playstation 3... yeah, my phone is Sony, if it were up to me, both my TVs would be Sony. I did have an Xbox 360 before my Playstation, however I had a rather sour experience that left me feeling extremely bitter. An experience that when it came to Sony, I was comforted in very little time. Why am I telling you this? 

Well, when it comes to motion controllers in the current generation, I am not even going to beat around the bush, the kinect is awesome. I must note a highlight for me was swapping turns with a friend who on standing up says "RIGHT! Let's do this!" to which the Xbox 360 recognised her voice and logged her in, bringing her avatar into the game all at once. I played Kinect Adventures and Dance Central twice, both times building up quite the sweat, but finding the interactivity so well implemented and executed, even when the game told me to take it easy, I showed it the ring on my middle finger and continued on with it. Unlike the Wii, I still want more, and with the voice recognition and full body motion sensor I myself see huge potential.

Sadly, and I really mean sadly, the Playstation: Move just does not seem to have caught up with Microsoft in this console race. It is, on a basic level, the Nintendo Wii in 1080p... if you have the TV, and with the Wii's new advanced Motion Sensor, reviews appear to show an inferior platform for arm-waving entertainment.

I started this blog talking about immersion and interactivity in games being vital, and I know they always will be. I am nervous that developers will walk into the Nintendo trap of creating a bunch of party games for people to play together, which is getting VERY tired. I see some spectular games in the adventure, horror and puzzle genres. Games that get your whole body involved, gets your mind working, your heart racing and really bring you inside the worlds we are presented with are literally round the corner, and that really excites me. I do not ever want to completely get rid of controllers though. Shooting and driving is shaky when I think about the Kinect, but hey you might have a good idea! Until then, I will say (and when my friends see this, they might choke on their food) I regret not having a 360. The PS3 will forever have a place in my heart, but we are genuinely being shown the future. Disagree? Have you seen my ring?

NEXT WEEK: "The Tale of the Story"

If you have anything you wish to share with me or indeed the readers, feel free to comment or e-mail me at twentyfiveand0@hotmail.co.uk - Don't forget to check out the What Have I Been Playing pages found on the right! OR Check out my channel at www.youtube.com/ike1luv