Elements of game technology, part three: interaction design

With current technology becoming more and more sci-fi as the years, even months go by. Gaming is benefiting from new radical technologies that allow for near full player interaction. Games are becoming more and more believable with stunning visuals and high quality graphics, and use of actors for voice and motion capture. This teamed with interaction hardware such as the ‘Oculus Rift’ the virtual reality goggles, allowing the player to look around and explore a world in a fully functioning 3D experience, is becoming a more and more desirable commodity.

 The Nintendo Wii brought along the first motion controllers, which lead to a whole generation across a wide range of consoles. However for me personally, this wasn't the first form of motion controlling in games. The Eye Toy for the PS2 was a small webcam which allowed the player to play games and interaction with whatever was going on with the screen, also allowing extra’s like filming and special camera effects; those similar to the photo-booth on a mac computer. Many a day me and brother spent filming funny scenes and him fake punching me in the face, made all the more obvious with my slow reaction, shattering the illusion.

Game pads have matured over the years. With this came more intricate controls and player comfort. These can have a big impact on a console. For example, I had a friend that always played Playstation, never went near Xbox and never really wanted to. However the moment he held an Xbox controller, he said ‘it just felt right.’ It fit his hands perfectly which eased strain from intense gaming and allowed for more play-ability. The now seemingly primitive joystick, in its hay day, was a revolutionary gaming tool, again allowing for better control and boosting the popularity of arcade gaming. http://www.shortlist.com/tech/gaming/history-of-the-video-game-controller

As great as new fancier technology is, Indie games are highly popular as they tend to emulate a lot of the old classic gaming style. Simplistic gaming visuals and therefor simplistic controls as classic games allowed for minimum control by the player. This could be a sign of what a generation of gamers are yearning to have. New technologies come with fairly sizable price tags, and with indie games offering revamped nostalgia, for a much lesser price, we have a gaming community that in some ways could be divided. However these radical new controllers are creating a whole new outlook on game design. These controls are influencing the way games a being made. For example, sports games are growing in number, simply because you can perform the actual motions the sports require. These new ways are designed to make the player feel more immersed in the world of the game.

Super Meat Boy

However there are games that are relying on graphics and storytelling to drive their games. Games such as the multi-award winning The Walking Dead by Telltale Games and also The Wolf Among Us by the same creators. This is basically a point and click adventure that allows the player to make tough, seemingly game altering decisions. For me, this is the most immersive form of play, as you feel your actions have a definitive effect on the game and the outcome itself. You feel as if your moulding the morals and personality of the character as the game progresses.  

In today’s gaming world there are so many new ways of play, and a vast range of formats of which to experience them on. Like anything it’s down to a matter of choice and what people choose to play. I feel, no matter how advanced in technology we become, gaming nostalgia will still be there, and gamers of generations past will still choose the gaming they know over any technological advance that swings their way.