Geekery

Gaming for the Future

Posted on 08. Jul, 2009 by Jake in Gadgets

We all love the Wii, even people who don’t normally think of themselves as gamers. Come to think of it – especially non-gamers. The no frills graphics focus on playability (think how addictive and fun old-school NES games still are) rather than visual effect, and handling the remote is not unlike playing a lot of ‘real-world’ games in a way that non-traditional console users (read: old people) are comfortable with.

And that’s great. I think it’s forcing manufacturers to refocus on game play. Look at Guitar Hero: it doesn’t seem like it could possibly be fun until you play it.   

Microsoft’s Project Natal might be the full-body detector we’ve been waiting for. As anyone who thinks leaning to the right helps cornering your  virtual Carrera will know, immersing your entire body into the action feels natural and intuitive.

The technology is still relatively basic, but for now the applications for sports and racing games are clear. And the equipment is apparently more user-friendly than previous systems of this type.

For the serious gamer, though, motion-sensitive controllers add an extra dimension to the experience, but they aren’t going to be enough to sell a game on their own.

But with the big companies getting competitive about the technology, it will only be a matter of time before the software and the consoles becomes sophisticated enough themselves and more captivatingly integrated. 

Sony’s planned PS3 controller looks promising. The idea is to allow the user to operate in a more convincing 3d space. Used together with the Sony EyeToy, gamers will be able to use a whole range of inputs to communicate with their console.

Nintendo are also upgrading their machine. Check out this demo for the new Wii Motion Plus:

Exciting as these developments are, I think they demonstrate something interesting. I hadn’t really thought before about how powerful those few buttons on a console are. Just as Morse code makes it possible to write an infinite number of words with only two symbols, a few buttons on an old fashioned console allow gameplay of an almost endless richness. Just by pressing plastic dots, you can cross into the penalty area, evade and kill terrorists and win at Silverstone. Sometimes less really is more.

Tags: games, motion sensitive controller, sony, Wii