The controller, whether it be the joystick or the high tech wizardry of the wii mote, is an essential piece of equipment for any gamer, lets face it games would be a lot less interesting if you couldn't move.
the early controllers were essentially a stick on a box, i am of course referring to the humble joystick. it was the joystick which provided the interaction in my early gamer days on my Atari ST. Though not always the most reliable, functional or practical pieces of equipment, it sure did come into its own on those early flight Sims.
Nintendo NES brought with the "pad" and consoles have never looked back. The now standard D-pad soon became the control method of choice for most manufacturers. of the early pads i used i seem to remember preferring the SNES pad to its Sega rival. i always thought the megadrive pad, a little too bulky. On the subject of these particular consoles, though they may not have the sleek design of some of today's machines but I personally like them for their pure ease of use, and how robust and heavy duty they were along with the cartridges. No need to worry about a scratch on the disk in them days.
The introduction of the analog stick on the N64 again stuck as another standard feature. I think put to best use on the PlayStation controllers. Particularly the PlayStation 2, dual shock 2 which now i think about it has probably been one of the best.
having fairly recently purchased an Xbox 360 i may be slightly behind the game but i am enjoying the whole wireless remote experience. it is such a huge relief not to be constrained by that pesky wire. having never owned an xbox i have also got the used to the controller fairly quickly which is testament to it really.
Of all the consoles though, purely on looks alone the PS3 does slightly edge it over the 360, though it is a close run thing. i do like the taper of the 360 but the PS3 is so sleek it looks like it could fly.
Then there is of course the Wii and the now infamous Wii mote. I have not used said equipment but it has been a huge success and with it being such a success it has possibly opened the door for more obscure and innovative ways to interact with games in the future. Has it spelled the end for the game pad? i think its success may have, as history has taught us that after one company (Nintendo) has done it, all the other companies follow.
Tuesday, 11 December 2007
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Week 8! The never ending story.
I don't necessarily think a story makes for a better game, but I do think a story certainly makes for a more immersive experience and offers a different type of enjoyment than say a player driven game in the model of the Sims.
A good story will hopefully captivate the player and make them want to keep playing, and i know from experience i have lost entire days trying to delve deeper into a good storyline. I think this is a key difference it gives the player a sense of involvement. How the story is played out is in most cases pre determined by the programmers or creators of the game and the player will travel a series of paths which will ultimately lead to the same end or in some cases a selection of endings again pre determined but i don't believe this limits the story in any way i think the whole point of a good story is to offer some form of structure and plot.
So as a player there is the element of the story guiding but unlike movies playing a game is an interactive experience so their will inevitably be things a player can do or attempt to do which may not always be plot relative. so with that said the story Will guide but the player does have some element of control as to how and when.
Not all games have a predetermined story line. I started to think about guitar hero and singstar as having no story but I guess there is an arguement it is a story of the progression from amatuer to rock god or pop legend. With games like the sims I suppose the storyline is fairly open ended but the characters will follow a very broad script of birth, work, marrige, and death which in a sense offers some form of narrative. I would say that in games where the story may not be a great deal of plot or the story may not be obvious a player will impose their own story.
So I suppose story does exist in most games if you look hard enough. Not always obvious, not always good stories for that matter but I think that a story is a fundemental feature in a game as thats what we as a speices seem enjoy whether it be music, movies or the humble computer game.
A good story will hopefully captivate the player and make them want to keep playing, and i know from experience i have lost entire days trying to delve deeper into a good storyline. I think this is a key difference it gives the player a sense of involvement. How the story is played out is in most cases pre determined by the programmers or creators of the game and the player will travel a series of paths which will ultimately lead to the same end or in some cases a selection of endings again pre determined but i don't believe this limits the story in any way i think the whole point of a good story is to offer some form of structure and plot.
So as a player there is the element of the story guiding but unlike movies playing a game is an interactive experience so their will inevitably be things a player can do or attempt to do which may not always be plot relative. so with that said the story Will guide but the player does have some element of control as to how and when.
Not all games have a predetermined story line. I started to think about guitar hero and singstar as having no story but I guess there is an arguement it is a story of the progression from amatuer to rock god or pop legend. With games like the sims I suppose the storyline is fairly open ended but the characters will follow a very broad script of birth, work, marrige, and death which in a sense offers some form of narrative. I would say that in games where the story may not be a great deal of plot or the story may not be obvious a player will impose their own story.
So I suppose story does exist in most games if you look hard enough. Not always obvious, not always good stories for that matter but I think that a story is a fundemental feature in a game as thats what we as a speices seem enjoy whether it be music, movies or the humble computer game.