Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
hands. You still use the same code to get button down and up messages. But think
for a moment about how your feet are different from your hands. They move slower,
for one thing
at least mine do. You have two feet moving on four buttons, which is
different than a handheld controller where only your right thumb can press those
four buttons. Tuning for timing is probably really different, too, especially since
there is a vast skill difference between people like my Mom and the kids in the
arcades who can move so fast you can
t even see their feet.
Input devices are physiological, and you can
'
'
t ever forget that when defining how
your game gets mouse movement events or thumbstick events. One is controlled
with the arm and wrist, the other the thumb. This one fact is a key issue when work-
ing with input devices.
Here
'
s my best example. Why do you think the WASD control scheme became so
popular in first-person shooters on the PC? I ' ll take an educated guess fine move-
ments like aiming, firing, and looking are mapped to the mouse, which are usually in
a player
s right hand. The movement keys, which are W, A, S, and D, are easily con-
trollable with the player
'
s left hand. The physical nature of the keyboard and the
mouse and the fact that most people are right-handed made this interface so popular.
One thing deserves mentioning more than any other
'
even though it is more geared
toward game design than the technology that makes games possible. Players interact
with your game through the hardware whether it is a plastic guitar, a touch screen,
or a Wii Remote. Designing your control systems can create an intense sense of
more than almost anything else. This is one of the reasons why Guitar
Hero, Rock Band, and Wii Sports were so incredibly popular. It is also one of the
reasons the iPhone was so revolutionary: It simplified the physical interaction
between human and machine, leaving nothing more than the experience of interact-
ing with the software. Think about this as you make your game and try to find that
perfect
being there
touch
that players will love.
 
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