Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
of this (the term was coined in 2002 by Hugh Hancock, the founder of
Strange Company) and became a viable means of expression. There
are by now dozens of examples of quality material made from this
concept—from abstract i lms to talk shows i lmed and produced in game
space—all of which essentially derived randomly from, you could say, a
misuse of the game, that caught on.
The reason we're going on a long time about this is because the study of
emergent behavior is extremely important for understanding a game's
structure. Emergence is a common concept taught in game design and
artii cial intelligence (AI) classes. One well recommended topic on this
subject is author Penny Sweetser's
Emergence in Games
(Charles River Media).
Let's leave behind how games are designed for now, and move into discussing
how games work. How does the player interact with a game device?
“Make It So”—The Game Controller
To get interaction from a game platform, the player needs an input
device of some kind. The input device for console games is referred to as
a
game controller
. This controller varies across platforms. It might have
only a button and a joystick, or it might have many buttons and multiple
joysticks. In games on non-dedicated platforms (hardware that is not
designed specii cally for gaming), the controller might be a computer
keyboard, a mouse, or, on more recent touch devices, an onscreen
interface that the player manipulates with his or her i nger.
Game controllers can come in a wide variety of shapes and sizes. Clockwise from top left
:
Xbox
controller; Playstation controller; Nintendo Power Glove; Logitech Driving Force; Kinect for Xbox360;
Wii Remote and Nunchuck. Center
:
The classic Atari 2600 joystick.
Credit:
Jeremy Engel.
