Game Development Reference
In-Depth Information
Now, although games use these types of devices, there are other
methods besides controllers to interact with and provide information
to players. Chief among these methods is the use of sound ef ects and
music to provide emotional and informational context and cues within
a game's various levels. Games almost universally use audio, which is
provided by internal devices, such as sound cards or chips embedded
in circuit boards, and external sound-reproduction devices, such as
speakers and headphones.
Input devices are radically changing as well. Although innovative controllers
have existed for video games, in the past they did not often achieve
popularity enough to serve as a good reason for owning a game console.
This changed in 2006 with the release of the Nintendo Wii, a radical
new controller featuring a sophisticated infrared camera, plus an array
of motion detectors and accelerometers all housed in a special remote.
At last, you could play virtual tennis or golf and use considerably more
realistic actions while doing so, as well as have great lightsaber battles!
As amazing, original and successful as this innovation was, it was
followed less than 5 years later by an even larger concept (metaphorically
and literally)—that of using the player themselves as a controller. This is
what the Kinect from Microsoft does, by using a few cameras and other
sensors to detect the positions of the player. The Kinect has been a real
boon to physically active games like
Dance Dance Revolution
or sports
like snow or skate boarding. Now you can jump over chasms, clamber up
walls, open doors. The future has indeed arrived . . .
Companies are investing in the research and development of all types of
input devices to facilitate user interaction with video game environments.
Inventors are using sites like Kickstarter to create these. One such device
is the Oculus Rift, a pair of goggles with two LCD screens that the player
wears, immersing themselves in the game environment. This device can
also do head tracking, so when the player turns their head the view in the
game also changes. At the cutting edge of technology, some researchers
are exploring the use of human eye movement (also called gaze tracking),
and recently biofeedback of dif erent kinds.
One such development is the advent of brain controlled interfaces such
as the Emotive controller and the Neurosky. The Emotive is an interface
that has numerous contacts that each monitor the level of electrical
activity in that part of the brain, and these can be used to control aspects
of a game or other interactive setup.
Composer Richard Warp has recently managed to develop a system to
connect the Emotive headset to a Yamaha Disklavier, a modern, MIDI
controlled version of a player piano, in order to generate acoustic music
controlled directly by the brain. Look Ma, no hands!
