Elements of Game Technology Interactive Design

Elements of Game Technology

Interactive design

For the purpose of this blog I will be looking into the interactive design and ergonomics of the different forms and ways of playing games.

The design of video game playing equipment during the 80’s has vastly changed by today’s standards, long gone are the booths and sit down stations that used to litter the arcade halls of the past. During the decline of the of the arcade games industry there was an effort to improve the variety of the machines that were available to play on, systems such as the penalty shoot out system which had a football at the end of an elastic cord which the player had to strike at the screen and try to score goals, which was quite inventive. The old school ‘after burner’ game from the 80’s was also updated into a system where the player could completely rotate 360 degrees. There were plenty of other advances such as the multi link ‘Daytona’ and ‘Sega Rally Championship’, which were both successful.

Newer more modern advances saw the introduction of games such as ‘Time Crisis’ and the ‘House of the Dead’, which had a much better gun than earlier systems such as ‘Operation Wolf’ and ‘Rambo’. Also popular games such as ‘Guitar Hero’ and Dance Revolution’ have more recently helped the failing arcades of today. Interactive design over the past ten years has seen a dramatic change in the way that current consoles have approached the market. There has been an explosion in the use of wireless technology and even consoles themselves have become smaller and more compact. This sudden increase in technology is mainly down to the advances made by Nintendo and there ‘Wii’ console, it is currently the most successful and highest selling of the ‘big three’ and it’s not surprising why. The ‘Wii’ has reached every inch of the market, where others have failed, from children, boys and girls to teenagers and young adults. I even know of nursing homes that have the console there too!

Its interactive design where by the player has a more hands on, or off in some cases, role that is the main reason behind this. The wireless motion controller has been so successful that the ‘Wii’s’ rivals are now marketing similar versions of it, with Sony’s ‘Playstation Move’ and Microsoft’s ‘Xbox Kinect’.

The ‘Wii’s’ motion controllers has already had an effect on new game design with games being specifically design around the use of this and I’m sure it will continue on. The versatility of the motion controller has already seen it being used as a bat, a sword, a tennis racket and many more diverse items.

Technology has also seen a rise in ‘3D’, a design last popular during the mid to late 80’s, mostly on the big screen. Although it wasn’t a massive success and faded out in the early 90’s, it has made a more recent resurgence with TV’s coming 3D ready, sports games being shown in 3D and the latest films also being shown in 3D also. I personally don’t think it has made much progress, other than the new glasses that are now available. However I do think that it could have a place in the games industry, maybe it will be a stepping stone to fully immersing the gamer into the 3d game but with a 3d projection.

I would like to see some sort of technological advance in virtual reality as I think this will be the next big move for the games industry. You could argue that we already have virtual reality but developers have left behind the head sets of the past and now we just have virtual worlds to play in. it would be outstanding to be able to purchase equipment capable of fully immersing the player within it, especially with today’s graphics and sound. I believe that this would be a great tool not only for games but also for job training. Simulators are still used today in some professions such as pilots and astronauts but with the realism of today’s graphics and sound Virtual reality could become a much widely used tool.