DS Ideas To Maximize Dual-Screen Gameplay?

Thanks to IGN Pocket for its feature suggesting a range of game ideas to make the most of Nintendo DS' dual-screen touchpad features, since, as the introduction argues, the forthcoming DS "offers the most vast number of opportunities for unique game design types than any handheld or console in quite some time." The theoretical, not in-production suggestions include a Total Control Boxing title where "the touchpad of the Nintendo DS gives developers a lot more room to explore and move the controller in an analog space", a touch-screen based version of previously mentioned Ragdoll Kung Fu ("Like shiny shirts are the new black, physics is the new jumping"), and double-character platform gaming ("The large touchpad and double-screen system means that doubled playing fields could easily be the norm rather than an abnormality.") What gameplay ideas would you like to see the DS innovate with?

Comments

Re:How about...

[Txiasaeia]

I don't know - a Metroid game where the map showed up on one of the screens while I manoevered on the other is pretty cool. Mind you, it doesn't take a lot of skill to press the "start" button, but still. I think that Nintendo should be focusing on innovation and new ideas instead of bigger & better (like Sony).

I don't know how well a touchpad will go over with

[foidulus]

gamers. I have a touchscreen on my Zaurus pda, and it's accurate enough for what I do with it, but I would not want to play an intense action game and have the touchpad mess me up. People already blame functional controllers for losing in video games...

Q3

[NanoGator]

Well it has 802.11, a touch screen, and can do 3D graphics. I'd settle for this:

- Make a cool multiplayer game. Mario Kart or Quake or something.

- Make it easy for servers to be set up like Quake is today. Don't make me pay $$$ per month just to play on line.

- Use the touch screen as an on-screen keyboard so I can choose servers, chat, and/or touch an icon depicting the weapon I wanna use.

Neat new interfaces is cool and all, but if they can get this going I'll be playing on-line from my recliner. I think that'd be awesome!

Lemmings-esque

[NanoGator]

I don't know if many of you have seen it or not, but somewhere there is a Windows app that places a small cat on your desktop. If you click and drag on it, you pick up the cat by the scruff. When you let go, the cat drops until it lands on a window.

Imagine a Lemmings style game like that? You can pick up a Lemming, let it drop, and it does its own thing. Sounds simple enough, but when you have 30 of them on the screen, you have to move quick to pick them up and get them out of danger.

That little idea could be evolved a bit into an interesting game.

Before this, I only had staples to contend with

[brejc8]

My idea(nsfw) didn't turn out well.

Re:Hmm

[ArmpitMan]

"Interesting new technology! Wow, imagine what we could do with this!"
"No! Clearly the fact that you cannot immediately enumerate all of the possibilities of this technology means that it is garbage!"
"But what if--"
"NO!"

It just requires more thought

[Fiz Ocelot]

It's not like every game idea out there came to the designers very easily. Some required a lot of thought, while others where obvious or just a fluke. I mean you could have said the same thing about the mouse, oh it's just a gimmick, I'd rather use a keyboard for my games (which are mainly text based at the time)

Then come along whole new generes of games that simply require the mouse. What I'm saying is that sometimes a new thing like a second touch screen is just push designers need to explore things that are truly revolutionary.

return of cursor-based games

[radimvice]

The touch-screen alone will allow you much more intuitive control of games that depend on selecting objects in a 2-dimensional playing field (think Maniac Mansion, Lemmings, any RTS game). Basically, the days of manipulating that clunky joypad-controlled cursor all over the screen are gone. And this is a GREAT thing with tosn of possibilities.

I'm still a little skeptical of how it'll turn out in practice, though. My experience with touch screens in the past has been that they're still kind of clunky themselves because they're not precise enough to use with your thumbs and I wouldn't even think of trying to tap a screen with a stylus while simultaneously holding the controller in both hands and having access to the d-pad and action buttons.

As far as the second screen, as a three-year dual-monitor user I know how much easier it is to multitask with a set of applications open on separate screens and simply switch your gaze (and mouse) between them as opposed to constantly shuffling windows around. At the same time, I don't see streamlined console games having the same multitasking requirements, and I think the second screen will just be used as a place to put those mini-maps and status windows that used to be squeezed into the corner of the screen. It might make the main gameplay windows less cluttered, but I'd rather just have a larger single screen.

I give Nintendo credit for trying something new, but I'm still haunted by Virtual Boy flashbacks. They'll have to do a lot more than produce a gimmicky hardware platform if they truly intend to reintroduce innovation to the dying video game industry. Like, for example, I hope they design new games for the platform as opposed to port existing franchies and retro remakes with cursory touch-screen and dual-screen support. But this is definitely a start.

Seriously simple ideas

[MMaestro]

One thing I'd like to see is a FPS with one screen is in 1st person view while the second screen is in third person view. It'd be awesome! It'd be like Metal Gear Solid meets Doom! You COULD play the game a la MGS snaping necks, tapping on walls, or using the cardboard box. Or you could run through gunning guards down only to look at the third person view when you wanna turn off the alarm by hiding. Though to be honest, FPSs don't translate to handhelds too well.

Another thing I'd like to see is some serious AI improvements, and not just a 'ok the player is doing insanely well, time to make the game impossible' a la Max Payne 2. I wanna be able to team up with an AI as good as Metal Gear Solid's (I like game the game a lot, did you notice?) BUT instead of having both screens to myself, the second screen would be for my buddy. So while I played on my screen I could use the touch pad to point out directions and orders to by buddy like we were real soldiers "go here", "attack this", "cover this area", etc. This would eliminate silly things like ammo symbols appear over people's heads when they shout 'I need ammo!' since I could just double tap the ammo symbol on mine/his screen to communicate with him. Kinda like Brute Force, only not Microsoft par quality.

My last idea would be a RTS on the handheld. It'd be insanely difficult to do, let alone play, but think about it. With two screens you could FINALLY watch your army while watching your base, no more losing a match because you were too busy killing an enemy outpost while the enemies were destroying your BASE. Two screens would TOTALLY innovate RTS games, since you could no longer risk playing 'turtle' style since even a newbie would be able to launch hit-and-run attacks while mining resources as well as you. Recon would take a new level since doing so before usually ment seeing a couple red dots on the minimap and having them disappear before you could click and see what it was. Flanking (long overlooked in games) would because vital in large army combat with fog of war in RTSes. You could send one part of your army to keep the enemy busy in a chokepoint while a second part snuck around and pincer attacked them in the rear from view of the second screen.

dual vs single

[Anonymous Coward]

I don't think I disagree with the decision to separate the two screens, it sort of forces (strongly encourages perhaps) developers to innovate.

Obviously minimaps and inventories will find the addition usefull

Also puzzle games taking advantage of an extra dimension could become more complex.

The additional screen could be used in a linkup platform game to display the other players location. Tetrinet / puzzle bobble / puzzle fighter style games also would use the extra space to display the other player

The stylus allows for a new control method which could prove interesting, it's better in terms of precision/speed than the d-pad and it could be used in conjunction with the dpad simply to give the player lots more buttons

The stylus could be used for lock picking (ala thief 3) and other puzzle types within an action game, essentially making all dialog style interactions available without hiding the playing screen. This would allow designers to keep the game going making the player keep a sharp eye out for someone trying to get them while their guard is down.

I think someone mentioned above, the ability to use the two screens to play two characters would be cool.

perhaps the stylus could be used for gesture style spell systems (ala black and white) for some games.

Ok that'll do for now

Wario Ware

[Lord_Dweomer]

One of the best games I purchased for my GBA SP is Wario Ware Inc.

It is a game that is just made up of tons of minigames, most of them very interesting.

Something like this could add a whole new element of control to it.

The first thing that popped into my head was an Operation type mini game where you have to pick bones out of a body.