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The Game Controllers That Shaped the Way We Play
An anonymous reader writes "Neal Stephenson's ambitious sword fighting Kickstarter Clang has run into financial troubles, and part of the reason is down to new controller that was required — the extra investment reportedly scared away investors. Sometimes though, games can help usher in a whole new type of controller, and create new ways to play. From Pong's easy dials, which helped bring the video game into the home, to Ape Escape's twin thumbsticks and Doodle's Jump savvy use of the accelerometer on the iPhone, some games have hit the critical mass necessary to establish a new input as a way to play. So what's next?"
when a friend was playing some adventure game and at some point he got stuck because he was looking for a "mouse" and for a "stick of joy". That is because one of the F-keys allowed him to select mouse for example and then it said "mouse not found".
As somebody who grew up in the early to mid 80's I was raised on the joystick. When the industry moved to gamepads I simply could not play as effectively anymore (and rarely play consoles as a result).
Wrist coordination and speed is fundamentally different from thumb coordination. I suppose many people are better at fine finger coordination then wrist, but for me the switch from wrist to thumb controllers ruined consoles for me.
What is wrong with Wii as a controller? Or a kinect and youse a real sword (wooden sword)?
As someone who has kenjutsu experience I really wonder how a sword fighting 'game' should work at all.
E.g. without something that has the weight and feel of a sword in your hands, and nothing to actuall block your blow etc.
To have a sword fighting game you would need a robot, at least with a sword arm and a torso to hit at.
Cost free eBook I read (by iBook/Kobo/Amazon/ObookO/Gutenberg etc.): "The Green Odyssey" by Philip Jose Farmer.