Wednesday 10 October 2012

UNIT 57 - ASSIGNMENT 1


HCI:
Human computer interaction (HCI) Is the design of interaction between people and computers. The human computer interface can be described as the communication with a human and a computer. There are many ways in which we can communicate with computers: A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment systems to provide input to a video game, typically to control an object or character in the game. A controller is usually connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire or cord, although wireless controllers are also widespread. Input devices that have been classified as game controllers include keyboards, mice, game pads, joysticks, etc. Special purpose devices, such as steering wheels for driving games and light guns for shooting games, are also game controllers. Devices such as mice and keyboards can be emulated with a game pad through the use of programs such as 'JoyToKey'.

Screens:
Screens are used in most or all computer based objects so we can see what we are doing and also interact with it. Screens come in many different sizes such as smaller screens on portable consoles such as the DS, to much bigger – like flat screen TV’s or PC monitors. Screens have recently been able to portray 3D images; with the help of 3D glasses we can view TV/PC in 3D. Also we have been able to view 3D without glasses trough consoles such as Nintendo’s 3DS. Legend of Zelda: ocarina of time 3D was released on the 3DS – It uses the top screens 3D capability to enhance the gameplay and the viewers enjoyment of the enhanced graphics. This effects the game by allowing for more dynamic actions and cut-scenes which draw the player in making it more interesting and intriguing to play. The 3D on the top screen of the Nintendo 3DS can be turned down or even off if the player prefers, this allows for younger children to play and also anyone who dislikes the 3D screen.
 
Keyboard and mouse:
A keyboard and a mouse is mostly used for PC games.  I would personally say that they are the easiest way of controlling games out there. They are a lot easier and a lot comfier! the most common way of using a keyboard would be the WASD keys to move around and using the mouse to change the camera direction of the first person controller. But on some 2D games, the arrow keys are used and the mouse is used to navigate around the game and choose items, select menus, etc. I like the keyboard and mouse because its not like holding a controller. With a controller you get hand cramp but with a mouse you can easily stretch and not disturb gameplay! An example of a game that uses a keyboard and mouse would be the Portal games. (1 and 2)
Joysticks:
There are two types of joysticks, There are the analog sticks on game pads and the classic joysticks (below)
Joysticks are often used to control video games, and usually have one or more push-buttons whose state can also be read by the computer.  Joysticks are also used for controlling machines such as cranes, trucks, underwater unmanned vehicles, wheelchairs, surveillance cameras and zero turning radius lawn mowers. But I'm just going to focus on the joysticks used for gaming. Some examples of games that are controlled by joysticks are Pacman and some sonic games. (classic joypad) Recent ones would be any games on the recent consoles.

Motion:
Some games use motion to control what you do, an example of this is the Kinect for the xbox 360 and the eyetoy for playstation 2 (and above?) the kinect uses the whole of the players body to control the game, where as the eyetoy uses your hands.
Motion-controlled games weren't quite as abundant as they had been in 2011, but 2012 still saw its games that didn't require a controller. The quality of these games improved, too. The third year of the Xbox Kinect saw some truly refined games, and Sony's PlayStation Move quietly produced some stellar titles. PlayStation Move  is a motion-sensing game controller platform by Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE), first released for the PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console. Based around a handheld motion controller wand, PlayStation Move uses inertial sensors in the wand to detect its motion, and the wand's position is tracked using a PlayStation webcam (PlayStation Eye for the PlayStation 3, PlayStation Camera for the PlayStation 4).



Pointers:
An example of pointers would obviously be the Wii controller (and the Wii u) this is where you have the remote, and normally it is wireless so you can sit back, and you point it to the screen and personally I think it is amazing the way it is done. The hand appears on the screen wherever you are pointing, so it's pretty good. Some games that are used with this is Zelda, the pointer is quite annoying, It's navi sparkling everywhere but it is used to select items and things. The nun-chuck is also a pointer, or atleast it connects to the pointer and you control what happens on screen and in game with it. For example in Zelda you jolt the nunchuck sideways and you can perform a spin attack. again, very clever!

GPS:
GPS is a method of locating a device or a person. It can be used in certain location based games on apps on android/Iphones.  GPS has many uses such as Google maps on mobile devices, this can be extremely helpful to many people, but also it has been used in the military etc. SatNav’s use GPS to allow for directions whilst driving. Certain games use the GPS tracker to play, giving you destination points on your walking route which active a mini-game or give rewards. The GPS also links in with compasses and allows the console to detect itself in the environment and judge where it is and what it is actually looking at. This is non-gender specific and the mini-games on the GPS app are aimed at all ages. The GPS can also register different speed and routes, this allows for people who are traveling at a slower speed to still play. The GPS in game works well but can sometimes register the wrong place and works off the phones network – so without signal it would not work.





 Compass:
a compass works when for example on the 3DS you place cards on a table and they come to life using the people that you can create in the game, they interact with the card that is on the table, and you can move around using the camera and it can walk around the room and so on. This then allows you to interact with it through the screen. The 3DS uses augmented reality to play games; it registers the card through the screen and displays it so the user can interact with it. It is mostly aimed at children but it could work for all age groups.

Gamepads:
gamepads are used more commonly for consoles, for example the xBox and Playstation. You can also use USB gamepads and plug them into your PC and control your game that way. It is a lot more easier that a mouse and keyboard I must say. there is always the most common Joystick on a gamepad, This is to move around and control your player with a lot more ease instead of having to use both a keyboard AND a mouse. Sometimes you can get out of control. Gamepads have a number of buttons and triggers that control the different parts of different bits of the game. Pads are normally designed to fit into the players hands nicely without any discomfort. The n64 pad has 3 bars which you can hold, Because sometimes you dont need one of the parts so you are just holding two of the hand grips of the pad.

Touchscreen:
touchscreen games are on the apple series of products. Ipad, iPod and iphone all have games that you can download onto the device and play. Doodle jump is touch screen controlled game, And it is motion, when you tap the screen the little man jumps and shoots things though his nose/mouth thing. Fruit ninja also is a very good touch screen game because you are slicing fruit and getting high scores, Well I think it is very fun! The latest apple products feature a thing called zoom on touch. for example when you double tap on a webpage it zooms in. You can also use more than one finger on games and on pages to zoom in or control more than one thing at once.

Camera:
Games that use cameras can be games for the eye toy on the PS2 for example, Eye Toy: Play. This was the first camera that was used with a console to play games. It tilts and turns around. The eye toy play is mostly just for hand movements, but you can also do full body games, so it is flexible in the sense that if you want to sit down and play you could. The eye toy was really meant for children, and it was really fun to play with once you got the hang of it and ignored the lag and the glitches in each of the games that you could play on with the eye toy.

Steering:
With the wii steering leans more towards the motion detecting, because you push the controller into a plastic wheel and just tilt it around to turn corners. But with the old gaming steering wheels they are more like game pads or controllers, They come with a wire which you plug in and it turns perfectly. But with the wii it glitches and sometimes you turn left instead of right because of the position of the remote.
Wii Controller Racing Game-Steering Wheel
Headsets:
Headsets are a combination of over head headphones and a microphone. They can be used in gaming to interact with other players online, in commercial offices as a hands free phone device, a wireless hands free headset for drivers... they have many uses and are many used for silencing the world outside and focusing on communicating. Hotel 101 is a flash horror game that asks for the user to wear a headset and have the mic on. The game then uses this to enhance the horror experience and immerses the player by asking them to speak through the mic to perform certain tasks. Wired headsets are just a matter of plug and go, no driver software, which makes it easy for novices and convenient for experience users to use. You can get headsets that are orientated to younger children, and also to certain genders, but most are standard colours and are none gender specific. Headsets can also be wireless, this could greatly help someone with physical impairments as they would not need to mess with wires.

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