The Xbox 360 controller has 14 buttons, a 30-foot range and three thumbsticks. While these advances are impressive, the most significant feature of contemporary game controllers is their ability to overwhelm a casual player.
For many new to the hobby, learning the control scheme is preventative. Even long-time insiders may have a tricky time learning the required skills.
Bill Kunkel, former executive editor of Electronic Games and an industry veteran, questions the time required for each new game, like many of his contemporaries.
“You really have to say, ‘Do I want to invest my time in learning each of these button combinations?’” Kunkel said. “It’s daunting.”
Games used to be designed with only one or two buttons, but those same games featured objectives that represent only a fraction of the tasks performed in games today. Many of the newer systems have interfaces so complex they’re simply not worth the trouble for casual players.
Casual games have developed as an alternative to more advanced console schemes. Most casual games are built upon the tenet that gameplay should be easy to learn, and users can hop right in without getting bogged down by extensive controls.
As console and PC games have traditionally fostered extensive controls in order to attract the “hardcore” crowd, their marketing strategy has become a double-edged sword. Many in the casual market find the level of complexity unappealing, which is devastating considering the Casual Gaming Association estimates 200 million people play casual games online every month.
The same gaming controllers that were originally programmed to perform simple tasks are now also expected to execute moves as subtle as leaning while simultaneously traversing planets. The adaptability of a contemporary controller is a tall order, but it also might be partly responsible for new gamers’ frustrations. It’s also a sign that the video game industry has exponentially grown in its complexity.
“If you can make a game with simple controls, maybe more people will be able to play it,” said Jonathan Blow, who designed Braid, one of TIME Magazine’s games of 2008.
Designers are beginning to actively rethink their controller strategy. Microsoft’s newest entry — the Kinect — carries full motion control, a video camera, four microphones, no controllers and an infrared projector in order to track the player’s every move. The player will no longer have to worry about controllers, only their own bodies.
Sony released a motion controller for the Playstation last September that is a handheld wand, which functions much like a refitted Wii remote.
But to the older audience who just wants a quick game after dinner, the new innovations might still prove overwhelming. The video game industry might have to standardize design if it wants to stay equipped for a new generation, especially if it wants to include casual gamers and the revenue they bring with them.
— Ryan Carpe is a graduate student studying journalism and has destroyed hundreds of controllers in rage mainly because of “poor design.” Send him an email at rc336801@ohiou.edu.
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