A game controller is a device used with games or entertainment system used to control a playable character or object, or otherwise provide input in a computer game. A controller is typically connected to a game console or computer by means of a wire, cord or nowadays, by means of wireless connection. Controllers which have been classified as games controllers are 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'.
The main function of a game controller is to govern the movement/actions of a playable body/object or otherwise influence the events in a video or computer game. The type of controller used in a game depends on the genre of the game being played (i.e. Steering Wheel controllers for driving games, yoke like for flying, etc).
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Types of game controllers
Gamepad
Main article: Gamepad A gamepad , is a type of game controller held in the hand, where the digits (especially thumbs) are used to provide input. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right thumb and a direction controller handled with the left. The direction controller has traditionally been a four-way digital cross (also named a joypad,A gamepad, also known as a joypad, is the most common kind of game controller, held in both hands with thumbs and fingers used to provide input. Gamepads can have anywhere from two buttons to a dozen or more, combined with multiple omnidirectional analogue or digital control sticks. Gamepads generally feature a set of action buttons handled with the right fingers or thumb, and a direction controller handled with the left. These let the player control the game element movements in up to three dimensions[citation needed], with many buttons to perform quick actions. Due to the ease of use and precision of gamepads, they have spread from traditional consoles where they originated to computers A computer is a programmable machine that receives input, stores and manipulates data//information, and provides output in a useful format as a common input device.
Most modern game controllers are a variation of a standard gamepad. Some common additions to the standard pad include shoulder buttons placed along the edges of the pad, centrally placed buttons labeled start, select, and mode, and an internal motor to provide haptic feedback.
Gamepads are the primary means of input on nearly all modern video game consoles A video game console is an interactive entertainment computer or modified computer system that produces a video display signal which can be used with a display device to display a video game. The term "video game console" is used to distinguish a machine designed for consumers to buy and use solely for playing video games from a personal. Gamepads are also available for personal computers A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe, but not all computer games support gamepads, preferring the more conventional keyboards In computing, a keyboard is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to and mice In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. (Although traditionally a button is typically round or square, modern mice have spring-loaded regions of their top. However, most console emulators support gamepads.
Paddle
Main article: Paddle (game controller)A paddle is a controller that features a round wheel and one or more fire buttons. The wheel is used to typically control movement of the player or an object along one axis of the video screen. Paddle controllers were the first analog controllers; they died out when "paddle and ball" type games fell out of favor. A variation on the Paddle, the Atari driving controller appeared on the Atari 2600 The Atari 2600 is a video game console released in October 1977 by Atari, Inc. It is credited with popularizing the use of microprocessor-based hardware and cartridges containing game code, instead of having non-microprocessor dedicated hardware with all games built in. The first game console to use this format was the Fairchild Channel F; however,. Designed specifically for the game Indy 500, It was almost identical in operation and design to the regular paddle controller. However, its wheel can be continuously rotated in either direction, and it was missing the extra paddle included on the previous model. Unlike a spinner, friction prevented the wheel from gaining momentum.
Trackball
Main article: Trackball A trackball is a pointing device consisting of a ball held by a socket containing sensors to detect a rotation of the ball about two axes—like an upside-down mouse with an exposed protruding ball. The user rolls the ball with the thumb, fingers, or the palm of the hand to move a cursor. Large tracker balls are common on CAD workstations for easyA trackball is basically an upside-down mouse that is manipulated with the palm of one's hand. It has the advantage of not requiring a lot of desktop space, and that it is as fast as one can roll the ball on it. This is faster than one can move a mouse due to space not being an issue.
Notable uses of a Trackball as a gaming controller would be games such as Centipede, Marble Madness, Golden Tee and Sonic Arcade.
Joystick
Main article: Joystick A joystick is an input device consisting of a stick that pivots on a base and reports its angle or direction to the device it is controlling. 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. A popular variation of the joystick used on modern video game consolesThis joystick is a peripheral A peripheral is a device attached to a host computer but not part of it, and is more or less dependent on the host. It expands the host's capabilities, but does not form part of the core computer architecture that consists of a handheld stick that can be tilted around either of two axes and (sometimes) twisted around a third. The joystick is often used for flight simulators A flight simulator is a system that tries to copy, or simulate, the experience of flying an aircraft. It is meant to be as realistic as possible. The different types of flight simulator range from computer based games up to full-size cockpit replicas mounted on hydraulic actuators, controlled by state of the art computer technology. HOTAS HOTAS, an abbreviation for Hands On Throttle-And-Stick, is the name given to the concept of placing buttons and switches on the throttle stick and flight control stick in an aircraft's cockpit, allowing the pilot to access vital cockpit functions and fly the aircraft without having to remove his hands from the throttle and flight controls controllers, composed of a joystick and throttle quadrant (see below) are a popular combination for flight simulation among its most fanatic devotees. Most joysticks are designed to be operated with the user's primary hand (e.g. with the right hand of a right-handed person), with the base either held in the opposite hand or mounted on a desk.
Arcade style Joystick
A collection of home made and stock arcade style controllers. Main article: arcade style controllerThis device can also be a home version of the kind used in the arcade, or for use on emulators. It features a shaft that has a ball or drop-shaped handle, and one or more buttons for in game actions. Generally the layout has the joystick on the left, and the buttons on the right. There are instances when this is reversed
Throttle quadrant
A throttle quadrant, as the name indicates, is a set of one or more levers that are most often used to simulate throttles or other similar controls in a real vehicle, particularly an aircraft. Throttle quadrants are most popular in conjunction with joysticks or yokes used in flight simulation.
Steering wheel
Main article: Racing wheelThe steering wheel A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels (ships and boats), essentially a larger version of a paddle, is used for racing simulators Sim Racing is the collective term for computer software (i.e. a vehicle simulation game) that attempts to simulate accurately auto racing (a racing game), complete with real-world variables such as fuel usage, damage, tire wear and grip, and suspension settings. To be competitive in sim racing, a driver must understand all aspects of car handling such as Live for Speed, Grand Prix Legends, GTR2 GTR2 is a sports car racing simulator developed under license by Blimey for SimBin for the x86 PC and is a sequel to GTR. Since its release in September 2006, it has received widespread acclaim. The game simulates the 2003 and 2004 FIA GT Championship racing series, and Richard Burns Rally. The first steering wheels A steering wheel is a type of steering control in vehicles and vessels (ships and boats) appeared in the Nintendo 64 The Nintendo 64 , often abbreviated as N64, is Nintendo's third home video game console for the international market. Named for its 64-bit CPU, it was released in June 1996 in Japan, September 1996 in North America, March 1997 in Europe and Australia, September 1997 in France and December 1997 in Brazil. It is Nintendo's last home console to use and PlayStation The PlayStation brand is a line of video game consoles created and developed by Sony Computer Entertainment. It was first introduced by Sony Computer Entertainment in Japan on December 3, 1994. The PlayStation currently spans the fifth, sixth, and seventh generations of video gaming. The brand consists of a total of three consoles, a media center, era[citation needed]. Many are force feedback (see Force Feedback Wheel), designed to give the same feedback as would be experienced when driving a real car, but the realism of this depends on the game. They usually come with pedals to control the gas and brake. Shifting is taken care of with in various different ways including paddle shifting systems, simple stick shifters which are moved forward or back to change gears or more complex shifters which mimic those of real vehicles, which may also use a clutch. Most wheels turn only 200 to 270 degrees lock-to-lock but some models, such as the Logitech Logitech International S.A. , headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland, is the holding company for Logitech Group, a Swiss peripheral-device maker. Logitech makes peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, game controllers and webcams. Logitech also makes home and computer speakers, headphones, wireless audio devices, as well Driving Force Pro, Logitech G25 and Logitech G27 can turn 900 degrees, or 2.5 turns, lock-to-lock.
The Namco Namco Ltd. is a Japanese corporation best known as a former video game developer and publisher. Following a merger with Bandai in September 2005, the two companies' game production assets were spun off into Namco Bandai Games on March 31, 2006. Namco Ltd. was re-established to continue domestic operation of video arcades and amusement parks. Its Jogcon paddle was available for the PlayStation game R4: Ridge Racer Type 4. Unlike "real" video game steering wheels, the Jogcon was designed to fit in the player's hand. Its much smaller wheel (diameter roughly similar to a soda can A beverage can, is a container manufactured from aluminum or steel designed to hold a single serving of a beverage. Beverage cans are also made of tinplate: see tin can's) resembles the jog-and-shuttle control wheel used on some VCRs The videocassette recorder , is a type of video tape recorder that uses removable videotape cassettes containing magnetic tape to record audio and video from a television broadcast so it can be played back later. Most VCRs have their own tuner (for direct TV reception) and a programmable timer (for unattended recording of a certain channel at a.
The game Mario Kart Wii is bundled with the Wii Wheel, a steering wheel-shaped shell that the Wii Remote The Wii Remote , sometimes unofficially nicknamed "Wiimote", is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical is placed inside thus using the Wii Remote's motion sensing capabilities to control the game.
Yoke
A yoke is very similar to a steering wheel except that it resembles the control yoke found on many aircraft and has two axes of movement: not only rotational movement about the shaft of the yoke, but also a forward-and-backward axis equivalent to that of pitch control on the yoke of an aircraft. Some yokes have additional controls attached directly to the yoke for simulation of aircraft functions such as radio push-to-talk buttons. Yokes, like throttle quadrants and pedals, are popular with serious flight-simulation enthusiasts.
Pedals
Pedals may be used for driving simulations or flight simulations. In the former case, an asymmetric set of pedals can simulate accelerator, brake, and clutch pedals in a real automobile. In the latter case, a symmetric set of pedals simulates rudder controls and toe brakes in an aircraft. As mentioned, most steering wheel controllers come with a set of pedals.
Keyboard and mouse
Main articles: Computer keyboard In computing, a keyboard is an input device, partially modeled after the typewriter keyboard, which uses an arrangement of buttons or keys, to act as mechanical levers or electronic switches. A keyboard typically has characters engraved or printed on the keys and each press of a key typically corresponds to a single written symbol. However, to and Computer mouse In computing, a mouse is a pointing device that functions by detecting two-dimensional motion relative to its supporting surface. Physically, a mouse consists of an object held under one of the user's hands, with one or more buttons. (Although traditionally a button is typically round or square, modern mice have spring-loaded regions of their top The WASD Cursor movement keys or arrow keys are buttons on a computer keyboard that are either programmed or designated to move the cursor in a specified direction. The term "cursor movement key" is distinct from "arrow key" in that the former term may refer to any of various keys on a computer keyboard designated for cursor movement, keyboard setup is used widely.The keyboard and mouse are typical input devices An input device is any peripheral used to provide data and control signals to an information processing system (such as a computer). Input and output devices make up the hardware interface between a computer as a scanner or 6DOF controller for a personal computer A personal computer is any general-purpose computer whose size, capabilities, and original sales price make it useful for individuals, and which is intended to be operated directly by an end user, with no intervening computer operator. This is in contrast to the batch processing or time-sharing models which allowed large expensive mainframe and are currently the main game controllers for computer games PC games are created by one or more game developers, often in conjunction with other specialists and either published independently or through a third party publisher. They may then be distributed on physical media such as DVDs and CDs, as Internet-downloadable, possibly freely redistributable, software, or through online delivery services such as. The mouse is often used with a mousepad A mousepad or mouse mat (UK) is a surface for enhancing the usability of a computer mouse to achieve greater speed, comfort and accuracy for the gamer. Some video game consoles also have the ability to function with a keyboard and a mouse. The computer keyboard is modeled after the typewriter keyboard A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with a set of "keys" that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. For much of the 20th century, typewriters were indispensable tools for many professional writers and in business offices. By the end of the 1980s, word processor applications on and was designed for the input of written text. A mouse is a handheld pointing device A pointing device is an input interface that allows a user to input spatial (ie, continuous and multi-dimensional) data to a computer. CAD systems and graphical user interfaces (GUI) allow the user to control and provide data to the computer using physical gestures — point, click, and drag — for example, by moving a hand-held mouse across the used in addition to the keyboard. For games, the keyboard typically controls movement of the character while the mouse is used to control the game camera or used for aiming.
While originally designed for general computer input, there are several keyboard and mouse peripherals available which are designed specifically for gaming, often with gaming-specific functions built-in. Examples include (but are not limited to) peripherals by Razer, the "Zboard" range of keyboards and Logitech Logitech International S.A. , headquartered in Romanel-sur-Morges, Switzerland, is the holding company for Logitech Group, a Swiss peripheral-device maker. Logitech makes peripheral devices for PCs, including keyboards, mice, game controllers and webcams. Logitech also makes home and computer speakers, headphones, wireless audio devices, as well's 'G' series.
The numeric keypad There are many types of keyboards, usually differentiated by the switch technology employed in their operation. Since there are so many switches needed and because they have to be highly reliable, this usually defines the keyboard. The choice of switch technology affects key response (the positive feedback that a key has been pressed) and travel ( found on the keyboard is also used as a game controller and can be found on a number of separate devices, most notably early consoles, usually attached to a joystick or a paddle. The keypad is a small grid of keys with at least the digits 0-9.
Gaming keypads and programmable PC controllers
Main article: Gaming keypadThere are a few specialized controllers that are specifically used for FPSs First-person shooter is a video game genre which centers the gameplay around gun- and projectile weapon-based combat through the first person perspective; i.e., the player experiences the action through the eyes of a protagonist. Generally speaking, the first-person shooter shares common traits with other shooter games, which in turn fall under, RTSs Real-time strategy games are a genre of computer wargames which do not progress incrementally in turns. Brett Sperry is credited with coining the term to market Dune II and some arcade type games. These controllers can be programmed to allow the emulation of keys, and macros in some cases. These generally resemble a small part of a keyboard but may also feature other inputs such as analog sticks An analog stick, sometimes called a thumbstick or control stick, is an input device for a controller that is used for two-dimensional input. An analog stick is a variation of a joystick. It consists of some sort of protrusion from the controller, and the input is based on the position of this protrusion. While a digital joystick relies on single. They were developed because some of these games require a keyboard to play, and some players find this to be awkward for such a task.
Touch screen
Main article: Touch screen A touchscreen is an electronic visual display that can detect the presence and location of a touch within the display area. The term generally refers to touching the display of the device with a finger or hand. Touchscreens can also sense other passive objects, such as a stylus. However, if the object sensed is active, as with a light pen, the Nintendo DS Touch screen (bottom).A touch screen is an input device that allows the user to interact with the computer by touching the display screen. It was first used on a dedicated console with the Tiger Tiger Electronics is an American toy manufacturer, best known for its handheld LCD games, the Furby, and Giga Pets game.com The Game.com is a handheld game console released by Tiger Electronics in September 1997. It featured many new ideas for handheld consoles and was aimed at an older target audience, sporting PDA-style features and functions such as a touch screen and stylus. Unlike other handheld game consoles, the first Game.com consoles included two slots for. Nintendo popularized it for use in video games with the Nintendo DS The Nintendo DS Lite is a dual-screen handheld game console developed and manufactured by Nintendo. It is a slimmer, brighter, and more lightweight redesign of the Nintendo DS, designed to be aesthetically sleeker while taking styling cues from the Game Boy Advance SP, and to appeal to broader commercial audiences. It was announced on January 26, 2; other systems including the Tapwave Zodiac as well as the vast majority of PDAs The term PDA was first used on January 7, 1992, by Apple Computer CEO John Sculley at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Nevada, referring to the Apple Newton. In 1996, Nokia introduced the first mobile phone with full PDA functionality, the 9000 Communicator, which has since grown to become the world's best-selling PDA and which spawned have also included this feature.
Modern touch screens use a thin, durable, transparent plastic sheet overlayed onto the glass screen. The location of a touch is calculated from the capacitance In electromagnetism and electronics, capacitance is the ability of a body to hold an electrical charge. Capacitance is also a measure of the amount of electrical energy stored for a given electric potential. A common form of energy storage device is a parallel-plate capacitor. In a parallel plate capacitor, capacitance is directly proportional to for the X and Y axes In mathematics and its applications, a coordinate system is a system for assigning an n-tuple of numbers, scalars or variables to each point in an n-dimensional space. This concept is part of the theory of manifolds. "Scalars" in many cases means real numbers, but, depending on context, can mean complex numbers or elements of some other, which varies based upon where the sheet is touched.
Motion sensing
Nintendo's Wii The Wii is a home video game console released by Nintendo on November 19, 2006. As a seventh-generation console, the Wii primarily competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Sony's PlayStation 3. Nintendo states that its console targets a broader demographic than that of the two others. As of September 2010, the Wii leads the generation over the system utilizes a new kind of controller, called the Wii Remote The Wii Remote , sometimes unofficially nicknamed "Wiimote", is the primary controller for Nintendo's Wii console. A main feature of the Wii Remote is its motion sensing capability, which allows the user to interact with and manipulate items on screen via gesture recognition and pointing through the use of accelerometer and optical. It uses accelerometers Single- and multi-axis models are available to detect magnitude and direction of the acceleration as a vector quantity, and can be used to sense orientation, acceleration, vibration shock, and falling. Micromachined accelerometers are increasingly present in portable electronic devices and video game controllers, to detect the position of the to detect its approximate orientation and acceleration and an image sensor[1] so it can be used as a pointing device. The Sixaxis and DualShock 3 controllers for Sony's PlayStation 3 The PlayStation 3 is the third home video game console produced by Sony Computer Entertainment and the successor to the PlayStation 2 as part of the PlayStation series. The PlayStation 3 competes with Microsoft's Xbox 360 and Nintendo's Wii as part of the seventh generation of video game consoles system have similar motion sensing capabilities.
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TheSixthAxis
What could take it's place? If only there was some sort of forthcoming motion control type thing that could replace the controller
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