Re:7-inch pocket gaming concept blows our minds six ways fro...
by jfoutz on Thursday January 06, 2011 @01:37PM
(#2076523)
One of the things that really distinguishes pc gaming from console gaming is the availability of lots of buttons. did you see the wow example in the video? you really want lots of buttons for some games. Well, i do anyway.
Re:7-inch pocket gaming concept blows our minds six ways fro...
by stcredzero on Thursday January 06, 2011 @05:08PM
(#2077481)
I suspect that "lots of buttons" is really just a consequence of the available interfaces. I think something better could be designed.
Re:7-inch pocket gaming concept blows our minds six ways fro...
by jfoutz on Thursday January 06, 2011 @10:28PM
(#2078433)
Is a piano without keys but instead 4 strings and a bow still a piano? You could build a different interface, no question. I'm not sure what the threshold is, but at a certain point, you're not playing the same game anymore.
Get rid of the hinge. This also gets rid of the latch and reduces manufacturing costs. Get rid of most of the buttons. This way, you don't have to pay for the displays on most of them. Keep the buttons with the dynamic displays, but have fewer of them along the side. Add some "trigger" buttons on non-visible surfaces and two D-pads. Software keyboards are good enough for in-game use. Multi-use buttons with displays have the same problems as a software keyboard anyhow. (The space is not available for the other controls when you are using the qwerty keyboard.)