Really enjoyed the panel on peripherals, and tangible/embodied interaction unsuprisingly perhaps. It also gets bonus points for showing lovely pictures of peripherals past, like the colecovision steering wheel, the microswitch and metal ‘slik-stick’; and even more impressively namechecking McLuhan and paraphrasing Russ Meyer / Silverfish at the end.

Rough notes below:

2.30-3.30 Reaching Out

Gaming used to happen between two tiny contacts hidden under the ‘fire’ button, but it now seems the days of the joypad might be numbered. As microphones, cameras and dance mats take gaming to a whole new audience, Edge asks a panel of peripherals experts what the future holds. Is motion sensing a fad that will pass as inevitably as virtual reality? Are game designers responding imaginatively enough to the rapidly evolving possibilities of new peripherals? And will the UK continue to be at the forefront of peripherals technology?
James Binns, Publisher, Future Network plc hosts an intriguing debate with Nick Clarkson, Product Marketing Manager, Big Ben (Dance UK) Harry Holmwood, Director, In2Games (Gametrak), Matt Lamprell, Managing Director, GBB & Jamie MacDonald, Director, SCE London Studio. London Studio is SCEE’s largest development studio and is responsible for the EyeToy series of products, Singstar, This is Football and The Getaway amongst others.

peripherals in games

most magazines have a peripherals section, tucked away at the back of the book – indictive of how we view them.

dualshock – most familiar controller “a masterpiece of evolutionary design”
investment in eyetoy shows that sony believs it’s not the end
games are defined by the possibilites of control

the abstract knowledge of knowing how to use a joypad is a barrier to play
familiar controls or movements that map to the game activity are immediately graspable.

eyetoy is not a peripheral, it’s a platform.

gametrak – tracks movements, inlcuding depth
for PS2, next month – embodied interaction – releasing a golf game (1st game is a beat ’em up)

jamie macdonald, london studio
brief to broaden the appeal of gaming / playstation
something that would appeal to friends and family…

GBB:
peripheral industry dwarfs nintendo in revenue

q: are designers up to task of exploiting the peripherals

things like consoles having standard ports like USB has made a peripheral innovation boom possible.

Q TO PANEL: what’s the future of interface
all: hand voice eye.
jamie macdonald adds: legs…

machluhan – extensions of man: extensions of play

eye hand voice arse = power!