Smartphones as Game Controllers | Hacker News Reader

Smartphones as Game Controllers

makeuseof.com

11 pointsramirez6015 comments

I want the exact opposite. To use something else as a controller for my smartphone.

For what games?

Here's the problem: smartphones make terrible game controllers, mainly due to the shortcomings of touchscreens when compared to joypads, thumbsticks, and buttons for gaming.

I don't want to use my smartphone as a controller for a game that's not on my smartphone, I want a decent controller for games that are on my smartphone.

People said that about keyboards, and many can type fine on a smartphone after a little practice. For a certain type of game, smartphones might be superior from the get-go (racing games, real time strategy games) compared to a standard XBox controller.

Over time, I think smartphones will do well as controllers because they are... smart. The true smartphone controller isn't a static set of 4 lettered buttons and a directional pad, it is a dynamic, themed controller that changes based on the type of game you're playing and what is happening in it, even incorporating part of the game into the controller itself.

Purists might tell you that the xbox controller is a HORRIBLE way to control a first person shooter compared to the mouse and keyboard setup on a PC. Didn't really stop Halo or Call of Duty, did it? Now imagine the ideal smartphone controller - cheaper than current offerings, customizable, dynamic. I can see it working.

Hm you don't play much games, do you? A real time strategy game like Starcraft would be pretty much unplayable with a smartphone. Look at any list of best-selling video games. None of these titles would be better with a smartphone controller, if not completely unplayable. So no, not gonna happen.

You're right about starcraft - it's a well designed game constructed explicitly around the keyboard/mouse paradigm. Fortunately it's not the only type of game - if you look at the list of best selling video games, they all have a variety of control mechanics that work best (Starcraft with keyboard and mouse, racers with steering wheels, angry birds with swipe etc) and almost none would work as well with another control mechanic. The idea of a smartphone controller is pretty young still - its natural that there arent best selling titles that use this control mechanic; it hasnt been around long enough and not too many folks are focused on it.

(disclosure - I'm a founder of wanderplayer). thx for the comments/feedback.

I have to agree that using existing games like Starcraft as an example of why a phone as a controller won't work just doesn't make any sense. It's games designed specifically for smartphone controls that are going to have the biggest impact in this space. It's a new paradigm, or the next generation of games that leverage smartphones as controllers that we are talking about.

(likewise, for full disclosure, I'm the CEO of Brass Monkey) :)

Avid gamer and have been for years. One counter-example doesn't invalidate an entire concept, and I'd say that while Starcraft would be unplayable with a smartphone, I think interesting and useful control schemes might be doable on a tablet.

> People said that about keyboards, and many can type fine on a smartphone after a little practice.

I'd say this is plenty of evidence that touchscreen smartphone keyboards aren't "fine": http://www.damnyouautocorrect.com/

(Disclosure- i"m a founder of WanderPlayer)

I think control quality depends on the game and on the design. WanderPlayer's a first step and is an experience grafted onto existing games, but we're working on games built specifically on what smartphones do best. This wont replace the XBox controller or the keyboard in many cases, but like all new control paradigms, there are games that are perfect for this, and that's what we're here for.

This makes a lot more sense to me. Obviously a smartphone makes for a pretty poor CoD controller - but that's because CoD wasn't designed to be played with a smartphone (or even a touchscreen at all) in the first place. Looking forward, I think there are a lot of interesting opportunities, especially as some of the emerging IP in the mobile space moves "backwards" onto consoles, PCs, etc. For example, I'm pretty sure I'd rather use my smartphone or iPad as a controller if I were going to play Angry Birds on my XBox.

> People said that about keyboards, and many can type fine on a smartphone after a little practice.

Show me the study? I've seen anecdotal evidence at best, and even that was flimsy. Typing "fine" is one thing, but being productive day in and day out? No. Tactile feedback is too important.

> Didn't really stop Halo or Call of Duty, did it?

That's because the game developers aren't pitting console players against PC-gamers. The console players would get slaughtered.

I'm sorry, I love my touch screens, but tactile feedback provides so much.

Not really disagreeing with your preferences, just with the blanket statement that smartphones make/will make terrible game controllers.

There's several apps out there that do this, with what appears to be only limited interest.

I created one myself as a side project - to suit only my favourite type of game, driving games (www.mungoscott.com). Using an iPhone as a steering wheel avoids some of the issues with no tactile feedback, because the entire device is the control. It works very well for driving simulators and games, but I haven't worked out how it could be useful for say a first person shooter - the latency alone (typically 5 to 10ms) is less than ideal for a good FPS.

I have to agree that this won't be very practical because you won't feel the buttons, and you'll have to look at the big screen most of the time.

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