Team Assignment 4: Group Final Project

Team Assignment 4: Group Final Project Group Name: Button Mashers Everett Street Alexandria Schweiger Paul-Anthony Lacen Jon Powers

Microtransistor (Front) Right Bumper Left Bumper Touch Screen Left Analog Stick Face Buttons Right Analog Stick D-Pad Home/ Power Button Back Button Start Button

Microtransistor (Back) Sync Button Charger Input Battery Pack Right Trigger Left Trigger Headset Jack

Abstract For the next generation of consoles,we want to give controllers a functionality that can allow for the transition of previously PConly titles, while retaining a layout that we all know and love. We took a look at existing controllers to think of a new way to enrich the console experience. Until now, there has never been a controller with programmable hotkeys, a clickable screen, all while retaining the full functionality of a console controller. The Microtransistor is a controller for the latest consoles as well as PC. Featuring a programmable 3.5-inch screen in the middle of the screen, gamers and developers will be able to tailor a game experience to their needs.

Introduction We have seen controllers with screens in them before. From handhelds like the Gameboy, to controllers with detachable memory (like the Dreamcast) and tablets like the iPad. The newest addition to this family is the Wii U’s tablet controller. Each of the mentioned predecessors do what they intend to, but not much else. The Gameboy was used to play games, but that’s where its functionality ended. The Dreamcast’s VMU was used for memory and to show some information, but it wasn’t particularly useful. The iPad has a great distribution method for games, but features no physical feedback. The Wii U gamepad is big enough to show you all sorts of information while you’re playing a game, but developers have yet to truly utilize it for its real potential. Aside from Arkham City: Armored Edition, the gamepad is mainly used to display maps. “Technology offers the potential to make life easier and more enjoyable; each new technology provides increased benefits.”- DOET-pg 29

Design Purpose For the last two to three console generations, gamers have been playing with two controllers that they find familiar. It’s very important to bring innovation into controller design, while maintaining that feeling of familiarity. To that end, we’ve added a programmable 3.5-inch screen to the middle of the controller. Gamers and developers will be able to customize the screen’s inputs or display options for a malleable experience. The screen will be useful for maps and inventory; gamers will be able to program hotkeys to help transition games like World of Warcraft, StarCraft, and Diablo to the console, and all of the convenience of the dual screen experience will work its way to consoles.

Literature Review Our design is based on some devices that have come out in the past. Some have been able to live long and prosper, while others have crashed and burned. All of the products we have displayed have highly influenced the Microtransistor. We will release two versions of the controller to accommodate both the Xbox and the PlayStation. We understand that the traditional layout of past controllers is extremely important. Accordingly, we have attempted to keep our design familiar, so as to establish familiarity with our fans. That said, there will be a couple of changes.

Trigger buttons The trigger buttons will no longer be directly behind the bumpers. The triggers will move down slightly so your middle fingers will rest naturally on them while your forefingers can stay on the bumpers. We feel that this change will help the gamer have quicker reactions and easier multi-button inputs in their favorite games. Left Trigger Right Trigger “Natural mapping, by which I mean taking advantage of physical analogies and cultural standards, lead to immediate understanding.” - DOET_ pg 23

Touch Screen Another goal we had in mind for the Microtransistor was to give players the functionality of Hotkeys and Macros that is normally reserved for the PC market. We found that in online games, players like to use hot keys to quickly make decisions while playing. While hot keys are “possible” for consoles with a standard controllers, gamers often forget how to get to their key, which can cause reaction delays. To a gamer, nothing is more important than how quickly you can react to in-game events. That is why the Microtransistor will have a 3.5” touchscreen in the middle of the controller, complete with a programmable hotkey map. Touch Screen

“Programmable” When we say programmable, we are not just talking about changing menus or viewing maps. Of course, we have made that available as well, but what we mean by “programmable” is giving the gamer full control of what the touch screen can display. With the hotkey aspect of the Microtransistor, the player can program up to eight hotkeys. The hotkey map can be either be rectangular, with up to two rows of 4 hotkeys, or circular, with each hotkey acting as a section of a pie graph. These hotkeys can be mapped to any number of actions, like switching a weapon in Dragon Age, performing a hyper combo in UMvC3,moving around the map and picking areas of attack in StarCraft, or even doing audible plays in the latest Madden. The word “controller” says it all, giving the player full control is paramount.

Battery Life Two key aspects we considered while designing this controller were battery life and feedback from the touch screen. With the advent of a whole new screen, it’s understandable that players would be concerned about the longevity of their controller’s battery while not utilizing the screen. Also, no one wants a screen glowing at them when not making use of it. Gamers that feel that they have no use for the second screen at the time can simply turn the touch screen off. They can still play their favorite games and not have to worry about the screen draining the controller’s battery. Battery Pack

Feedback For feedback, we made note of the fact that most of the time, touch screens don’t give much (if any) tactile feedback when pressed. When we play games on our phones and tablets, we don’t get the same feedback that we are used to when using the physical buttons of a controller. When it came to making the Microtransistor’s touch screen, we looked at different phones and tablets to see if anyone had come out with an answer to this dilemma and the closest solution we saw was a Blackberry device called the Storm.

Feedback Cont. The Blackberry Storm was a touch screen phone that uses a functionality called SurePress, so that when you select an application or enter text, you actually push the screen down like you would any other physical button. (Cha,2008). We used the concept of SurePress as inspiration for the Microtransistor, to allow gamers to have a tactile feedback that confirms their button press. Also, we’re giving gamers a set of clear plastic grids to place on the touch screen to properly physically segment their screen into 2, 4, 6, and 8 buttons “The game should provide immediate, adequate, and easy-to-understand feedback after each action taken within the game.”

Testing Methods • There are two main concerns while testing the Microtransistor. Even though we put the touch screen in the middle of the controller, we think that it is very important to bring a level of familiarity that harkens back to controllers of previous generations. We needed to test out the feel of the controller, the distance between your thumb and the touch screen, and how games, from RTS titles, to fighters, to Sports games, played on the controller. • We can test this out all in one go. We bring in groups of gamers into our lab to try out a number of games with the controller. Each group can play the games for two to four hours while writing down their thoughts on the feel of the controller, the screen, and whether or not the functionality or layout felt cluttered at all. At the end of the play test, they will answer some generic questions and turn them in along with their thoughts. We will read the surveys, consider the answers, and tweak the controller accordingly until we feel that the product can be released to the public.

Test Findings With the advent of touch screens now existing on controllers, a few subjects familiar with the Wii U’s gamepad stated that they wished for a way to switch between hotkeys and map functionality on the fly. Developers may be able to make that an option in games, but we shouldn’t expect them to do that and could probably find a way to make it available via the controller. One subject stated on his feedback: “The grid was a nice touch, but gets a bit tedious when switching the layout of the hotkeys. I would probably not use it very much later on. The spacing of each key is easy to understand without the grid.

Conclusions and Recommendations • The familiarity of our controller’s button mapping meets our standards, all the while granting the player a whole new use for the central real estate of the controller. • Granting our players customizability works rather well, but altering the functionality of the screen requires some cooperation from developers that may not be keen on adding an extra aspect to their game just to accommodate a one peripheral. • When more games start utilizing the Wii U’s screen in more creative ways, the Microtransistor will be something that can use the same inherent programming in a smaller, more convenient package. “The good relationship between the placement of the control and what it does make it easy to find the appropriate control for a task”- DOET- pg 23

References • Cha, B. (2008, November 08). Blackberry storm review. Retrieved from http://reviews.cnet.com/smartphones/blackberry-storm-verizon-wireless/4505-6452_7-33311850.html • Mad Catz. (n.d.). Controllers. Retrieved from http://store.gameshark.com/listCategoriesAndProducts.asp?idCategory=277 • Norman, D. (1998). Design of everyday things. (2002 ed.). Basic Books.

Team Assignment 4: Group Final Project