Evolution of Video Game Controllers

Daniel Flaquinti - 100393621

          For this week’s blog post I will discuss the evolution of video game controllers and how I believe they evolved into what we use today. As mentioned in the lecture, one of the first ways of controlling a video game was a knob (or spinner). Commonly, the knob would control the movement of an on-screen block. This kind of input method only allowed movement was along one axis, essentially being one dimensional. This was fine for PONG and tennis style games, but did not allow enough control for more advance games. It was also common for knobs to be attached to the home game console, meaning the player would have to be holding the game system in their lap to play.

The controller was built into the console.

          

          Arcade games started to grow in terms of graphical capabilities and so did their control methods. Each game had custom controls designed and built for each specific game. Some used joysticks (Pac Man), buttons (Asteroids), trackballs (Missile Command), or steering wheels (Pole Position). Surprisingly, the world’s first game to use polygon graphics, I-Robot, only used a joystick as input.

Polygon graphics back in 1983.

         

          The second generation of home consoles gained the feature of having interchangeable cartridges, allowing for them to play more than their prebuilt games. This was problematic as the games could no longer have custom controls for each game (as they did in the arcade). All of the controllers were also separated from the system, allowing them to be held in the player hands. For the Atari 2600, many games had to utilize the primitive joystick and one button. Some games did utilize accessories, such as the keypad and paddle controllers (which still offers more control then a lot of other controllers I use today).  Many games in the Atari 2600’s library utilized the joystick to move and the button for a solitary action (such as moving and shooting). The Intellivision and Colecovision were very similar in design. They were not as easy to use, but used their extra buttons to their advantage. Menu selections could be made quite easily, such as inputting the computers level of difficulty. Games such as Discs of Tron used the Intellivision’s pressure sensitive disc to move in 8 directions and the keypad to fire in a different direction. Despite these extra buttons, a lot of games still only used the direction and action buttons.

Despite it looks, the disc does not spin.

          In the next generation of video games systems, the NES and Sega Master System took over the scene. Both systems abandoned the joystick for the iconic directional pad. This kind of design seemed necessary as it allowed for only one hand to move the character and free other to use more action buttons (the Atari 2600 joystick requires one hand to move the stick and the other to hold the bottom part of the controller). This design was first used on Nintendo’s Game and Watch systems, which required the movement commands of a joystick, but had to be flat so the system would be portable and foldable (on the two screen models). With more effective directional movement and more buttons, games for the NES and Master System were able to grow in complexity. Many games were able to use the two buttons to perform a wider array of actions, such as jump and attack. This also led to the creation of very popular franchises and establish well known genres.  

A very iconic controller and still one of the best ones I have used to this day.

          Meanwhile, arcade games were rapidly growing in complexity. They continued to add more and more buttons. The SNES, Genesis and Turbografx became the next generation of systems. These controllers were more comfortable to use and contained even more buttons. The Turbografx controllers included a built in turbo switch, allowing the buttons to be continuously pressed down and still continue to fire. Fighting games, such as Street Fighter and Mortal Kombat were becoming popular. The controllers of the game consoles were able to handle ports of the games as they included all of the buttons. After that generation came the rise of 3D polygons and movement in 3D space. Console manufactures had to make their controllers so the user would be able to navigate 3D space. Nintendo added an analog stick for precise movement in 360 degrees. They also added four yellow C buttons that would be used to control the camera, such as in Super Mario 64. Sony’s first version of their controller was very similar to the SNES’s. They later added two analog sticks to aid in the navigation of 3D space. Sega also started out with a very standard controller, but later made the “3D controller” for the Sega Saturn system with an analog stick. The next generation seemed to be a refinement of the previous generation. One change was that many console manufactures made the analog stick the main point of input as the D-pad took a lesser, smaller role in the controllers.

The analog stick was now the star of the show.

          One big change going into the next generation was the diversions of the different controllers. Sony and Microsoft controllers stayed pretty much the same. It was Nintendo that offered a new innovative controller with the Wiimote. The Wii’s controller could detect motion and was simpler to use then the “hardcore” controllers from Microsoft and Sony. Later in the cycle, Microsoft and Sony released their motion controls, the Kinect and PlayStation Move. These types of devices allowed for a more causal audience to enjoy gaming.    

Everyone got in on the action (except I don’t think anyone bought a PlayStation Move).

          As for the future I believe that controllers will continue to innovate, but will still have many of their roots tied to the past. For games to continue to have precise and effective controls, buttons, joysticks and analog sticks will still be necessary. New additions, such as a build in screen, biometrics and cameras will help enhance the experience of the overall game, possibly becoming a necessity in the future generations.   

The Wii U Gamepad adds something new, but still retains the buttons, D-pad and analog sticks. A perfect balance between old and new.