INTERAZIONE NEI GIOCHI SU CONSOLE TESI DI LAUREA DI ALESSANDRO MARI RELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MAURO MOSCONI CORRELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MARCO PORTA ANNO ACCADEMICO.

INTERAZIONE NEIINTERAZIONE NEIGIOCHI SU CONSOLEGIOCHI SU CONSOLE

TESI DI LAUREA DI ALESSANDRO MARITESI DI LAUREA DI ALESSANDRO MARI

RELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MAURO MOSCONIRELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MAURO MOSCONI

CORRELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MARCO PORTACORRELATORE: CH.MO PROF. MARCO PORTA

ANNO ACCADEMICO 2008-2009ANNO ACCADEMICO 2008-2009

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THE STORY SO FAR Videogames, born in the sixties of the last century thanks to the american inventor

Ralph Baer, were known for decades as mere hobbies for children or adults remained children.

However, forms and contents of this medium registered a fast evolution in years, revealing unsuspected (and unexpected) depths.

Exponential growth (technical and economic) of digital entertainment caused the origin of more immersive, fulfilling, artistic and sentimentally mature game experiences, reducing the dividing barrier with the movies (in emotional and aesthetic terms) and proposing improving forms of identification.

CONTROL EVOLUTION The appearance of fresh interactive forms is one of the causes of

exponential evolution of videoludic medium. An aspect born of simple cylindrical handles... Matured with push-button control systems... And landed during these years in motion control technologies.

VIRTUAL BOY After decades dominated by

similar input systems, japanase company Nintendo sold in the market the first innovative control solution: Virtual Boy, a prehistoric virtual reality simulator based on a complex system of oscillating mirrors, lens and LED.

In spite of the brave intentions was a commercial flop, but the way for intrepid (and risky) innovating ideas was officially open...

THE NEW GENERATION

NINTENDO WII Wii is the name of the console

that recently have twisted the way of understanding the electronic entertainment, putting interaction around the motion control technology.

The base of this technology is the reading of human body movements, through special sensors that register the holded peripheral (Wiimote) movements.

A specific command appendix (Nunchuk) guarantees then the personal avatar’s movements in the three dimensions.

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PLASTIC FACES Strong enough for its public success, Wii offered improvements and fresher

alternatives in interactivity sphere:

Plastic shells for the simulation of sport tools, firearms, or various blades. Peripherals for increasing game sensibility (Wii Motion Plus). Improbable footboard aimed to gymnastic exercises execution in the living room.

WII FIT “Control on-screen action with your

movements on the balance board as you work your way through a variety of challenges aimed at getting you off the couch and into the action. Check your Body Mass Index (BMI), see your Wii Fit Age and keep tabs on your daily progress towards a more fit for you.”

“Get fit with more than 40 activities and exercises, including strenght training, aerobics, yoga and balance games. Whether you’re doing a yoga pose or snowboarding down a slalom course, there’s an activity for everyone.”

“Challenge your family and friends to get in the shape! Create your own personal profile and set goals, test your balance, track your progress with daily workouts and unlock new exercises and activities.”

WII INTERACTION

SONY PLAYSTATION 3 Sony didn’t want to sit on its chair

and watch the enemy without fighting.

After the direct emulation (of Nintendo) with the Sixaxis, a wireless controller with motion control functionalities, the time for the evolution of a previous peripheral - Eye Toy of 2003 - was come, ready to play the most important role in this direction: Play Station Move.

MOVE COMPONENTS Eye Toy is a webcam that elaborates the filmed images and permits the interaction

in the videogames through movements. PlayStation Eye is the direct successor of Eye Toy, with the same functionalities, but

higher performances (more resolution and framerate). PlayStation Move connects PlayStation Eye with the use of a special controller to

registering the movements with it, as seen also on Nintendo Wii and its own devices.

MOVE INTERACTION

XBOX 360: NATAL Microsoft, the third great

company in the field of console entertainment, proposed naturally its vision in the universe of contemporary interactivity. It did it with Natal.

Natal, a simple small horizontal bar that the user has to place under the TV screen, permits game interaction without any peripheral or trasmission device, but simply recognizing the user’s body.

NATAL INTERACTION

INTERACTION & MUSIC Is impossibile talking about “inusual” console interaction without

considering the genre of rhythm’n’game. The forerunner was Konami, with its musical instruments simulators, also

known as Bemani. And Nintendo itself opened a small musical parenthesis with GameCube,

placing in the spotlight the raging sounds of deep jungle.

BEMANI Beat Mania

Guitar Freaks

Drum Mania

Keyboard Mania

Dance Dance Revolution

PARTY MUSIC Guitar Hero, a game in which

entire original songs are played with a guitar-controller, imposed new limits of diffusion and quality in this kind of videoludic genre.

Rock Band followed Guitar Hero’s footprints, passing further the arriving point of Activision software and putting in the gameplay all the instruments of a real music formation.

PORTABLE INTERACTION New interactions come on

portable platforms, too. Nintendo DS and iPhone Apple

with their touch screen technology are able to give a new face to miniaturized games.

THANK YOU FOR YOUR ATTENTION!