I have a truly out there guess for the Wii2, that I thought could help make the controller more intuitive and easier to use in many gaming situations.
Essentially, the problems I've outlined in here already center around the idea of just knowing what to do with the Wiimote. I mean what I want to see in a game - let's say Metroid: Next - is that I'll walk into a room. I kill all the monsters. Before me is a gigantic screen for data base. I'm going to hack into it. I walk up, and just instantly I know if I make certain motions, I access various parts of the computer. And then I see some switches and I make more motions and pull them one way or the other.
At NO TIME do I want to see "rotate the nunchuk" or "push toward the screen" comments. I just want to absolutely know what to do.
My personal solution? And before I say this, let me say that I'm almost 100% sure it can't be done.
Essentially, the problem is that we need to know what to, how to do it, and know hot to do it fast. So, maybe there could be a hologram projector with the system, and basically it does two things. The obvious first is that it brings up a hologram that shows me whatever motion-sensitive action I can do. This can be placed ANYWHERE in terms of physical space. So, a game developer could have it appear next to the screen, so I can see it peripherally. And maybe it can use different colors, each representing specific things, so I can just instantly know what action to try.
I.e., Metroid: Next again. Green is "push toward/away/twist the Wiimote" actions for the power cells. So when I'm playing the game, and I see that hologram come up out of the corner of my eye, I know exactly what kind of actions to try - there's no question in my head.
In fact, it could be standard across different games, so that in ANY game I play, I know green is to do that particular set of actions. Maybe it doesn't tell me the exact order, but I know the gist of what to try. You could always show two colors alternating, so I'd know that I need to combine "push toward the tv" with "make a fast curve motion." In this way, it's really kind of like the second screen on the DS - it provides me with information that I can interpret quickly, but without taking me out of the game, kind of like the maps in Castlevania. It's there mostly for information purposes and for allowing me to know how to handle situations inside the game world.
Now, I said the hologram would have two basic functions. The second one would be more for motion-guidance purposes. In other words, a big problem with some games is that you don't know when you can or can't do something. I.e., in Wii Tennis, sometimes I'll swing, but my guy doesn't respond, or he does a backhand instead of a forehand. Or in Zack and Wiki, if I need to saw something, it seems like I can never get the rhythm down 100% (though this doesn't actually hurt me in the game, but is annoying).
So maybe these hologram projections could also be sent "next to the player," or "wherever the player's hands are" - basically, right next to you physically. The point being here that it provides you with guidance. What happens, then, is that you can place your hands in the exact position the hologram is in, and mimic the motions. Whatever is creating the hologram senses this, and sends that data back into the system. In this manner, it helps guide players into doing actions, allowing them to begin doing something quickly and correctly.
So now, Metroid:Next again. I show up at that giant computer screen I was talking about earlier, and I see a set of controls I've never seen before in the game. I walk over to them. It's three switches like three Atari joysticks. A hologram appears near my hands showing me to hold the Wiimote straight up, and then move them like a joystick to use them. The difference between this function of the hologram and the first one I said (in fact, while you're doing this, maybe there's an orange one up near the screen) is that what this allows me to do is simple - I can alter those three switches quickly. So, on this second hologram near my hands, THREE of these switches appear. As I move the Wiimote directly onto each individual representation, the game understand immediately that I'm using switch 2, or switch 3, etc.
The reason I think this is needed is that doing it the current way takes too much time. I.e., if we had three switches like that now, well, first I have to "select" it by most likely pressing A onscreen (with the IR pointer), THEN a tutorial comes up telling me what to do, I use the switch, I "cancel out" somehow, and then do the same with the other switches.
If we had this hologram projector, instead of doing all of that, instead I walk up, I see an orange reference near the screen, so I know it's "hold the Wiimote straight up and move like a joystick" with my peripheral vision, and ALSO with my peripheral vision, I see three switch representations appear before me, and as I move the Wiimote into conjunction with them, the game lets me interface with all three quickly.
What might take a good 2-3 minutes with the current setup now takes all of 20-30 seconds.
I'm sure I haven't thought this all the way through, and I'm tired and only woke up for a few minutes before going back to bed, but this is sort of my idea for the next system. Again, I think it's not going to happen, and I'm confident that Nintendo will again floor everyone, but this represents a way to further immerse gamers AND increase intuitive controls with more precise commands.
Topic: Miyamoto tells me to wait five years... (Read 19515 times)
