Task 9. Almost time for a break, I certainly need one

Can’t wait for Christmas holidays, mainly for the fact I get a break from working huzzah.

Computer games controllers have always been changing throughout the years. It does seem that Nintendo is changing the standard design for that time period and then making a new standard controller that all the other consoles follow. Also the comfort of the player has slowly become much more important as people won’t play games for long amounts of time if they cannot hold the controller comfortably. I’m currently very interested to see how successful the Wii mote will be as to me it looks quite awkward to use but Nintendo is trying to ensure us it is very comfortable and easy to use. Playstation seem to be following the ethic of ‘if its not broken don’t fix it’ as once the standard ps1 controller was released very little change has taken place. Microsoft seem to be also following suit as the Xbox 360 controller is just a sleeker version of the Xbox controller, after their initial fumble with the ridiculously sized original controller.

The actual console design has also changed. I think consoles are originally designed to look futuristic and it’s interesting to see all the different perceptions of the future at each year a console was released. Also the standard grey colour for consoles seems to have now changed to sleek black or clean white, very ‘modern’ colours by today’s standards. It also seems consoles are slowly starting to look much more streamline and aesthetically pleasing. Mimicry of the idea that computer games software is becoming an art style it seems so is its hardware. It seems that Playstation are trying to keep their consoles no bigger than a DVD or VHS player so that their console fits in as a standard TV peripheral. Nintendo seem to be taking the idea of making things much smaller, while Microsoft seem to be trying to make a much better attempt at making their console more aesthetically pleasing along with smaller in comparison to their first console.

I think in terms of user interface things have not gone much further since the beginning of the options menu. I believe that consoles themselves should try to make themselves no bigger than a DVD or VHS player as then it is possible to transport the console with relative ease. As for controllers, I think that Nintendo is taking the best philosophy in trying to change how controllers are designed and even how we interact with our games. I think it’s also very important to try and make controllers more and more ergonomic and comfortable to use. As then damage to hands after extended periods of gaming is reduced dramatically.