Oceanaut studios nucklehero_1015

Powerpoint Templates

Game Usability

Nuckle HeroTylor Lane

Michael ShadeRex Toothman

InstructorOberndorf 10/11/2015

http://www.powerpointstyles.com/


AbstractThe following slides will show how three different concepts for a controller designed for one handed use were combined into one master design. The presentation starts off with each individual’s concepts. Then, moves into the finished design of the master and reasons for the design decisions made. Finally, a post mortem that describes a detailed look into the setbacks, helpful accidents, and learned methods that could have been implemented.



Introduction to Usability Making software usable means paying attention to human limits in memory, perception, and attention; it also means anticipating likely errors that can be made and being ready for them, and working with the expectations and abilities of those who will use the software” (Isbister & Schaffer, 2008 pg. 4). In order to widen the audience of various gaming consoles, alternate Human Computer Interface devices must be created to make access to the joy of gaming truly universal.



Design PurposeWith the task of limiting the design of a controller to be used with only one hand in mind. Oceanaut Studios will combine three Core Accessibility Concepts to create a functional Human Computer Interface Device, that is comfortable for the end user, can be easily transfered to right or left handed users, and maps to a wide variety of controller configurations and game genres.



Inspiration TylorMy inspiration comes from an item that most of us use everyday, our cell phones. At least once a day almost everyone holds a cell phone in their hands (Duerson, 2012). This inspired me to use a cell phone as the main concept of my controller. Everyone knows how to hold a cell phone, how to operate and use a cell phone, and how easy and comfortable a cell phone can be. Designing something that can fit comfortable in your hand and is easy to use is the key aspect of my design. The button layout was inspired by the button layout on a Guitar Hero or Rock Band guitar.



Front View

Back

Battery - rechargeable internal battery

Power Indicator/Sensor

On/Off

D-padRed Button

Green ButtonStartSelect

Blue Button

A ButtonB ButtonThumbstick

Yellow Button

Touch Screen

Inspiration (Continued)



Inspiration RexMy inspiration came from identifying how to make a controller that would be just as capable as normal controllers, but for a person with only one hand. The design was made to make holding the controller easier and more natural. The motion sensor is used as the second analog stick. With the amount of buttons and easy to use configuration it would not even surprise me to see people getting this controller due to how efficient it is. Sony stated “The improved ergonomics of the DualShock 4 will render a more comfortable hold and foster better control” (Saurav, 2013). This shows that increasing the handling of the controller can affect the player positively in more than one way.



Inspiration Michael The concept of a programmable finger and thumb controller with gesture recognition came partly from the Kymera Magic Wand (The Wand Company 2009), the Playstation Move Controller (Sony Entertainment, 2010). and the close quarters combat weapon Brass Knuckles. Originally, the Knuckle Duster Mk3 was designed to give users who did not have the use of one hand a natural way to interact with modern game consoles. The design created natural button mappings with fingers and thumbs on either hand and incorporated the gesture based aspects of the Kymera Magic wand and the Playstation Move. This offered greater flexibility regarding input. I believe using the natural finger and thumb mappings as well as the gesture input will provide the user with great flexibility and comfortable control.




Reference Images



Design Method (Step 1)After interpreting the meaning of each Core Accessibility Concept the team focused on creating a controller that was easy to hold in one hand. The original design looked like a “phaser” for Star Trek, but after a few drawings we felt that mounting the rings in the middle of the device offered more comfortable control and held better with our team design.



Design Method (Step 2)Incorporating gesture control was extremely important to allow the user to map natural motion to gestures. It added another way to customize the experience. It was noted that a software pkg would be installed to the user platform to allow access to gesture mapping and other options.



Design Method (Step 3)Triggers were added to the bottom of the controller to augment input. These also have “locks” to limit the use of controls based on left or right handed use. We decided the rings will be an inch diameter to allow for easy access. Each ring will be adjustable with a zip tie type function.



Design Method (Step 4)The Rings changed from buttons to pressure sensors to alleviate hand stress and take advantage of pressure sense technology. Added a right or left hand toggle switch to lock unused triggers to make an ambidextrous design. We also added a rumble feature to keep with industry standard and give the user another method of feedback.



Schematic Diagrams



State and Defend Design Assumptions(Tylor: Comfortable and easy recognition)

The purpose of my design was to create something that almost everyone used on a daily basis and felt comfortable holding in their hands. The use of a cell phone made this possible. With little space on the screen I utilized the back of the cell phone to plot the button layout that was based on the neck buttons on a Guitar Hero controller (minus the orange button). This allowed for easy access and use while holding the cell phone because your forefingers rested on the back of the phone. Given that this is pretty much a cell phone the use of a touch screen is necessary.The D-pad and thumbstick on the touch screen gives a smooth transition while moving your character or selecting items in a game. This setup allows players to use one-hand while using the controller. About 49% the people in the world use one-hand when using their cell phone so this would come natural to most of them (Hoober, 2013).



State and Defend Design Assumptions(Rex): Convenient and form fitting one handed controller

with all the buttons needed for any genre.The purpose for my design was to give all of the abilities normally only associated with two handed controllers to one meant for one handed use. The design shows the ease that a player could use this design to perform all of the required tasks that a traditional controller could do. With the use of a motion sensor this gives the controller an edge in genres such as FPS due to the increase in control brought by the motion sensor versus a analog stick. The touch pad being used as the other analog stick also would have the feature of one finger press and two finger press to be used as the the two analog buttons. With the manner that all of the buttons are laid out it creates a more natural feeling for the player to use the controller. “...the Wii has reshaped living room entertainment by making simple, intuitive games accessible to millions of people who never felt comfortable with a typical two-handed game controller”.(Schiesel, 2010)



State and Defend Design Assumptions(Michael: Programmable finger and thumb controller with

gesture recognition)Natural gestures have been a part of how humans communicate since the dawn of time. It makes sense that the same gestures we use to communicate to each other can be used to communicate with computers as well. Kwangtaek, Joongrock, Jaesung, Junghyun, & Sangyoun agree that “Vision-based hand gesture interactions are natural and intuitive when interacting with computers, since we naturally exploit gestures to communicate with other people” (2015). The Nuckle Hero capitalizes on this strength by allowing users to customize gestures and map different commands to them.



Game Summary Batman: Arkham Knight

Batman: Arkham knight (Rocksteady, 2015) is a third person, open world, action adventure game. Players control Batman as he works to save Gotham City using a variety of close quarters combat skills and gadget proficiency. This game also includes various automotive combat situations and stunts using the Batmobile.



Control MappingsLogic: Batman: Arkham Knight is known for fast paced combat and mobility. Keeping that core gameplay in mind we mapped the controls as follows.



Destiny (Bungie, 2014) is a sci fi first person shooter game set in the distant future. Players control a guardian who is tasked with defending the last city on earth and defeat the hostile alien races who have taken over the past human colonies. Players have access to a wide range of weapons and abilities to customize their guardian to better suit their particular play style.

Game Summary Destiny



Control Mappings Logic: Destiny is structured in a very similar fashion to most modern first person shooter titles. In order to create a natural transition from a two handed controller to the Nuckle Hero, the key controls are as follows.



Forza 4 is a fast paced racing style game where players compete against AI or real players to be the first to cross the finish line. Players can fully customize the cars they purchase and tune them to their playstyle.

Game Summary Forza 4



Control MappingsLogic: Like every racing game, Forza 4, has three main buttons that players need to focus on. The gas, brakes, and steering. To focus on those three buttons The Nuckle Hero’s racing controls are mapped as followed:



Prototype



PlaytestPositives:

Felt comfortable while resting in player's handTouch screen buttons were easy to use and understandThe back buttons on both sides made it easy to use with either

handGestures made the player more active

NegativesHard getting use to the button layout on the backSince it is like a touchscreen phone the player felt like they

needed to stare at the screen oftenSince most people are use to using two hands to play a game,

the player felt like it was hard to play with one hand.



Post-MortemWhat happened correctly

In our process of developing the Nuckle Hero we ran into a few problems. These problems were easily overshadowed by the positive aspects we used in the development. The development had the normal amount of questions in the beginning. By the end we were able to figure out all of what we needed to create an amazing product.

The first aspect that showed great help in the project was the level of communication the group brought amongst each other. There was never a time when anyone wondered when the group was meeting or what the focus of the meeting was about. The team was guided by the guidelines created at each week, and if there was anyone was not able to reach them they reacted and reached out to the others. The efficiency of tackling the project was increased by the high levels of communication.



Post-MortemWhat went incorrectly

The issues we ran into that were incorrect at first involved having to create more content on some of our original ideas. One of our members had to recreate their concept from scratch based on the instructor’s recommendations. This delayed our process from being able to start as early as we were hoping. This also brought on the discerning thoughts of if the recreation will be up to standards. With discipline and extra time put into the project this dilemma was turned from a disaster to a mere nuisance. The team banded together and gave great insight, and the base of the new design outshined the others and ended up helping to merge the three concepts into one.



Post-MortemWhat would we do differently

Things our group could have done differently were of less importance to the project than fixing the problems or maintaining our communication. One thing that stands out as to what our group could of done differently was looking past our initial assumptions for what the best idea for the final design would be. The group focused on what we felt was the best design and then how best to combine all of the concepts. Another method we could of used was assigning each member to create a merger of all the members concepts and then bring those prototypes to a discussion to create with more ideas. The method our group chose was more than effective, but bringing more ideas can never hurt when striving to bring the best idea forward.



ReferencesBungie. (2014). Destiny [Video game]. Santa Monica,CA: Activision.

Dualshockers. (n.d). Screenshot of Destiny Controls. Retrieved from http://cdn4.dualshockers.com/wp-

content/uploads/2014/06/Destiny-Public-Alpha_20140612230436.jpg

Duerson, M. (2012). We’re addicted to ot phones: 84% worldwide say they couldn’t go a single day without their mobile device in their hand. Retrieved August 16, 2015 from http://www.nydailynews.com/life-style/addicted-phones-84-worldwide-couldn-single-day-mobile-device-hand-article-1.1137811

Guitar Hero 2 Manual (n.d.) Retrieved from http://www.meekeo.com/Xbox-360-manuals_guitar-hero-2

Harper, J. (2011) Guitar Hero Controller [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://johnnymercyside.blogspot.com/2011/09/mercy-side-rise-and-fall-of-guitar-hero.html

Hoober, S. (2013). How Do Users Really Hold Mobile Devices? Retrieved on October 10, 2015 from http://www.uxmatters.com/mt/archives/2013/02/how-do-users-really-hold-mobile-devices.php

http://forzamotorsport.net/en-US/games/fm4

Humintell. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015.


http://forzamotorsport.net/en-US/games/fm4


References (Continued)Isbister, K, Schaffer, N. (2008). Game Usability: Advice from the Experts for Advancing Player Experience

[Safari Books version]. Retrieved from http://ce.safaribooksonline.com/book/programming/game-

programming/9780123744470

Kwangtaek, K., Joongrock, K., Jaesung, C., Junghyun, K., & Sangyoun, L. (2015). Depth Camera-Based 3D

Hand Gesture Controls with Immersive Tactile Feedback for Natural Mid-Air Gesture Interactions. Sensors

(14248220), 15(1), 1022-1046. doi:10.3390/s150101022

Logitech PowerShell Controller Review And Giveaway. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015.

Moroney, K. (2012) Cell Phone in Hand [Digital Image]. Retrieved from http://www.mlive.com/business/west-michigan/index.ssf/2012/10/cell_phone_workshop_designed_t.html

Ringbow – finger ring gamepad Kickstarter project. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015.



References (Continued)Rocksteady Studios.(2015). Arkham Knight User Manual [PDF document]. Retrieved from

https://www.batmanarkhamknight.com/assets/manuals/PS4/BAK_PS4_ManInt_ENG.pdf

Rocksteady Studios. (2015). Batman: Arkham Knight [Video game]. Burbank, CA: WB Games.

Saurav. (2013, July 23). PS3/PS4 Controller – In-depth Comparison. Retrieved October 10, 2015.

Schiesel, S. (2010, December 3). A Real Threat Now Faces the Nintendo Wii. New York Times. p. 7.

Sony Entertainment (2010) Playstation Move Retrieved from

https://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/accessories/playstation-move/

Star Trek Original Series Phaser. (n.d.). Retrieved October 11, 2015.

The Wand Company (2009) Kymera Magic Wand. Retrieved from

http://www.thewandcompany.com/Buying.html


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