Games don’t need to be a full sensory experience

As an avid gamer, I’m usually very easily impressed by the gamut of game gadgets that are touted as ‘the next big thing’ by various peripheral manufactures. Gaming mice with interchangeable weights and grips? Yes please. Joystick controllers specifically designed for head-to-head fighting games? I’ll take two, thanks. A controller that’s designed to increase immersion by simulating hot and cold sensations? Wait… what?

According to this article on the PopSci front page, this type of gaming controller is being touted as the next possible big thing at the SIGGRAPH conference. The controller uses a pair of thermoelectric panels on either side of the controller that cool or heat rapidly in light of what the player is experiencing in the gaming world.

Despite the gimmicky nature of the Wii’s motion control, I’m still very interested in seeing how Microsoft’s November-release of controller-less motion control, Kinect, works. I’ll now admit that even the once-loathed addition of vibrating controllers have their place in the gaming world (although extended use can make them a bit painful). But as for a controller that literally turns up the heat or exudes cool, depending on what’s going on in the game – I just can’t get my head around the practical application of such a device.

While game sound design, and the subsequent hardware that does it justice, has come a long way, I still think that the other major sensory component of gaming—the visual aspect—has yet to hit its peak. We gamers are still required to absorb 3D imagery from a 2D screen, and even the latest foray into 3D display technology can’t replace the fact that it’s merely a step towards the total 3D immersion that is destined to crop up over the next decade or so.

My point is that while an argument could be made to say that audio technology (both design and playback) in games has hit a point where subsequent upgrades will really only be aesthetic, visual technology has not advanced far enough to warrant trying to bring other senses into the equation. I can already see and hear games, but I’m not convinced that I need to engage my sense of touch beyond vibrating controllers.

What do the rest of you think?

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