ACTIVISION VILLIVARSA 27.1.2011

Focus

Controlling the game in new way.

We went from feet to tank mode and finally to biofeedback.

Rationale

Speed and accuracy are very important in gaming. Muscle impulse input came to mind because it should be even faster input than pushing a button. With muscle input it is possible to make the functions very intuitive, because you can use muscles that resemble real actions. Muscle input can also be very minimalistic. Call of Duty is usually played in quite long periods, so it is important that controlling is not too physically exhausting.

EMG input is very good candidate because it is really something new! We think that it could also be intuitive and fun way to control!

Prototypes

We did looks like and feels like prototypes.

Looks like is a video and we showed it to several gamers and asked how the felt about the control method.

Feels like was Wizard of Oz test.

Video results

Zooming and arm/hand functions got the most compliments. “Functions that are the most natural: zooming, shooting and throwing grenades were the best.”

It seems really cool, fun, new, more immersive and realistic. Also it would be more clear and easier than keyboard, because it’s not as easy to confuse different functions.

Continuous movements, forward, backward, left and right got lot of critique, they are used a lot so muscles would get really tired. They did not seem that intuitive and fun either. Rather than continuous movement to sides, this input coulp be used in peeking to sides.

It should be wireless and easy to set up in order to be used. It would need to work with other games too. Holding the hand up does not work in 10h game sessions.

Test results

Testing revealed that the hand gestures were easier to learn than leg movements. Using different legs for completely different functions was confusing. Reloading and fireing are some of the most used functions in the game and they received positive feedback. The users wished that input could be given with more subtle movements. EMG gave the experience that the user can be sure that the machine understands the gesture input in the right way, unlike playing with the Wii or the Kinect.