The Legacy of Motion Controls

[Fierce_LiNk]

I was a massive fan of the Wii, right from the unveiling of the controller through to playing ExciteTruck for the first time and to becoming very accustomed to the playmaker controls for PES.

 

The controls were unique. Putting aside the drawbacks for the Wii system for now, we shall look closely at the controls. They were different. It allowed us to do something that we couldn't really do beforehand. When Nintendo showed off the GamePad for the first time, my initial reaction was..."but what about the motion controls?" Specifically, the pointer controls. How was I going to go back to a racing game after playing ExciteTruck? How could I make off the ball runs in a football game without the pointer controls? How could I aim in an FPS?

 

So, where exactly are we? Have motion controls proved that they are here to stay or were they a short-time fad? Did they improve how we play games, or is there/was there still much more refinement needed?

 

Personally, I'm torn. The more I play FIFA with a traditional pad, the more I become confused about whether I actually need the motion controls or not. The more I play DriveClub, the more I'm unsure if I need that ability to tilt the controller and if it would offer the precision needed for a serious racing game.

[Happenstance]

I enjoyed motion controls for about a week until the novelty wore off and I have hated them ever since. Im not sure how much they will be used going forward but Im already glad the amount has been significantly reduced.

[Jonnas]

It's a shame, that was a bandwagon that so few were willing to pursue. ExciteTruck, Resi 4, Skyward Sword, light-gun games... they were all great uses of the motion controls, but it's a shame that the industry ended up alienating the Wii.

 

I would've loved better games built upon those engines (like how Spirit Tracks was a better Phantom Hourglass), but I'm thinking we'll need to wait quite some time before they go in vogue again.

[Glen-i]

I can't play Resident Evil 4 anymore, unless it's the Wii edition.

That really does say it all.

 

Same with Mario Kart 8. I used the Wii Wheel throughout the whole N-E League.

 

When it was done right, motion controls were sublime. Not many games pulled it off though. It was mostly just Ninty that utilised them well. Wii Sports Resort is a great example.

[Sheikah]

I have to say, I'm really happy that games seem to be returning back to non motion controls. In some cases they could be used well like in Zack and Wiki, but the main problem I found was when they took existing games (e.g. Zelda) and added a different control scheme that many didn't like. At least in those places I would have preferred a choice, since I always found regular controls to be easier and more enjoyable to use.

[nekunando]

In my opinion, there needs to be a way to combine motion controls and traditional controls into a single controller

 

The Wii Remote & Nunchuk is AMAZING, one of the best control schemes ever conceived. The only real problem was the lack of buttons for 'normal' games, therefore requiring a Classic Controller that not everyone would own and bringing up a serious, ever-growing issue of too many controllers and no definitive solution

 

For me, I'd love to see Nintendo create a new Wii Remote & Nunchuk for their next console as standard, where both implement a further improved version of Motion Plus and additional buttons on the remote to allow for traditional games to be played without the need for further peripherals. There could be an analogue stick on the 'new' remote along with the standard ABXY buttons, and there's potentially room for a D-Pad below the stick of the nunchuk. Analogue triggers to allow for GC VC games and you're onto a winner

 

It would all need some fine tuning, and I can't see that being the direction they go in future, but it sounds preferable to what we currently have now!

 

On a side note, I saw 'DOLPHIN' printed on a box of bananas in at work the other week and immediately wanted Nintendo to resurrect it for their next console and handheld which, in my opinion, should probably be easily compatible with each other and therefore have similar names so that people know this to be the case Prior to the launch of the Gamecube, 'Dolphin' didn't seem to be an appropriate name for a home console at the time but the world has changed and it sounds pretty damn awesome now

[Jonnas]

On a side note, I saw 'DOLPHIN' printed on a box of bananas in at work the other week and immediately wanted Nintendo to resurrect it for their next console and handheld which, in my opinion, should probably be easily compatible with each other and therefore have similar names so that people know this to be the case Prior to the launch of the Gamecube, 'Dolphin' didn't seem to be an appropriate name for a home console at the time but the world has changed and it sounds pretty damn awesome now

 

NintenDolphin does have a certain ring to it...

[somme]

I only really enjoyed the motion controls for on-rail shooters like Resident Evil: Darkside Chronicles. I much prefer traditional controllers.

 

Wii Bowling is still fun every few years or so.

[Dcubed]

Motion controls are a standard now. They may no longer be the new gee-wiz "gimmick" that they were seen as when they first came to be, but they are now an every day feature of games on every machine imaginable to different extents.

 

You have them on the Wii U, the 3DS, the PS4 (via DS4 and PSMove), the Xbone (Kinect), your smartphone and even the PC! (Kinect for Windows, Razer Hydra, Occulus Rift etc). They're just another tool in a game designer's arsenal now.

 

While you rarely see games that are designed entirely around them now outside of Nintendo platforms (especially their 1st party games which often make extensive use of their console's features) and smartphones (Kinect only games these days are very rare), you do still see "traditional" games making augmented use of them, like the spray can in Infamous Second Son, or the Kinect gestures in Dead Rising 3 for instance.

 

It's yet another input mechanism that Nintendo pioneered that has now become a standard, just like everything that came before it :p

 

As for its application within games themselves? It has more than proven its worth, both with Nintendo's own games and 3rd party titles (yes including ones from other platforms, like House of the Dead 4 for example). It might not be the new and exciting thing anymore, but it's here to stay! Even with games that aren't designed purely around them, there are huge gameplay benefits that they bring to the table (I don't really need to mention the likes of RE4 Wii or Tiger Woods or Bully or The Godfather Wii!)

 

Really the industry at large has only really scratched the surface of what you can do with motion and touch controls. There's still much that has never been done with them and if the big publishers like EA or Activision aren't going to do it, then you'll continue to see independent developers take up the mantle. Look at what Knapnok games are doing with the likes of Affordable Space Adventures and Spin the Bottle: Bumpie's Party! (Speaking of touch controls, Shovel Knight also makes great use of them on Wii U/3DS; really improves the pacing of the game, being able to select items on the fly without pausing! One more reason why it's the best game of the year )

Edited December 24, 2014 by Dcubed

[Sheikah]

I wouldn't say motion controls are that prolific in this gen. They were in Second Son for a very small segment but I reckon you'd struggle to find many other games on PS4 making significant use of motion controls. Compared to last gen when you could tell, for instance, Sony were trying to make a load of games move compatible in order to compete with Nintendo. I think there has been somewhat of a downturn in their popularity and least with Kinect, which seems a lot less popular than it perhaps was, and I'm sure the next Zelda game will at least have the option to control fully with non motion controls (on account of the gamepad being the primary controller method). I guess the best thing for me is that it might now be optional as opposed to enforced. Best of both worlds.

[Grazza]

There's no conflict within me - designing a console fully around motion controls was a bad idea (for gaming, not commercially) then and it still is. The problem is they threw everything out that they had built up before - the Wii remote and nunchuk combo simply didn't have enough buttons to handle the tried and tested control schemes that had been devised up that the point, hence the Twilight Princess debacle (a much more regrettable incident than Skyward Sword, even though it was a better game). I never gave them a free pass just because it was Nintendo and I won't now.

 

The legacy?

 

Well, it did have a legacy. Most control pads now have a gyroscope in them. I love being able to move about and aim with the gyro whilst I'm playing Wind Waker HD. It's true evolution. The difference now is that - thankfully - the console makers will only include a level of motion control that is practical (and completely optional) rather than let it ruin the whole controller.

[somme]

Actually now you mention it I did enjoy the spray can motion controls in Infamous: Second Son. But I was glad it was only a small part of the game.

[Clownferret]

It would be a travesty if tennis, golf, bowling, boxing, baseball, driving, shooting etc games were to revert to analogue controls completely. I would certainly not play another golf game that didn't use motion controls.

[Serebii]

Motion control is weird. I love it, and Skyward Sword was a blast to play due to it, but it is also a barrier. I honestly don't see myself going back to Skyward Sword as often as I do the others.

 

I prefer motion control like the uses I prefer with the Wii U GamePad. I like subtle uses like in Mario Galaxy or Duck Hunt. I don't want to be flailing around like a mad-man or rotating the controller like crazy when trying to steer. That's not to say that I don't like good motion control, as I said I loved Skyward Sword's implementation. I just prefer them to be so subtle that I don't even realise I'm doing it.

 

As @Dcubed mentioned, even though they aren't huge massive gimmicky things now, they're a standard (as I always say, today's gimmicks are tomorrow's standards) and are used rather well now. There's not huge focus on them, and that's good, but integrating them like buttons and control sticks now is the way forward.

Edited December 27, 2014 by Serebii

[Fierce_LiNk]

It would be a travesty if tennis, golf, bowling, boxing, baseball, driving, shooting etc games were to revert to analogue controls completely. I would certainly not play another golf game that didn't use motion controls.

 

I've yet to play a tennis game since Grand Slam Tennis on the Wii, which was pretty damn good. Going back to driving and shooting, I'm not sure how much motion controls are needed after all in these games. Shooting in particular, it's a little strange going back to a non-pointer control scheme, but it's fine. As for driving, the only game I ever played where I thought they got the tilting controls right was ExciteTruck. I didn't enjoy it in Mario Kart and I don't think you could use such a control scheme for a more serious racing game without losing accuracy.

 

See, that's kinda why I was hoping that Nintendo would have gone for a more advanced Wiimote/motionplus for the WiiU, to give us an improved controller that could handle those tricky corners in racers.

[Happenstance]

I think another reason I hate motion controls so much is that because I completely dont like playing them, I feel like I missed out on some pretty good games from the Wii because I had no interest in putting myself through playing like that. It was like a whole console just passed me by.

[Fierce_LiNk]

I think another reason I hate motion controls so much is that because I completely dont like playing them, I feel like I missed out on some pretty good games from the Wii because I had no interest in putting myself through playing like that. It was like a whole console just passed me by.

 

Did you ever play Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? That was one of my favourite Wii games. You had the torch that you controlled with the pointer and it worked incredibly well, added to the mood of the game. That was one of the games where the controls were added up until the about where the game wouldn't be as good without them, yet they didn't act as a barrier. The balance was perfect.

[Happenstance]

Did you ever play Silent Hill: Shattered Memories? That was one of my favourite Wii games. You had the torch that you controlled with the pointer and it worked incredibly well, added to the mood of the game. That was one of the games where the controls were added up until the about where the game wouldn't be as good without them, yet they didn't act as a barrier. The balance was perfect.

 

No, Silent Hill games arent ones I really play either way but I do remember hearing good things about it from the Giant Bomb guys.

[Fierce_LiNk]

No, Silent Hill games arent ones I really play either way but I do remember hearing good things about it from the Giant Bomb guys.

 

It was my first Silent Hill game. I would recommend it but, at the same time, I don't know how well it has aged. Unfortunately, I can see many Wii games not standing the test of time due to their graphics.