The Limitations of Motion Controls- Part 1

With another E3 come and gone it’s clear that motion controls are still big business, and why wouldn’t they be? The Wii, the Kinect and the top motion control games have been pushing millions of units. Motion control games allow us whole new experiences and put a kind of technology at our finger tips we’ve never witnessed before, but us more traditional games fanatics seem to be some combination of unconcerned with what motion controls are doing, still irrationally fearful that motion controls will ruin gaming, think motion controls are a novelty, or interested to see how motion controls will be incorporated into “core” games in the future. The first group we can’t say much about, the second group is probably best ignored in this discussion as it’s pretty clear that right now no console manufacturer wants to introduce motion controls in a way that’s going to offend, and in the case of Microsoft and Sony they seem rightfully apprehensive of introducing their motion control peripherals in a way that isn’t optional.

Novelty or Innovation?

 Could the control system of the future be anything like this? I doubt it. So, what of those who think that motion controls are a novelty? I think those of us who are immediately turning up their noses at motion control games simply because they’re a novelty are often acting worryingly elitist, and that perhaps novelty isn’t such a terrible thing, after all most of us have enjoyed light gun games or DDR before now. Having said this I believe that for all intents and purposes motion control peripherals are basically a novelty for the traditional games designer. I’m not sure that those accusing motion controls of being a novelty fully understand why this is though. 

 

What about those who think that motion controls could be a purposeful and highly relevant addition to core games? Well, I think there are two sets of problems here; firstly, the way the industry currently makes motion control games doesn’t gel with traditional game design archetypes and secondly there are fundamental issues with motion controls which I think keep them from ever being superior to traditional control schemes when controlling traditional games. So, what are these great limitations of motion controls I speak of? Let’s take a look.

Motion Control Games Aren’t Traditional Games

This is one of those statements which sounds obvious, but it’s something that’s often forgotten and should be kept at the forefront of our minds when talking about motion controls. As it is we lump motion control games and traditional video games into one big entertainment medium we call “video games”, but perhaps in a different reality they’d be classed as entirely different entertainment mediums altogether. While there’s certainly a big grey area where elements of motion control games can be introduced to more traditional games (and vice-versa), essentially traditional game elements are trying to engage us on a largely mental level, while motion control games are trying to engage us on a largely physical level. Again, this seems obvious but if we keep this fact in mind we realise that when you’re asking for motion controls to be added to traditional games, whether the end result is going to be beneficial or not, you’re asking for a big fundamental change to the experience the game gives the player.

 While both part of the same medium, these two products offer entirely different experiences.

There is the temptation here to call the player lazy, to say that because they “can’t be bothered” to swipe their hands across the screen or make a few arm movements to control their games, that they’re being lackadaisical, but I don’t think this is a fair argument. There are many lazy games consumers out there (I know I can be pretty damn lazy when I want to be), but participating in a physically relaxed or even physically and mentally relaxed activity doesn’t make you lazy.

As for as games that combine motion controls and traditional controls go, while I think it’s arguable that there’s some room for traditional games to be a more physically active experience on occasion, people generally like to divide their time into passive recreation and active recreation, and don’t like to mix the two too often. In implementation a mix of motion control and traditional control has the potential to cause a rather jarring clash. To me asking someone to use motion controls in a traditional game bears some resemblance to asking someone solving a rubik’s cube to be trampolining at the same time; it might be an activity that’s fun to try out a few times, but ultimately it’s often too at odds with itself to be considered a standard entertainment medium.

What’s more, if you’re going to have people waving their limbs around too much to progress through a game, they’re only going to be able to play the game in reasonable bursts of time. Some will be able to endure more than others, but the average person is eventually going to have to quit playing the game sooner than they might have otherwise wanted to do if it had included fewer or no motion control elements, solely because they don’t have the physical fortitude.

Speed of Input

 There's a reason gamepads are still the standard.

Another important point to remember is that buttons and control sticks are a very fast means of input. As many have noticed by now this is actually one of the most important advantages that standard game controls have over motion controls. Next time you watch someone playing an action-adventure game, shooter, fighting game, or something similar, look at how often they change the input combinations they use; they’re constantly pressing and releasing buttons and adjusting control sticks.

It takes far more time to swing your arm or jump in the air than it does to hit triangle and when it comes down to the fundamental actions in the game world, the player has to be able to perform many of them in a fraction of a second. A player in Gears of War has to be able to vault over cover, then run to the next piece of cover, revive their friend, reload, change weapon, peak over the cover and start firing at the opposing side in a matter of a few seconds. It’s hard to imagine this kind of fast-paced scenario being as simple in the realm of modern motion controls; it just wouldn’t be as easy or quick and thus wouldn’t be anywhere near as smooth or fluid. So while motion control games can make you excited by getting that adrenaline pumping or having you flail around your living room comically, the gameplay itself almost always has to be a rather slower paced affair.

Duder, It’s Over

That’s all for this week, but I’ll finish this up next Saturday. As always thanks for reading and all feedback is welcome. Good luck, have metal.

-Gamer_152