Input Strikes a Nerve

What started out as a comment on Maunderlust's blog turned into a full-fledged entry. That's what these things are for I suppose, right? I've seen a few articles on how FPS' utilize the motion control capabilities of the Wii today and it seems like it's struck a chord through the blogosphere. Everybody is writing about it now.

I believe this is because as soon as gamers laid their eyes on Nintendo's new controller, they almost immediately made the "perfect for first person games" connection. I'll admit the Wiimote has the potential to best mouse and keyboard gaming in first person games. The level of precision I'm already seeing is something I can be extremely comfortable with and these first gen games are nothing compared to what we'll be seeing a year or so down the road, and hopefully sooner.

Now we're getting into some of the ideas that expanded my "comment-into-a-blog." I'll just paste what I wrote already because I'm lazy and tired and cranky...

"The article I read suggested creating a system on the Wii that detected whenever you put your hands down, and rather then the camera going all wonky on you it would revert to the center of the screen after a predetermined amount of time. I think the main problem is that although most gamers are used to focusing their eyes, we're not quite at the same point with keeping our controllers steadily pointed at the screen.

"I still understand the first generation of Wii titles disappoints somewhat because developers are still learning how it's best to integrate controls. I still can't figure out Elebits controls at times - at one point it seems spot on and the next its out of control and I'm actually keeping my hand still [while this is happening].

"I like to look at it like this. Just as this new console possesses a learning curve for development (like all others, and even more so for the PS3), there is also a learning curve for this new method of input. I'm sure we'll see many different solutions for controlling different types of games. The beauty of it is that the Wiimote offers far more versatility in how the developers can set up their controls, so you never really know what to expect. There is no assuming in knowing exactly what it will feel like to control a game until you've played it. Does it work for you?"

Me personally, I don't believe this 'bounding box' method of input is the best solution for gamers. To me it's a clunky system that will never offer a true level of precision that's required in almost all first person shooters. What happens when the Wii goes online and you're ready to frag your friends? Are we gonna be left fighting with the controls half the time? I sure hope Metroid gets it right and the rest of developers either take notice of a system that works or find something bigger and better.