An old standby of the computer world is the gaming industry, going all the way back to Pong and Pac-man. One of the hottest, relatively recent, developments has been the touch screen, on smart phones and tablets such as iPad. There is a legitimate question as to how this pair of computer tendencies might co-exist.
Certainly, the immediate evidence would suggest such a concern is much ado about nothing. Games have been developed for touch screens: I've compiled my list of the best games for iPad elsewhere. The fact of such games though has not been without its detractors and critics.
The usual approach is to dis such games on what seems to be the practical impracticality. To put it bluntly, they complain that touch screen games aren't effective because the player's fingers obstruct the view of the screen.
This may too often be true. It is though a criticism of the games designed, not the gaming potential of touch screen computers. In fact, the notion that tactile interface with the screen is problematic is itself a kind of outdated myopia. I'll suggest, on the contrary, rather than some conceptual cul-de-sac, touch screen gaming is not merely the cutting edge of gaming culture and technology, but it is a portent of human-computer interfacing of the future.
Before fully making my case, let's reflect on a helpful bit of context. When was the last time you watched someone finger paint? Much, I think, can be learned from such observation. Commenting that real painters use paint brushes is true enough.
Yet, we all know the joys of sticking our fingers into the paint; of using the tips of our fingers to smear, spread and shape the paint. Finger painting in a sense is almost a kind of sculpture. Kids of course notoriously love it, but even adults, given the rare occasion, if not worried about getting paint on their new dress or suit, will often be compelled to spontaneously stick in their fingers.
Contrast these pleasures to another childhood picture making medium, the Etch-n-Sketch. Of course, I'm not denying it provides fun and satisfaction, too. Perhaps you'll concede though it is a rather different style of pleasure: detailed in an almost obsessive-compulsive sort of fixated way. This you might agree is a world away from the raw and sensual pleasures of anyone of any age experiencing finger painting. The difference between these two experiences is immediately related to the quality of immersion. Not merely immersion in an experience, but in the medium itself.
For, if you think about it, the finger painter is not merely painting the picture, but doing so from within the picture. The painter is literally, physically in the picture he is producing. The painting is an extension of the painter. And no less is the painter an extension of the painting. The kind of sublime joy generated by this profoundly immersive experience goes a long way in helping us understand why touch screen gaming is the future of gaming. And not only that, but is a harbinger of the future of human-computer interfacing. With the touch screen game we discover a simulation of the immersive, joyous experience of finger painting.
Complaints over the touch screen's lack of buttons and joysticks, mice and keyboards, express nothing more than the entirely predictable resistance to change always experienced by people left behind by technological change. Such people are understandably resentful. They have invested great amounts of time, energy and sometimes their personal wealth, into learning skills that are rendered obsolete.
It's really no different from photographers complaining about digital cameras, old ink-stained newspaper journalists complaining about the internet, motion picture studios complaining about television, big band musicians complaining about the phonograph, and horse-and-carriage operators complaining about the automobile. Progress marches on and those with investments in the past get passed over. Unless we want to live in some permanent past, though, surely this is a good thing.
It's not just though about improved functionality, but also about a more immediate experience and a more accessible one. The first person who had the idea to hook up speakers to their TV to create a surround sound effect were leading the way along the path to the day when we all will experience our favorite shows as virtual reality experiences. And that day isn't as far off as you might think.
It verges on cliche to observe how we humans so enjoy "losing ourselves" in our entertainment. When we're enjoying it the most we're "wrapped up in it." These turns of phrase capture a deep seated desire for momentary transcendence. For a little while we seek to escape our worries and even our very bodily presence in the mundane world. This urge for brief refuge in fantasy explains much about our continuous urge for deeper and deeper immersion in our entertainment media.
The emergence of the hugely popular Wii is an obvious illustration of just this phenomenon: the move toward a tactically immersive gaming experience. The touch screen, with its immersive gaming experience, putting us right in the game in a way no control console or keyboard ever can, is a kind of link between the innocent joys of childhood finger painting and virtual reality narrative and exploratory experiences that are just around the corner.
Even that though is just a shadow of the technological immersion we can expect. Science fiction TV programs such as Star Trek or Babylon 5 depict technology that allows lights to be switched on through voice command. That though only scratches the surface of what is coming. The pioneering of cutting edge of strong AI opens the possibility of an environment in which the lights come on when we think about needing them, or they increases intensity when registering eye fatigue. This is the direction in which the future is moving and it is the logic of our endless thirst for the fully immersive human-computer interface.
Touch screen gaming is a stepping stone into that future. Game designers who try to build button or stick driven games for the iPad are like the early film makers and record producers who could only conceive film or tape recording as instruments for recording live performances. Until the benefits of splicing were discovered the potential of such media went unexplored.
Likewise, until they can wrap their heads around the possibilities of organic designs, realizing the optimum potential for the best games for iPad, and other touch screen devices, such designers will be the last of the past, rather than pioneers of the future.
Certainly, the immediate evidence would suggest such a concern is much ado about nothing. Games have been developed for touch screens: I've compiled my list of the best games for iPad elsewhere. The fact of such games though has not been without its detractors and critics.
The usual approach is to dis such games on what seems to be the practical impracticality. To put it bluntly, they complain that touch screen games aren't effective because the player's fingers obstruct the view of the screen.
This may too often be true. It is though a criticism of the games designed, not the gaming potential of touch screen computers. In fact, the notion that tactile interface with the screen is problematic is itself a kind of outdated myopia. I'll suggest, on the contrary, rather than some conceptual cul-de-sac, touch screen gaming is not merely the cutting edge of gaming culture and technology, but it is a portent of human-computer interfacing of the future.
Before fully making my case, let's reflect on a helpful bit of context. When was the last time you watched someone finger paint? Much, I think, can be learned from such observation. Commenting that real painters use paint brushes is true enough.
Yet, we all know the joys of sticking our fingers into the paint; of using the tips of our fingers to smear, spread and shape the paint. Finger painting in a sense is almost a kind of sculpture. Kids of course notoriously love it, but even adults, given the rare occasion, if not worried about getting paint on their new dress or suit, will often be compelled to spontaneously stick in their fingers.
Contrast these pleasures to another childhood picture making medium, the Etch-n-Sketch. Of course, I'm not denying it provides fun and satisfaction, too. Perhaps you'll concede though it is a rather different style of pleasure: detailed in an almost obsessive-compulsive sort of fixated way. This you might agree is a world away from the raw and sensual pleasures of anyone of any age experiencing finger painting. The difference between these two experiences is immediately related to the quality of immersion. Not merely immersion in an experience, but in the medium itself.
For, if you think about it, the finger painter is not merely painting the picture, but doing so from within the picture. The painter is literally, physically in the picture he is producing. The painting is an extension of the painter. And no less is the painter an extension of the painting. The kind of sublime joy generated by this profoundly immersive experience goes a long way in helping us understand why touch screen gaming is the future of gaming. And not only that, but is a harbinger of the future of human-computer interfacing. With the touch screen game we discover a simulation of the immersive, joyous experience of finger painting.
Complaints over the touch screen's lack of buttons and joysticks, mice and keyboards, express nothing more than the entirely predictable resistance to change always experienced by people left behind by technological change. Such people are understandably resentful. They have invested great amounts of time, energy and sometimes their personal wealth, into learning skills that are rendered obsolete.
It's really no different from photographers complaining about digital cameras, old ink-stained newspaper journalists complaining about the internet, motion picture studios complaining about television, big band musicians complaining about the phonograph, and horse-and-carriage operators complaining about the automobile. Progress marches on and those with investments in the past get passed over. Unless we want to live in some permanent past, though, surely this is a good thing.
It's not just though about improved functionality, but also about a more immediate experience and a more accessible one. The first person who had the idea to hook up speakers to their TV to create a surround sound effect were leading the way along the path to the day when we all will experience our favorite shows as virtual reality experiences. And that day isn't as far off as you might think.
It verges on cliche to observe how we humans so enjoy "losing ourselves" in our entertainment. When we're enjoying it the most we're "wrapped up in it." These turns of phrase capture a deep seated desire for momentary transcendence. For a little while we seek to escape our worries and even our very bodily presence in the mundane world. This urge for brief refuge in fantasy explains much about our continuous urge for deeper and deeper immersion in our entertainment media.
The emergence of the hugely popular Wii is an obvious illustration of just this phenomenon: the move toward a tactically immersive gaming experience. The touch screen, with its immersive gaming experience, putting us right in the game in a way no control console or keyboard ever can, is a kind of link between the innocent joys of childhood finger painting and virtual reality narrative and exploratory experiences that are just around the corner.
Even that though is just a shadow of the technological immersion we can expect. Science fiction TV programs such as Star Trek or Babylon 5 depict technology that allows lights to be switched on through voice command. That though only scratches the surface of what is coming. The pioneering of cutting edge of strong AI opens the possibility of an environment in which the lights come on when we think about needing them, or they increases intensity when registering eye fatigue. This is the direction in which the future is moving and it is the logic of our endless thirst for the fully immersive human-computer interface.
Touch screen gaming is a stepping stone into that future. Game designers who try to build button or stick driven games for the iPad are like the early film makers and record producers who could only conceive film or tape recording as instruments for recording live performances. Until the benefits of splicing were discovered the potential of such media went unexplored.
Likewise, until they can wrap their heads around the possibilities of organic designs, realizing the optimum potential for the best games for iPad, and other touch screen devices, such designers will be the last of the past, rather than pioneers of the future.
About the Author:
To check out the latest goings-on in the universe of touch screen games, check out Mishu Hull's regular posts at the Best Games for iPad blog. He writes on a variety of technology issues. His critical review of the newest version of Kindle Fire, " Kindle Fire Tries it Again, But... ," is a must read.
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