Demonstration of the Development and Use of User Interaction in Computer Games

Tim Heaton,

Software Manager, Gremlin

Interactive, The Green House, 33

Bowdon Street, Sheffield, S1 4HA,

UK

ABSTRACT

Gremlin Interactive are one of Europe's foremost computer game developers and publishers. The demonstration will endeavour to show the current state of the art in user input and output in games.

KEYWORDS:

Computer games, force feedback, motion capture, computer graphics.

INTRODUCTION

Computer games, because of the fast moving nature of the market and the obvious appeal of innovation, use a bewildering array of human / computer interaction techniques. We will display a series of games demonstrating a variety of user input and user feedback techniques. An informal presentation will attempt to discuss the following:

THE DEVELOPMENT PROCESS

Computer games aren't developed by maniac 16 year olds in their bedrooms anymore. They're developed by teams of ten or twenty people over an 18 month to 2 year period. They use the latest software engineering techniques and particular care is taken with object orientated design, version control, code re-use and quality assurance.

MOTION CAPTURE

Motion capture allows us to record human movement in three dimensions and place that data onto computer generated characters. This is a quicker and more accurate method of animation than 'hand' animation, where an artist adds animation to a character using a series of computer tools. It does however have it's own set of problems. Gremlin Interactive have a full time Mo Cap studio in Sheffield and is perhaps the most experienced of all games companies in its use.

USER INPUT

Computer games live or die by the speed and appropriateness of their input. The essence of gameplay is frequently determined by the 'feedback loop' of input and instantaneous response. Equally, the move to games in three dimensions has meant the development of a variety of input methods to deal with this. The latest techniques will be demonstrated including radically new joysticks, 'orb' input devices, VR headwear and possibly a motion control chair.

DISPLAY TECHNIQUES

Demonstrations of 3D hardware accelerated graphics, stereo imaging and three dimensional sound will be given.