HCI (Human Computer Interface)

Task A understanding hardware technologies for game platforms

HCI (Human Computer Interface)

An HCI is basically what you use to control your console so controllers, joysticks, keyboard, mouse, wheel and pedals, motion sensing input device, motion controllers and voice controller. 

Controller

The controller is a device that is used for controlling a console usually a Playstation, Xbox and even a computer with the steam controller. Controllers have been around for many years and have adapted and changed since they were first made. Controllers now have adapted so they are comfortable and fit in your hand so it is easier and better to use. As you can see on the picture to the right it is adapted so the buttons you use most are in places that are easy to reach and use.

Joysticks

Joysticks are a fairly old form of HCI it is usually used in flight simulators or many different simulators they are also used to train people how to fly without using a real plane. The Joystick is made for flying so it is easy to use and helpful if you are playing a flight simulator. 

Keyboard and Mouse

The keyboard and mouse are most likely the most famous and popular HCI it has been around since the computer was made and is easy to use as you can just press keys to do certain things. There are some keyboards and mice that are called ergonomic this means that they have been adapted to make it feel comfy which helps. 

Motion Controllers 

Motion controllers are for Wii and recently new devices are coming out like the PlayStation Move and the Oculus Rift. The way these work is by moving the controller around or moving yourself around which will make your character move. The controller have four buttons and a motion detector so it can tell when you are moving to move your character.

Voice Controller

A voice controller is controlled by the voice examples of this is on the PlayStation when you speak through the headset or camera you can command the PlayStation and go onto things that you want to by speaking and not using the controller. 

Motion Sensing Input Device

Motion sensing input devices consist of the Xbox Kinect and the PlayStation Camera these are used for capturing motion and displaying it so you can move your character which will be you. 

Wheel & Pedals

Wheel and pedals are what they say they are they are a steering wheel and pedals you can use them on the PS2 to play various racing games including Need for Speed. 

Advancements

As you can see in the pictures the controller has advanced and changed a lot since the NES. The two pictures above shows a modern day PlayStation 3 controller and the old NES controller. As you can see in the picture above the NES controller is a lot wider than the modern day controller meaning it is less comfortable to hold. Another difference is there are less buttons on the NES as there were less features to do in the game whereas nowadays you have more features. Also the modern day controller is shaped so that it fits perfectly into your hand and make it comfortable. Another feature is that you can go to the main menu with the modern controller but with the older controller there is no menu button so to get to it you have to use the actual console. I think that the modern day game controller is a food dispenser, the controller will release a certain piece of food that is something from the game and you get to eat it to see what it tastes like and you feel immersed.  

Level 3 Games Design

Unit 78: Digital Graphics for Computer Games

Jack Palmer

Understand theory and application used for (P1) computer game graphics

The games I am going to be using for understanding theory and application used for computer game graphics is The Last of Us and Tetris, there are many differences between Tetris and The Last of Us I am going to go over them.

The Last of Us is an post apocalyptic game based around the characters Joel and Ellie. It is a 64 Bit photo realistic game. Here is the trailer so you can get a better idea of what the game is. 

Tetris is a 2D game that is 8 bit and made using pixel art it is a classic game where you have to match the blocks so they disappear.

Artistic Styles

First of all the difference between the two games artistic styles is massive. Tetris is made using the artistic style of pixel art the reason it is made as pixel art so that the mood and atmosphere is just happy and just unrealistic on purpose so that it works. However, The Last of Us has a completely different purpose Tetris is to destroy the blocks but The Last of Us is a apocalyptic game meaning that the game is made using photo-realism so the mood and atmosphere is there and it feels like an actual zombie apocalypse has occurred. The image above shows that The Last of Us has used photo realism and shows how it makes the mood and atmosphere.

File Extensions  

Every single game has a file extension a file extension is basically the type of file that the game is on for example if you compress a game it is likely to be either TIF or PNG. Tetris was most likely made with the file extension being JPG as JPG is the smallest file extension and it also has the worst quality meaning it is similar to Tetris and its style. The Last of Us however, is a much bigger game meaning that the file extension will be a lot bigger and most likely higher quality. The Last of Us most likely used an camera raw image and file so that it had higher quality and so it would look like it does with high quality graphics.

Optimising/Compression

Optimising is when you increase the graphics or increase a certain item in a game to make it as efficient as possible. The opposite of optimising is compressing the way compressing works is to compress and reduce the resolution or quality of the game but instead it takes up less storage space making it better for games on phones or devices. The difference between the two games is that The Last of Us is optimised and Tetris is compressed, Tetris is compressed because it was made to work for the Gameboy which did not have enough space to optimise or not compress. The picture above is taken in The Last of Us and shows the graphics and game and how it has optimised the graphics.

Picture/Image Resolution 

Picture resolution is the quality of the picture and how much detail it holds in it. The better the quality, the higher the picture resolution and image resolution is the quality of image and how sharp and the depth it has in the image itself. Since Tetris has no photo realism in it the picture resolution can not exist however, the image resolution does exist and is a lot different to The Last of Us as it is not very high but The Last of Us has high image resolution and picture resolution.

Print Media

The print media for Tetris is very different to The Last of Us this is because of the times it was made. As you can see above the Tetris print media is just a picture of a few blocks and it is very different to The Last of Us as you can see in the picture above the print media is a lot more realistic compared to Tetris which is not realistic.

Image Capture

Image capture is taking an image using any software or device you can do this with a camera, screenshotting, screen recording software, scanning and just drawing it yourself. Tetris and The Last of Us have massive differences with image capture. The Last of Us captured its images using a camera as you can see in the picture above they took a picture of Ashley Johnson and then changed a few features. Tetris however, is created using an art software to draw each individual block. There are some similarities between the two image captures though as some parts in The Last of Us were drawn like Tetris.

Storage of Image Assets The storage of image assets is basically what file name the data is stored in so say for example you make a picture of something but someone else is doing the shading of the picture if you save it in a file with no name it will take them a lot longer than if you call the file "picture needing shading". One example of this is below in this picture, i saved the name as "The Last of Us Ellie" so that i know what it is and so do other people. 

Unit 78: Digital Graphics For Computer Games

Research Exercise

File Extensions

File extensions are what you save your work into for example a GIF or TIF or JPEG. It is important that you choose the right file extension because it can save storage or use more storage depending on what device it is being used on for example a TIF is better used when making an APP as TIF files compress therefore using less storage space up. Whereas GIF's do not compress files so they are used more when using a computer because it has more space.

Compression

Compression means to compress something down, compress means to make the volume of something smaller so for example when making a file for an APP you need to compress it so that the phone has enough space and can handle it. Compression is used mainly with TIF's and usually when a file needs to be transferred from a computer to a phone.

Image Capture

Image capture is taking an image using any software or device you can do this with a camera, screenshotting, screen recording software, scanning and just drawing it yourself. Image capture is used for capturing image for example if you take a picture of a background and use it in the video game that would be capturing image. This is also used for the background in garrys mod in the picture above.

Optimising

The meaning of optimising is to get something as efficient as possible so that it is optimised to it's full potential one game example of this that has optimised the graphics is Grand Theft Auto 5 in which the game graphics have been optimised.

Storage of Image Assets

Storing images is important because if you work in a company and you are in charge of making an image but then someone else is responsible for shading it then you need to have put it in the right file so its easy for them to find it and use it.