The iPhone is the first device since Nintendo's WiiMote that is actually changing the way players play our games. This session will discuss what it truly means to have an accelerometer driven, multi-touch capable, location aware device for players to play with. Gone are the days of multi-submenu driven selection and they have been replaced with gesture-based context aware touches that emphasize a natural way to interact with games. While the focus of this session will be player input as it relates to games, the underlying concepts and approaches should be applicable to all manner of iPhone applications.

1. User
Input
in
a
multi-­‐touch,
accelerometer
driven,
location
aware
world
Brian
Robbins
President/Founder
–
Riptide
Games
brian@riptidegames.com
Twitter:
@dubane
Latest
Slides:
www.dubane.com/cons/
360iDev
Denver
-­‐
Sept.
29,
2009

2. Agenda
• (Quick)
Background
• Multi-­‐Touch
• Accelerometer
• Location
• Q&A

3. Background

8. Touch
Input

9. Single
Touch
• Way
better
than
everything
else
– For
mobile
at
least
• Natural
• Gestures
• Direct
manipulation

10. Multi-­‐Touch
• If
one
is
good
more
is
better!
• Interact
with
multiple
elements
at
once
• Complex
gestures
impossible
with
other
input

11. Hands
are
Big

12. Problem
with
Hands
• Can’t
touch
the
top
of
the
screen
• Anything
below
and
away
is
covered

13. Fixes
for
Hands
• UI
– Move
drop
downs
to
popups
– Buttons
on
the
bottom
• Gameplay
/
Content
– Be
aware
of
screen
blocking
– Timing
matters
-­‐
it
may
not
be
a
problem

14. Fingers
are
Big

15. The
Problem
with
Fingers
• Fingers
are
much
bigger
than
cursors
• Cover
hit
states
• Block
things
being
drug

16. Solving
the
Finger
Problem
• Float
content
and
show
where
it’s
going
• Magnifying
glass
ala
Apple
• Don’t
require
drag
placement

17. Fingers
aren’t

18. Finger
precision
Problems
• Touches
are
near,
but
not
exact
• Touches
move
around
a
lot

19. Making
Fingers
Perfect
• 40+
pixel
hit
areas
• Select
nearest
game
element
• Handle
touch
movement
near
end
of
drag

20. Accelerometer

21. Where’d
the

22. Wii-­‐like
motion
issues
• Feel
great
• Can’t
see
the
screen
• Users
throw
their
phone?

23. Solving
the
Wii
Problem
• Slow
down
or
eliminate
the
action
• Provide
audio
feedback
• Rethink
the
input
mechanism

24. The
Screen

25. The
NES
problem
• Tilting
the
device,
tilts
the
screen
• Users
don’t
know
to
be
subtle

26. My
iPhone
beat
up
your
NES
• Rotate
the
game
world
accordingly
• Allow
small
movements,
with
visual
indicators
• Message
the
user!

27. These
Controls

28. Calibration
Matters
• Required
– Yes
really,
it’s
required!
• Timing
of
calibration
is
huge
• Message
the
user?

29. Some
Good

30. Touch
Rocks!

31. Touch
is
Awesome
• Touching
and
dragging
feels
great!
• Better
proficiency
than
other
input
styles
• New
gameplay
becomes
possible

32. Accelerometers

33. Subtle
Accelerometer
tricks
• Add
lots
of
perceived
depth
• Adjust
camera
slightly
• Vibrate
• Do
something
on
shake

34. Location

35. I
Know
Where

36. Use
the
Power
Wisely
• Local
high
scoreboards
• Nearby
recommendations
• Maps,
Apps,
and
more
• Compass
is
untapped!

37. Recap

38. • Hands
are
big
• Fingers
are
big
• Fingers
are
inaccurate
• Big
accelerometer
movement
not
so
good
• Small
accelerometer
movement
is
tough
• Calibration
matters
• Touch
input
is
very
natural
• Accelerometers
don’t
completely
suck
• Location
is
largely
untapped

39. Final
Thought

40. There
is
no
right

41. Q
&
A
Brian
Robbins
President/Founder
–
Riptide
Games
brian@riptidegames.com
Twitter:
@dubane
Latest
Slides:
www.dubane.com/cons/