Touch Controls (Concept) - Giant Bomb
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`Touch
`Controls (/touch-
`controls/3015-2256/)
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`
`
`
`
`CONCEPT (/CONCEPTS/) »
`
`Games that are controlled partially or entirely with a
`touch screen.
`
` The Touch Controls wiki last edited by Jagged85 (/profile/jagged85/) on 07/15/15  09:56AM
` View full history (/touch-controls/3015-2256/wiki-history/)
`With touch screen platforms like the Nintendo
`DS (/nintendo-ds/3045-52/), 3DS (/nintendo-3ds/3045-117/), iPhone (/iphone/3045-96/),
`iPod Touch (/ipod/3045-72/), Android (/android/3045-123/), PlayStation Vita (/playstation-
`vita/3045-129/) and Wii U (/wii-u/3045-139/) seeing thousands of games, touch controls
`are becoming more and more common in portable games. With devices like the Nintendo
`DS, touch controls can become a part of the game along with the analog controls provided
`by the platform. While the Nintendo DS uses a stylus (/stylus/3055-3606/) for it's main
`touch input, other devices like the iPhone or iPad (/ipad/3045-121/) require finger input.
`
`History
`
`The origins of the touchscreen dates back to the early 1970s. One of the earliest released
`touchscreens was the for the PLATO VI (/plato/3045-111/), which prior to the invention of
`the resistive touchscreen in the early 1980s, was using an infrared touch system by 1972.
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`The touch technology used employed infrared transmitters and receivers around a flat-
`panel plasma screen, the first of its kind. The hardware and software were developed by
`the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and Control Data Corporation (CDC).
`
`The first portable platform to use a touchpad pointing device was Sharp (/sharp-
`corporation/3010-6509/)'s PC-5000 (/pc/3045-94/), one of the first laptop computers, in
`1983. The use of a touchpad pointing device later become standard for laptop computers
`in the 1990s, especially following its use in Apple's (/apple-inc/3010-5815/)PowerBook
`laptops.
`
`Sega consoles
`The first attempts at introducing touchscreens to dedicated gaming systems were by Sega
`(/sega/3010-62/). As early as 1985, they released the Sega Graphic Board
`(http://segaretro.org/Sega_Graphic_Board) tablet controller for the Sega SG-1000 (/sega-
`sg-1000/3045-141/) console in Japan (/japan/3035-37/). It came with a stylus pen, and the
`first touch-controlled game was Terebi Oekaki (/terebi-oekaki/3030-44069/).
`
`They were later planning to release the first handheld game console with touchscreen
`controls as the intended successor to the Game Gear (/game-gear/3045-5/). Intended for
`release in the early-mid 1990s, the device was ultimately shelved and never released due
`to the expensive cost of touchscreen technology in the early 1990s.
`
`In 1993, Sega released the Sega Pico (/sega-pico/3045-118/) edutainment console. Its
`controls consisted of a stylus pen and touch pad, based on active digitizer technology. It
`was the first console to use touch controls as the default control scheme, and the earliest
`known device to use active digitizer technology.
`
`Tiger Game.com
`The Tiger (/tiger-electronics-inc/3010-1715/) Game.Com (/gamecom/3045-77/), launched
`in 1997, was the first officially released hand held gaming system to use a touch screen.
`The game.com used a resistive touch screen with a stylus, and the system software was
`driven entirely by touch. Commercially, the system was a failure, and the idea of a touch
`screen gaming system was not revived until several years later.
`
`Arcade gaming
`Japanese (/japan/3035-37/) arcade (/arcade/3045-84/) games have been using touch
`controls since the early 2000s, though these games are uncommon outside of Asia
`(/asia/3035-1663/). Touch controls are used for card (/games/?
`sort=release_date&filter_type=genre&filter_value=13/)-based real-time strategy (/games/?
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`sort=release_date&filter_type=genre&filter_value=12/) games, largely popularized by
`Sega (/sega/3010-62/) releases such as World Club Champion Football (/world-club-
`champion-football/3025-1371/) and Sangokushi Taisen (/sangokushi-taisen/3025-2142/),
`where card placement on a touch surface corresponds to the actions of units on screen;
`the surface is able to identify each card separately. Arcade titles like these were the first
`commercially successful touchscreen games. Sega's Psy-Phi (/psy-phi/3030-32596/)
`introduced full-screen HD touch controls in 2005. In more recent years, multi-touch
`(/multitouch/3015-4952/) has been used for music rhythm games, largely popularized the
`DJ Max Technika (/djmax/3025-597/) series from South Korea (/south-korea/3035-2410/)
`since 2008.
`
`Nintendo DS
`The Nintendo DS (/nintendo-ds/3045-52/) was the first popular hand held system to
`feature a touch screen, and is one of the first times Nintendo had implemented a major
`hardware innovation since the analog stick and rumble pak used with the Nintendo 64
`(/nintendo-64/3045-43/) controller (and before that, the original light gun (/light-gun/3015-
`2354/) and D-pad controller provided with the NES (/nes/3045-21/) console). Many games
`on the DS have options for touch controls, or integrate touch controls with standard
`physical controls. Some games, however, rely almost completely on the touch screen,
`such as the WarioWare (/warioware/3025-220/) series of games.
`
`iPhone/iPod/iPad
`Unlike the pressure-sensitive touch screen on the DS, the iDevices have a capcitive touch
`screen. This measures the actual electrical current in human fingers to report date from
`interaction. This provides for extremely accurate detection of input, even when from a
`finger. This technology, paired with multitouch (/multitouch/3015-4952/), has allowed for
`games on these platforms to become closer and closer to titles one would see on a
`standard portable gaming device.
`
`The Trouble with Touch
`
`The biggest roadblock to touch control based games is the complete lack of tactile
`response. That is, when you touch a screen, it is a completely different experience than
`physically pressing an analog button. Because of this, it's easy for your fingers to move
`from the on-screen button without you knowing it, resulting in poor gameplay and
`mistakes. Technology companies are currently researching "soft" touch screens that
`provide a certain level of physical response to touch, but it's not quite the same feel.
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`At the launch of the App Store, many many more games tried and failed at touch controls.
`Some weren't smooth enough, while others simply wouldn't detect input properly. Other
`games had issues with being too frantic, resulting in a player having trouble keeping his
`fingers in the right areas of the screen. Luckily, modern games for the iPhone, particularly
`those from major developers, have extremely polished touch controls.
`
`UI Customization
`
`Some modern games for the iDevices allow the user to fully or partially change the UI
`(/custom-ui/3015-2554/) of the game to suit their own preferences. Games like N.O.V.A.
`(/nova/3030-29510/) and Zenonia 2 (/zenonia-2-the-lost-memories/3030-30176/) allow the
`player to change the placement, size, and even opacity of the on-screen controls. This is
`especially important for a device like the iPad, which has a large screen, and can become
`uncomfortable without being able to rearrange the controls appropriately.
`
`This an advantage the on-screen controls have against physical buttons, as regular game
`controllers require extensive physical modifications to change the button layout. This idea
`also allows developers to design controls that tailor precisely to their own game
`experience. If a game only needs one button to play, the reset of the screen real estate
`can be used to show game content. Meanwhile, a game that requires many buttons can
`place them in the optical position to maximize the game experience. This can also be a
`disadvantage as well, as not having one controller for all games can confuse players, and
`require them to get used to a new control scheme with every new game they play.
`
`Touch Control Landmarks
`
`While there are many games out there with great touch controls nowadays, there were a
`few that really lead the way in creating smooth and accurate controls for touch screen
`games.
`
`WarioWare (/warioware/3025-220/)
`
`These games showed us how much fun touch interaction can be in games, and relied
`almost 100% on touch controls.
`
`Hero of Sparta (/hero-of-sparta/3030-24856/)
`
`Gameloft (/gameloft-sa/3010-743/) led the pack with the first successful use of a virtual
`joystick (/virtual-joystick/3015-4951/) in this God of Waresque brawler game.
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`Modern Combat: Sandstorm (/modern-combat-sandstorm/3030-30857/)
`
`Again, Gameloft innovated with the first successful FPS game on the iPhone. Using their
`virtual joystick in conjunction with a "swipe anywhere to aim" concept turned out to be the
`winning control scheme for their game, and many new FPS games to come on mobile
`devices.
`
`Street Fighter 4 (/street-fighter-iv/3030-20456/)
`
`On March 10, 2010, Capcom released their famed fighting (/games/?
`sort=release_date&filter_type=genre&filter_value=9/) game on the iPhone and iPod
`Touch, and it worked. According to the lead producer of the game, Takeshi Tazuka, the
`team spent almost 10 months designing the fighting game controls to work well on a touch
`screen. The success of Street Fighter 4 on a touch screen was an important factor in
`bringing more major game titles to touchscreen devices in the future.
`
`N.O.V.A (/nova/3030-29510/)
`
`While the indie game, Bike or Die 2, was among the first to allow for full on-screen control
`customization, N.O.V.A. was the game that brought the idea into more widespread
`acceptance. By allowing the player to completely reposition and resize the virtual buttons
`and joysticks as they saw fit, it allowed them to play the game however was most
`comfortable for them. Since then, many games with UI customizing options have been
`released.
`
`Game appearances
`
`The Legend of Zelda Wii U (Working Title) (/the-legend-of-zelda-wii-u-working-title/3030-
`
`41355/)
`2016
`
`WIIU (/wii-u/3045-139/)
`
`Project Guard (Working Title) (/project-guard-working-title/3030-46595/)
`2015
`WIIU (/wii-u/3045-139/)
`
`Don't Get Crucified (/dont-get-crucified/3030-47198/)
`2015
`PC (/pc/3045-94/) ANDR (/android/3045-123/) BROW (/browser/3045-140/)
`
`The King of Fighters '97 OL (/the-king-of-fighters-97-ol/3030-48336/)
`ANDR (/android/3045-123/)
`
`2015
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