LO1: Inputs and Outputs

Input - what is put in, taken in, or operated on by any process or system. A place where, or a device through which, energy or information enters a system.

Things like controllers are a good example of inputs, as well as a keyboard and mouse, headphones and similar stuff, even the touchscreen on a phone is an input. Sometimes games can have more than one input, utilising other features of the console, like Xbox with Kinect, or a phone using the microphone and/or camera, or a ton of the old accessories like the Nintendo Zapper for the good old NES.

Even though it's not designed for the actual system, you can plug a Sega Genesis/Mega Drive controller into an Atari 2600 console, and it works!

When developing a game with multiple inputs, the factors that would inform how the gamer uses the device would be:

• On screen tutorials?
• In-game instructions
• Help menu's specifically designed for these inputs
• Controls configuration menu
• Warnings and cautions
• How easy it is to use
• How enjoyable it is to use

Output - the amount of something produced by a person, machine or industry. A place where power or information leaves a system.

Common Outputs

• Sounds
• Images
• Vibration

INPUT -> PROCESS -> OUTPUT

Multiple DS games use many different inputs in order to play the game, but the one that stands out most to me from the games that I've played is a game called 'The World Ends With You'. In this game any fight that takes place simultaneously exists in both the top and bottom screen and you can control either screen manually, or have the computer take control of your partner if you want to concentrate on your screen and your screen alone, which happens to be the touchscreen. The touchscreen is operated by all sorts of movements through the use of your finger or stylus in this game to activate what are called 'pins' which have hidden 'psyches' which are basically your attacks. You can tap on the screen, drag the protagonist across it, draw a line, flick to the side, rub it or hold it down to activate all sorts of attacks, based on what pins you currently have in your deck. Some pins are also activated through the use of the microphone, with one example making the main character swing around to slice any enemies around him, or to summon huge speakers onto the touch screen which promptly hurts any and all enemies on the screen as the sound waves rip through them. As mentioned before, you can also use the d-pad to control your partner character, if you want to, but that requires multitasking and can be quite tricky to master as the three partners you gain (and lose) through the game have different ways of fighting. It ultimately makes the game much more enjoyable to find out how all these attacks work and which deck suits you best to your playing style, which adds in a personal touch for the best experience. Sure there are times when you need to wear certain pins in order to gain access to other parts of the game, but mastering every type of pin is yet another fun part of the play through.