CONTROL
An Experimental (Meta) Game About Interface Constraints
Kieran Nolan
CONTROL is an art game experience that intends to provoke discussion and reflection on the limitations of the physical interface and the nature of the human computer symbiosis in videogaming as mediated through the manual game controller. It echoes the hand to controller aspect of the videogame interface in the diegetic space of the visual interface through a downsampled meta interface. CONTROL makes the game interface the constant point of focus, rather than have it disappear to make way for an unrelated feedback visual. This goes against the notion of the ideal of interface design where an interface should be so intuitive that it for all intents and purposes disappears.
In CONTROL the visual interface will not let you forget that you are manually interfacing with the computer through a hand to controller link. By using a low fidelity reproduction of the hand in the playfield, both visually and in terms of the available control scheme, the game reflects the resolution divide between the analog and digital worlds. In addition to the challenge provided, the increasing button count of the onscreen game controllers is intended to reflect the evolution of game input devices.
Images
In CONTROL the player negotiates a series of increasingly complex videogame control devices through a downsampled representation of their hand and using the basic arcade control scheme of 8 directions and 1 action button.
CONTROL.
CONTROL.
CONTROL.
CONTROL.
In CONTROL the player negotiates a series of increasingly complex videogame control devices through a downsampled representation of their hand and using the basic arcade control scheme of 8 directions and 1 action button.
Authors
Kieran Nolan
PhD Candidate, GV2 Research Group, Lloyd Institute, Trinity College
Kieran is a lecturer, artist-researcher, designer and educationalist. His PhD research explores the collision of arcade video game aesthetics, new media art, and has numerous publications and exhibitions in experimental interaction design, indie game development, and multimedia teaching.
