The Gamer's Quarter

[kirkjerk]

Ok, this is obvious and/or sophomoric, but because of a certain boudoir conversation I got to thinking about how controllers have gotten feminized. Or something. From the single phallic 2600 stick to the more nuanced and involved controllers of today.

Admittedly the analogy is far from perfect. But I might not be the first person in the history of games to note the similarities betweenm, say, vigorously coaxing forth an obstinately shy orgasm from a woman by hand, and doing well at an early Mario Party Minigame. Both can from time to time require a fair amount of persistance and dextrous stamina.

Ok I've said too much. I'd say don't drink and post, but I haven't been drinking.

[dhex]

isn't the wii like, well, shaped and sounds like wee?

on your note, i look forward to the first snopes debunking of "girl gets wii stuck in the garden of delights and ends up in hospital" emails.
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[dessgeega]

jane pinckard's talked about this too.

i like playing with buttons more than with sticks.
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[Nana Komatsu]

[Redeye]

[simplicio]

[Scratchmonkey]

Photoshop, although it's not far from the actual design:

http://img104.echo.cx/img104/7731/050517i4vj.jpg

[kirkjerk]

It's funny where large control sticks are still around: like those giant "flight control" sticks you see at Best Buy, absurdly macho. I used to get humbler versions of those for "Wing Commander" back in the day.

So big sticks are obviously bad for sudden changes of direction, but I imagine they're a bit better at subtle degrees of movement. If I had to guess, I'd say 360-degree control is more important than "a little vs a lot" sensitivity.

[player 2]

I think that little vs. a lot dichotomyis what really is driving the trend towards "feminine" controllers. I don't really like the analogy, much, though because I think it's more psychological than male vs. female.

What I really mean is that before videogames were direct commands. A causes B. There was nothing subtle about them. But as time went on, we came to realize that subtlety is a good thing. Miyamoto introduces the analog stick with Mario 64 and Mario has to admit his imperfection by reigning in that stick. Does anyone else feel the urge to tilt the stick all the way when tiptoeing across a narrow gap? Because I know I do, and I know that I fall half the time when I try. Some girls never tell you to be careful, they just stop talking to you when you fuck up.

Resident Evil and Silent Hill played with visuals and sounds that, while differing in degrees of subtlety, broke the empiricism we were trained to learn. A doesn't always cause B. The interface (not just the controller) changed to be more subtle, too. Also, whenever I think about how the next gen lacks rumble, I think about Silent Hill and I cry a little.

I don't think it's necessarily a female thing as much as it is a thing about sensitivity. And while we can make jokes about that all day, I don't think it's really that beneficial. Looking at games in this respect, the Wii is probably the most interesting concept ever made. It can understand your subtle movements - a flick of the wrist, sure, but also nervousness.
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Wii #: 8749 9109 9732 3653

"It is a peaceful way of understanding life, to play"
_Marcel Duchamp

[Lackey]

Remember how girls totally loved Centipede because of the bright colours and because it used a trackball! Remember also how it was totally designed by a woman (and also Ed Logg)!

If you want to talk about sensitivity in controllers you should probably mention the MINDLINK which is the most serious form of controller ever conceived. To require complete mental concentration, to use only your mind to interact with the game -that was the future.

I haven't used a joystick in years, but I can tell you this; X-Wing feels really really wrong played with keyboard buttons.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

[kirkjerk]

I really wish there were a cheap home version of that alpha waves monitor thing, where you get to try to "outchill" your opponent; the paradox of "competitive relaxing" appeals to me greatly.

Slashdot recently had a piece on a new bit of exercise bike that you can use at a desk... that idea has been floating around for a while, but there's never been a breakout implementation. I always thought that "Prop Cycle" arcade game would make an inspiration home port...

[Lackey]

What is the Alpha Waves monitor thing? I've never heard of this before.

Your post reminds me of guru meditation though.

edit: I thought you were talking about this sort of alpha wave.
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

[dhex]

i'm still really confused. what's feminine about the wii? it's the most phallic controller ever designed.
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[kirkjerk]

[Nana Komatsu]

[Mister Toups]

[Lackey]

[Scratchmonkey]

Anecdote time!

My wife and I were watching some early-games documentary (can't remember which one) and one of the desginers was talking about using trackballs and how they decided to use them because they were more "feminine" and when he did this, he put his hands in front of his chest and made circular motions.

My wife: "Did anybody tell these guys that breasts don't rotate?"

[kirkjerk]

[dessgeega]

[Lackey]

I've never played an Ikari Warriors cabinet. How does the Joystick work? Do you rotate the handle as well as tilting it around?

But scratchmonkey, that doesn't preclude the function of that gesture!
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| Little bird fighting against a bat sect game |

[kirkjerk]

[dhex]

[kirkjerk]

[Redeye]