Joystick

A joystick ( gamepad or joypad in English) is a term indicating an object which one connects, generally in a video Game console and which are placed in the Main S of the player. A lever comprises various buttons which will be useful to play Video game which is in the console. There exist also models adapted to the Ordinateur S, although those use the peripherals more current than are the keyboard and the mouse.

Characteristics

Generally, the levers have:
  • one or more directional cross (S), one or more paving stone (S) directional (S), or others joysticks analogical in order to direct an object, a character, a cursor, or a camera.
  • of the buttons in frontage:
    • of the buttons of actions, which make it possible to act on the software by a single action.
    • of the buttons of control, which make it possible to control the course of the software, to reach the contextual menus, to put the play in pause, to leave the play, etc (Start, Select).
  • of the side buttons:
    • of the buttons of section (L, R) or of side , which is buttons of actions.
    • of the buttons triggers , which are buttons of actions.

The levers of the posterior consoles with 1996 have generally the capacity to vibrate according to the actions of the play, to offer to the player immersives feelings. Moreover, on some have analogical buttons (the effect of a pressure on these buttons differs according to the force applied by the player).

Gadgets

Since the Années 2000, the manufacturers of consoles often seek to propose to the players other types of interactions with the play that simple analogical buttons and joystick S; therefore accessories were born, inter alia:

It should be noted that more and more, the levers tend to becoming without wire. Nintendo was the first manufacturer to use a system based on the radio waves for a lever without wire (Wavebird), whereas previously, the other manufacturers used frequencies in the infra-red one (lower range). The absence of wire connecting the levers to their console implies the use of batteries or piles, and the adjustment of the frequencies. The three principal manufacturers of consoles of living room announced right now that their next consoles (PlayStation 3, Xbox 360, and Nintendo Wii) will have levers without wire.

History of the innovations

Here the history of the innovations in the joysticks, since the Years 1980 until our days:
  • directional Cross (BORN, Game&Watch, patent deposited by Nintendo; idea taken up by all the manufacturers).
  • Four buttons of actions in frontage (Super BORN; idea taken up by many other manufacturers).
  • Buttons Shoulders (L and R), invented to avoid having six aligned buttons of actions, as the developers of sets of engagements of the time required it. (Super BORN and before that, buttons on the section of the levers of Mattel Intelevision; begun again by all the other manufacturers).
  • infra-red Gun, Zapper from Nintendo for the BORN ones with the play Duck Hunt, taken again by Time Crisis on PS1.
  • Lever moulded to marry the shape of the hands (concepts of Ergonomics). (Megadrive; idea taken up by all the other manufacturers).
  • True system of handle marrying the shape of the hands perfectly, forms begun again by all the manufacturers (Sony, Playstation)
  • JoyStick (S) Analogical (S) (TDCI Philips; begun again by Nintendo on its Nintendo 64, Sega on its Saturn lever for the play Nights, then by Sony on the levers of second generation of the PlayStation, then by all the other manufacturers).
  • analogical Triggers on the lever Saturn (idea taken up by all the manufacturers)
  • analogical Second joystick, taken again by all the other manufacturers Sony, Playstation
  • Vibrations added to the levers by an external case (Nintendo 64)
  • Vibrations integrated into the lever with an engine on the left and a right of the lever, idea taken up by all the other manufacturers Sony Playstation
  • Wearing of connection of a peripheral integrated into the lever (Nintendo 64; idea taken up for Dreamcast and by Xbox).
  • Lever with detectors of movement to mercury ball (Microsoft Sidewinder Freestyle Pro (PC), taken again by Playstation 3 but out of 6 axis)
  • Addition of buttons on the analogical joysticks (buttons L3 and R3) Dual Shock 1
  • Addition of an additional line of trigger, R2 buttons and L2, taken again by the majority of the manufacturers Sony, Playstation
  • All the analogical keys (sensitive to the pressure stage on the key) Dual Shock 2
  • Use of the radio waves for the connection lever-console (Nintendo GameCube; idea taken up by all the other manufacturers).
  • Use of a touchscreen of the Game.com and then after Nintendo DS, one realizes finally that the system was for a long time used effectively in strategy games for example on Pda
  • Utilization of a microphone Famicom, Dreamcast (Sega), then used in a different way by Nintendo DS and on PS2 (SingStar)
  • Utilization of the gyroscopy ¹, the detection of acceleration and the position in space (Nintendo Wii), the gyroscopy ¹ was taken again by Sony on PS3.
  • Use of the Bluetooth N-pledge, Nokia
  • Use of Webcam, DreamEye on DreamCast, GameboyCamera on GameBoy (rather directed photography, camera meaning " apparatus photo" in English), then EyeToy on PS2, finally the Live Vision on Xbox 360.
  • Addition of a central button being used as access to the menu (Microsoft Xbox 360, taken again by Sony for PS3 and by the Nintendo Wii)
  • Use of a High speaker integrated into the lever, Nintendo Wii.
  • Lever separated in 2 parts, a part for each hand Nintendo Wii.
  • Memory Flash of 6 KB integrated into the lever to safeguard the personal parameters of the user Nintendo Wii. A similar principle also existed on the levers Nintendo 64 by connecting a special memory card on the lever.

¹: Process aiming at transcribing the movements which the lever with the screen undergoes.

See too

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