Are Wii Controls Really Simpler?

[wraggster]

One of the main arguments for the Wii is its simplicity. Point at the screen and you’re off to the races. But what happens when even those controls become too much for people? While most can handle one-handed operation, when you throw the Nunchuck in the mix, the confusion level rises.

I recently had a friend visiting my house who hasn’t really played video games since the Atari 2600 (save internet flash games). While he was able to pick up and play titles like Tiger Woods 09 and Wii Sports with no problem, MySims Kingdom and even Super Mario Galaxy posed some issues. He was just as confused, if not moreso, with the dual Wii Remote / Nunchuck combo than using an Xbox 360 or PS3 controller. To make it fair, he also played some LittleBigPlanet on the PS3 and Braid on the Xbox 360, both of which, in his words, seemed “natural” with the controller and their respective schemes.


Two major issues are what arose with the Wii Remote / Nunchuck combination. The first is the two-handed controls and the various inputs needed. Pointing at the screen while using buttons and analog sticks at the same time caused some frustration in this first-timer. There are 6 buttons between the two controllers, which isn’t much less than the competition’s 8 buttons. This leads to the second issue, which is the button placement on the Wii Remote itself. With most other controllers, you don’t have to physically move your hand to get from one set of buttons to another. With the Wii Remote, the new gamer had trouble moving back and forth from the A/B buttons and the 1/2 buttons towards the bottom of the controller.

Now, mind you, these are not issues for core and semi-regular gamers. Most people who have been playing games for a while can grasp the controller concepts without any problems, but the Wii’s target market is new and non-gamers. These are the people who haven’t touched a video game system in many years, if ever, just like my friend. While he enjoyed games that only used the Wii Remote, he got frustrated quickly when the Nunchuck came into play and said it would cause him to skip games that used it.

Has Nintendo, in an effort to simplify, actually gone the opposite direction? Have you encountered anyone have issues when using the Wii? Maybe you, yourself have been confused and haven’t admitted it yet. Let us know in the comments.

http://loot-ninja.com/2008/11/03/are-wii-controls-really-simpler/

[Grey Acumen]

I hate these type of articles

"It's so much more complex to use two hands" oh baloney.

Any game that is designed for dual analog can be worked into more intuitive controls with Nunchuk and Wiimote for the same thing. The only issue is doing the mental logistics of setting up the controls to do it properly.
Developers have only had the past 2 years to wrap their head around the new system, and not as simple to design as it is with "button = action" with classic controls. You have to actually decide which motion is going to effectively emulate the action it is supposed to represent and activate in the game. Then you have to determine how to specifically recognize that motion, while allowing enough leeway that it can recognize personal differences, but not so much leeway that it gets different actions confused, and also makes sure that the action doesn't register when it's not supposed to.

once these controls are DESIGNED properly, the controls are incredibly simple and intuitive to understand. This can be more easily understood not by how MANY inputs there are comparitively, but by how they are organized.

With dual analong, lets even say the PS3 controller we have this organization:
Left Finger - L1 & L2 = 2 press
Left thumb - analog left, analog left press, select, dpad(4) = 1 motion + 6 press

Right Finger - R1 & R2 = 2 press
Right Thumb = analog right, analog right press, start, O[]X/\ buttons(4) = 1 motion + 6 press

Hands Combined = motion

so the thumbs basically have to deal with 7 different inputs each, and the motion has your hands tied together. Which is much like walking around handcuffed through daily life. Just pay attention to your own hands; how many actions do you preform each day where your hands move independently? Compare that to how often you perform tasks where your hands stay within 2 inches of each other through the entire task (video games don't count) about the only one that comes to mind in the latter category is driving, and not much else.

Now compare all that to how the Wiimote & Nunchuk is set up, assuming a right handed gamer:

Left finger - C & Z buttons = 2 press
Left thumb - analog = 1 motion
Left hand - 1 motion

Right finger - B trigger = 1 press
Right thumb - A button, as well as dpad (4) and minus, plus, 1 & 2buttons = 1 to 5 to 9
Right hand - 1 motion, 1 aim


For the right thumb, the A button is the primary button used. Only depending on the game will the dpad, minus, or plus buttons even be used at all, typically only serving for secondary actions, such as switching items or weapons or pausing.
Even if the 1 & 2 buttons are used, they're typically reserved for pulling up menus that take you out of gameplay, or for actions that have little effect on gameplay, such as pulling up a map. Hence needing to shift your hand to press these buttons isn't as significant issue since the reason to press them is already to break out of the game momentarily.
All other inputs are limited to only one or two inputs per finger, thumb or hand, which allows for better mental organization despite having more total methods of input.

[feddon]

all depends on execution, if the wii setup is just right, but if i have to hold two button and shake my left hand while patting my head with the other just to open as door id miss just pressing the one button.