25th April 2005, 11:21 PM
From IGN, regarding new patent:
Revolution Rumor 4
From U.S. Patent filed on July 21, 2004
This rumor centers on new technologies that would change the way a gamer actually watches a game. To start, here's a brief intro: a fixation point is whatever a gamer stares at most of the time when playing a game. Thing is, most games feature several of these fixation points, so developers have needed to devise methods of including every object on screen at all times. When this wasn't possible, the display needed to shift and prioritize objects according to the action. Developers accomplished this by zooming the image up or down, to help gamers re-focus their attention. Just look at any number of sports games. The camera invariably follows the soccer ball, baseball or football. The document argues that the constant change in perspective makes playing games tougher than it should.
The patent describes a technology that would prevent a fixation point from moving and prevent the display area from changing in size. Regardless of where a player sits, he (or she) would command a deep view of the happenings on screen. This would also carry over into multiplayer gaming, where multiple players would normally require multiple fixation points. The new set of technologies would eliminate the strain associated with split-screen gaming. In summary, this would all make for excellent game sessions thanks to unparalleled view of the display. Changing the way a gamer watches the action unfold on-screen would be somewhat revolutionary, but again, it's too early to tell exactly how Nintendo plans on using the tech described in the patent. Unless, of course, they already have to some degree...
Revolution Rumor 4
From U.S. Patent filed on July 21, 2004
This rumor centers on new technologies that would change the way a gamer actually watches a game. To start, here's a brief intro: a fixation point is whatever a gamer stares at most of the time when playing a game. Thing is, most games feature several of these fixation points, so developers have needed to devise methods of including every object on screen at all times. When this wasn't possible, the display needed to shift and prioritize objects according to the action. Developers accomplished this by zooming the image up or down, to help gamers re-focus their attention. Just look at any number of sports games. The camera invariably follows the soccer ball, baseball or football. The document argues that the constant change in perspective makes playing games tougher than it should.
The patent describes a technology that would prevent a fixation point from moving and prevent the display area from changing in size. Regardless of where a player sits, he (or she) would command a deep view of the happenings on screen. This would also carry over into multiplayer gaming, where multiple players would normally require multiple fixation points. The new set of technologies would eliminate the strain associated with split-screen gaming. In summary, this would all make for excellent game sessions thanks to unparalleled view of the display. Changing the way a gamer watches the action unfold on-screen would be somewhat revolutionary, but again, it's too early to tell exactly how Nintendo plans on using the tech described in the patent. Unless, of course, they already have to some degree...