Nintendo holy writ proclaims the Wii Remote a revolution in game control technology that is much simpler and easier to use than a traditional video game controller. Is that true, or just so much empty dogma? After all, how many Wii games have tanked at Metacritic or just plain ended up no fun to play because the controls were lousy?
It's not just a matter of poor controls coming from lousy developers, either. Sidhe Interactive's by no means a poor developer, yet this new feature from Gamasutra documents a constant struggle to make users understand the controls in their Speed Racer title for Wii.
Despite the studio's assumption that users would immediately pick up on tilting the Wii Remote to control their cars in the game, Sidhe found that its playtesting group, made up of mostly 9 to 14 year olds, were often confused by the tutorial animation provided for the controls.
The majority of players perceived this guide how to hold the controller from the top down, and so would control the car as if they were using the steering wheel of a pickup truck. As a result, their movements weren't being picked up, and the players were frustrated with the inaccurate controls.
So is the Wii Remote really any easier to use than a traditional video game controller? Or is this just a case of some games taking better advantage of it than others?
