Wizard’s Mark ControllerController Design By: Ben Jones, Nick Iennarella, Andrea

Hudgins, and Joe Sozio

Abstract

Our team was tasked with designing a controller playable with only one hand and

accessible to both left and right handed players. We took core designs from

individual ideas and combined them into the Wizard’s Mark, a modular, multi-input

controller with a natural cylindrical shape.

Introduction-What is Accessibility?

The term accessibility refers to making things that can be used easy to reach, enter, approach, and speak

with. If something is accessible, it is attainable, or attainable easily without great difficulty.

Accessibility is all about our ability to engage with, use, participate in, and belong to, the world around us

(Join the Movement, 2015).

Pick a task that you do everyday without even thinking about it. Perhaps it’s brushing your teeth. To you,

brushing your teeth is an easy task and you do it everyday sometimes more than twice a day without even

thinking. Now, someone else in the world may not be able to brush their teeth without assistance because of

a disability. Making it easy for this person to brush their teeth may require additional modifications to a

bathroom sink or even modifying a wheelchair, or perhap this person may totally require the assistance of

another individual to complete this task. There are many people in the world who have disabilities and not

one disability is the same. When people start to think of ways to make things more accessible to everyone

and actually makes these things accessible, that is true accessibility.

Design Purpose

Team-Wizards of UX is to create an intuitive and accessible controller designed for

use by a person who is missing one hand. The controller must be useable in one

hand and be for either the right or left hand. Wizards of UX’s “Wizard’s Mark”

controller is designed to combine smooth, accessible functionality with a fun,

innovative user interface.

Inspiration-Ben

What inspired the spherical shape of the

Strike controller was the comfortable feel of a

baseball in the hand of a pitcher (Jones, 2015). A pitcher has to know the baseball as well as

their own hand to successfully play a game. The position of the control pad and the

buttons were chosen based on

how many pitchers hold the ball before the wind-up.

Conversely, inspiration for the multi-input buttons came from my experience playing

the trumpet. A trumpet can play through upwards of fifteen different whole

notes (not counting flats and sharps) with only three valves. Trumpeteers can do this by

pressing those three valves in different combinations, allowing much use for a limited

system of input.

(Image retrieved from dreamstime.com)

Inspiration-AndreaBelow you will find pictures of Andrea’s original design concept:

Controller being held

in Andrea’s hand.

Controller being

held in Andrea’s

husband’s hand.

Inspiration for my original design concept with the cylinder shape came from presentation advancers. I wanted something that was comfortable enough to fit

in the hand, but still had enough surface space to include at least ten buttons. I remember using presentation advancers in high school during presentations I

had to do for classes and the teachers used them on a daily basis for lectures. They were always very comfortable and felt natural when held in the hand.

I thought having a cylinder controller would be the best way to go since making a fist around an object is natural for almost everybody with at least one hand.

Being able to make a fist around the cylinder and have the thumb up at the top to manipulate the one thumbstick meant that there would be room to include

buttons along the cylinder that could be pressed with the rest of the fingers. This would also be a design concept that could easily be switched from the right

or left hand. This is why I went with the cylinder design of the controller (Hudgins, 2015).

Below you will find a picture of Andrea’s inspiration-Presentation Advancers.

(Hudgins, 2015)(Logitech, 2015)

Inspiration-JoeOriginal Design Pitch:

Inspiration for the Slidable and Lockable

Button Column as seen in the image to the

left by J. Sozio (2015) came mainly from two

sources. The first source was the recent

purchase of Microsoft’s Xbox One Elite

Controller. You can see from the images

above and to the right that the controller has

many customization options

Inspiration:

The more customization options available to the player the happier they will be in the

end. The addition of the button column feature to the one handed use controller concept

seemed like a great fit from a functionality perspective.

The second source of inspiration came from everyday use items such as the TV remote

or smartphone. Holding these with your right hand and then switching it over to your

left hand reveals a noticeable difference. The player’s four top fingers excluding the

thumb lie naturally either to one side or the other of the device. The main idea behind

the slidable button column was to keep both left and right handed players happy.

catering to different player preferences (Microsoft, 2015).

Inspiration-NickThe detachable components of the “Switch-Played” controller were incorporated primarily to cater to left or right-handed players. The

whole idea was to make it functional and feel natural in either hand. “The stability arm easily detaches and reattaches to either side of the

top half of the controller. The bottom half of the controller does the same to give either hand that nice contoured feel that gamers are used

to as per the industry standard. The stability arm also can rotate on the platform to curve left or right to keep it out of the way when

playing” (Iennarella, 2015). That customization spawned a deeper look into controller customization as a whole. This led to inspiration

from the Xbox One Elite controller and controller customization sites like evilcontrollers.com and gaminggenerations.com.

(Gaming Generations Inc 2015)(Iennarella, 2015)

Design MethodEngineering Steps:

Step 1: State the Problem - How can we create an innovative and accessible controller for disabled players with the use of only one hand?

Step 2: Generate Ideas & Step 3: Select a Solution -During our brainstorming session we combined

Andrea’s idea for a cylinder shaped controller, Nick’s

idea for attachable and detachable parts, Ben’s idea

for multi-input buttons, and Joe’s idea for rotating

button columns into our solution concept. The

solution was to design a cylinder shaped controller

that had a top thumb controlled joystick for

movement that could be detached and replaced with a

traditional d-pad. This controller also features a Roller Ball on the bottom for aiming and will be rolled along a mousepad or table like surface. The entire

rollerball structure can detach when not needed.

The controller also has 4 unlockable horizontal button columns that can be rotated into the player’s preferred position and then locked back into place.

Lastly through the use of a software application users can program each button to support multi-input functionality. The Nielsen Heuristic that inspired

our team the most was the flexibility and efficiency of use heuristic. The goal was to satisfy many players over the scope of varying levels of preference

and experience.

Step 4: Build the Item - Please see the “Prototype Created” slide later in the presentation.

Step 5: Evaluate - Please see the “Playtest Session Using the Prototype” slide later in the presentation.

Step 6: Present Results - Please see the “Playtest Session Using the Prototype” and “Postmortem” slides later in the presentation.

Schematic Diagram

State and Defend Design Assumptions-Ben

Key Design Feature: Multi-input Buttons

One of the issues with accessibility of controllers and video games in general today is

the over complication of buttons to press and use. People who don’t game regularly and

haven’t learned the “language” of the Xbox controller will feel alienated. This is why

multi-input buttons were chosen for my design, getting closer to the two button input

of the old Nintendo Entertainment System, while allowing designers to use multiple

button sets if they need more actionable buttons. According to a disgruntled gamer

whose prime game time was born from the 80’s, “Despite the innate simplicity of [the

NES controller’s] gaming configuration, Nintendo proved year after year that two

action buttons and a teeming library of quality games were all that was needed in order

to win the hearts of the gaming populace worldwide” (Perlman, 2011). That isn’t to

say we don’t need many of the buttons we have today, so in order to accommodate that

if you need more input, simply tap one of the four “set selections” buttons to cycle

through sets of action buttons.

(Image retrieved from lukiegames.com)

State and Defend Design Assumptions-Andrea

Key Design Feature: Cylinder Shaped

I went with a cylinder design for the basis of my controller design because humans are born with the innate

ability to grasp things with their hands. I would also say that human fingers are clear representations of

cylinders themselves. When a newborn reaches out to grab a parent's finger and grasps and holds on to the

finger they are showing the innate ability. As early as newborn status humans can grasp things between

their hands, but simply lack the coordination to securely hold objects between the hands ("Developmental

milestones: Grasping," 2013). By the age of 9-12 months humans are able to reach out and grasp objects

and hold them securely between a hand ("Developmental milestones: Grasping," 2013). It made sense to me

that any person with only one hand should be able to comfortably grasp a cylinder controller in one hand

since we have being using the grasping motion since birth.

State and Defend Design Assumptions-Joe

Key Design Feature: Slidable and Lockable Button Column

In their article titled “Games for rehabilitation: the voice of the players,” authors S.M. Flynn and B.S. Lange

(2010) conducted a study of over 150 participants to explore the use of video games from the perspective of

the disabled player. When asked the question “games would be more enjoyable if:,” 57.3% of participants

had the response “the controllers were more accessible” (Flynn & Lange, 2010, p. 192). Of course this

response could be understood in many different ways but catering to player preferences can only help the

situation. The goal behind the slidable and lockable button column feature was to ensure that as many

different players as possible are comfortable when using the controller. Hopefully this counts as making the

controller more accessible in the way it was requested by many of the article’s participants.

State and Defend Design Assumptions-Nick

People in general enjoy customizing and personalizing everything and of course this applies to their video game controllers. This

can be done for increased functionality depending on the type of game they are playing or strictly for cosmetic appeal. Allowing

gamers to detach the pieces of their controller provides a more positive experience when gaming. According to a study done by

Selen Turkay from Harvard University and Sonam Adinolf from M.I.T., “Opportunities for customization may give users decision-

making authority over the technology, enabling them to shape and create their own experiences, as well as provide ways to be a

part of a group based on their needs and desires” (Turkay, 2015). Data was collected through surveys, interviews and

observations. Results showed that players' desire to replay the game increased over time, and customization affected players'

motivation positively (Turkay, 2015).

Reude1. (July 1, 2011)

Key Design Feature: Detachable and Customizable Components

Description of Three Games

Game #1: Destiny

Destiny is a science fiction themed first-person

shooter game for the Xbox developed by Bungie

(Bungie, 2014). The core mechanics of this game

are movement, aiming, shooting, and jumping. We

believe our controller design is well suited for

Destiny and the FPS genre due to its intuitive

aiming system using the bottom Roller Ball

combined with the comfort of the thumb controlled

joystick on top for movement. Having four fingers

completely free to control triggers and action

buttons also should make this controller accessible

to FPS players.

Description of Three GamesGame #2: Midnight Club: Los Angeles

Midnight Club: Los Angeles is a street racing

simulation game for the Xbox developed by

Rockstar San Diego (Rockstar San Diego, 2008).

The core mechanics of this game, as they are in

most racing games are steering, acceleration, and

deceleration. We believe our controller design will

work well for racing games due to its many

similarities to a throttle joystick when in use. Our

controller almost feels like a fighter pilot joystick

while using it and this intuitive feel should

translate nicely to the racing video game genre.

Description of Three GamesGame #3: Worms 2: Armageddon

Worms 2: Armageddon is a turn-based-strategy

combat platformer for the Xbox developed by

Team17 (Team17 Software, 2009). The core

mechanics of this game are strategic movement in

a 2D space and selecting combat scenarios from a

user interface menu. When using our controller,

players have the option to completely detach the

bottom Roller Ball component and to replace the

top joystick with a traditional d-pad. When used

in this configuration, our controller should be a

simple and comfortable way to play platforming

favorites. In the case of Worms 2, however, the

Roller Ball attachment is required but it is used for

the non-critical function of moving the camera.

Prototype CreatedBelow are multiple images of our Wizard’s Mark controller prototype. All buttons can be detached and moved around for individual customization allowing for better fit, mapping and cosmetic appeal and expression.

Playtest Session Using the PrototypePlaytester - Matt ShieldsAge - 32Gaming Experience - 20+ yearsController Experience - Nintendo, Super Nintendo, Sega Genesis, Gameboy, Dreamcast, Nintendo 64, GameCube, Playstation 1-4, Xbox, Xbox360, Xbox One, Wii.

Positive Tester Thoughts - Likes the look. The initial feel is good. Praised the ability to be able to detach and attach buttons to customize mapping, fit, feel and cosmetic appeal. Feels that overall it could work with some getting used to.

Negative Tester Thoughts - Tough to wrap hand around to reach the far button with index finger. Seems tough to aim accurately with roller ball. Would prefer a “flight simulator” joystick that attaches at the bottom instead of roller ball. Would like a trigger for index finger instead of the buttons. Feels unnatural after a while. Stability becomes an issue for faster paced games.

Tester’s Suggestions for Improvement - The bottom of the controller could be attached to something giving it more stability and then tilting it would control movement. Maybe attach the whole controller to a long adjustable rod that sits on the floor. Maybe add a foot pedal to control player movement like a D-Pad. Use a laser head band attachment for more accurate aiming. Add a trigger for the index finger to help with racing and FPS games. Fewer buttons might help. Could use a switch to change what the lesser number of buttons’ functions are.

FPS - Limits smooth functionality for quick twitch button decisions. Controller not ideal for this genre. Action/RPG - Somewhat clunky for this genre.Platformer - Functions better for this genre due to less accuracy needed from aiming joystick. Racing - Better because no right joystick needed. Trigger would be nice.

Postmortem

What happened correctly:

The initial brainstorming session went very well. Everyone made a contribution in an amicable environment.

The design solution felt right to each team member from a designer’s perspective.

A simple prototype was able to be created in a short amount of time.

What happened incorrectly:

There was some misunderstanding on the scope of the playtesting that was to take place.

Scheduling conflicts prevented some team members from voicing opinions timely.

The team database for document storage and collaboration became large and disorganized.

Expectations for the rollerball functionality may have been too high initially.

Overestimated the importance of including as many buttons as possible.

What would we do differently:

We would spend more time in the initial design brainstorming phase before moving on.

We would make sure each team member has had a chance to contribute and express opinions before moving on to the next

phase.

We would create a more organized folder and document structure before the project begins that can be reused and easily

applied to future projects.

References

Bungie. (2014). Destiny [Video game]. (2014). Santa Monica, CA: Activision.

Development milestones: Grasping. (2013). Retrieved from http://www.babycenter.com/0_developmental-milestones-grasping_6578.bc

Flynn, S. M., & Lange, B. S. (2010, August). Games for rehabilitation: the voice of the players. In Intl. Conf. Disability, Virtual Reality &

Associated Technologies (ICDVRAT 2010) (pp. 185-194). Retrieved from

http://www.icdvrat.org/2010/papers/ICDVRAT2010_S07_N01_Flynn_Lange.pdf

Gaming Generations Inc. (2015). PS3 11 in 1 Controller Button Set w/ Clear Thumbsticks - Gold. Retrieved from

http://www.gaminggenerations.com/store/custom-controllers-playstation-c-296_303.html

Hudgins, A. (2015). “Knuckle-Stick Controller”. Full Sail FSO Discussion Post 1. Retrieved from

https://course.fso.fullsail.edu/class_sections/26144/discussions/1003779

Iennarella, N. (2015). “Switch-Played Controller”. Full Sail FSO Discussion Post 1. Retrieved from

https://course.fso.fullsail.edu/class_sections/26144/discussions/1003779

Join the Movement. (n.d.). Retrieved December 5, 2015, from http://www.beaccessible.org.nz/the-movement/what-is-accessibility

Jones, B. (2015). “Strike Controller”. Full Sail FSO Discussion Post 1. Retrieved from

https://course.fso.fullsail.edu/class_sections/26144/discussions/1003779

References (cont.)

Microsoft Xbox One Elite Controller. (2015). Retrieved from

http://www.xbox.com/en-US/xbox-one/accessories/controllers/elite-wireless-controller

Perlman, M. (2011, August 31). Too Many Darn Buttons (A Delightful Rant). Retrieved December 6, 2015, from

http://www.technobuffalo.com/2011/08/31/too-many-darn-buttons-a-delightful-rant/

Presentation advancers [Photograph]. (2014). Retrieved from

http://www.smklink.com/collections/presentation-remote-controls/products/remotepoint-sapphire-presenter

Reude1. (July 1, 2011). Xbox 360 Bullet Controller. Wikimedia Commons. As retrieved from

https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Xbox_Controller_Bullet-Edition.jpg#filelinks

Rockstar San Diego. (2008). Midnight Club: Los Angeles [Video game]. (2008). New York, NY: Rockstar Games.

Sozio, J. (2015). “Reverse Teardrop Controller”. Full Sail FSO Discussion Post 1. Retrieved from

https://course.fso.fullsail.edu/class_sections/26144/discussions/1003779

Team17 Software. (2009). Worms 2: Armageddon [Video game]. (2009). Nottingham, UK: Team17 Software.

Turkay, S., & Adinolf, S. (2015). The effects of customization on motivation in an extended study with a massively multiplayer online

roleplaying game.Cyberpsychology, 9(3), 72-87. doi:10.5817/CP2015-3-2. As retrieved from

http://search.ebscohost.com.oclc.fullsail.edu:81/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=110629543&site=ehost-live