I Have a Fling with my iPad

Many iPad users have fallen victim to purchasing a game which uses an on-screen d-pad or thumbstick, and finding the controls taxing. The practice of creating digital inputs based on analog counterparts has been scrutinized universally by both the gaming industry and its community. Sensing an opportunity, Ten One Design developed the Fling in response to the Internet’s loathing of such game design. Keep reading on for my review of the Fling peripheral for iPad.

First and foremost, the Fling is described by Ten One Design as:

"[A]…tactile joystick for iPad. It gives you ultimate control over any game that has an on-screen joystick. Fling's patent pending design provides auto-centering and force feedback."*

A game’s HUD (if elaborate enough) will display through the Fling’s clear polymer, providing the illusion that it isn’t even there. The shape of the Fling is cut in a way that provides a good amount of resistance, while not impeding on performance. From the onset, this appears to be the perfect answer to your touchscreen gaming woes, but the Fling has issues too. The first limitation is the Fling does not work well with screen protectors! I personally had a ZAGG Screen Protector on my iPad, but the contact point of the nub was really sluggish and did nothing to improve performance. Once the screen protector was removed however; it began to work as expected.

First I tried NOVA – Gameloft’s Halo clone, was the exact type of game Fling was designed to improve. In the game settings, I could move the virtual thumbstick anywhere on the screen that was comfortable for me and then stick the Fling right on top. It worked like a charm, not only were the movement controls more responsive, but holding the iPad felt a little easier since I could rest my thumb on the nub. While on a roll, I tried two other Gameloft games: Gangstar: West Coast Hustle & Dungeon Hunter. Gangstar: West Coast Hustle was equally as good, but Dungeon Hunter is where Fling began to stumble. If there was one problem with the Fling, it would be that its design is limited to how the virtual joystick is implemented in a game. The shape of the Fling keeps the range of motion of the nub limited to the circumference of it. So if the onscreen D-pad is larger than the Fling, the game won’t register you moving up when you press up. I also saw this issue return when testing out a few iPhone games, like say Dark Void Zero. If I run the game in 2x, the onscreen thumbstick becomes too large, but if I run it in iPhone mode it fits. Although it greatly improves the control of Dark Void Zero, you are basically stuck playing it in iPhone resolution, on the iPad screen. Not really the experience I was hoping for with how many iPhone games I have.

In many ways, ensuring the Fling is compatible with a particular game is kind of a crapshoot. Ten One Design’s website FAQ, has an editable list of games already tested (about 117) in a Google Doc. You can access it here and I would recommend doing so before purchase. As more people use the Fling and update this list, it will increase the viability of the peripheral. Still, with thousands of games going untested and new titles like Infinity Blade changing the standards for capacitive touchscreen controls, the virtual thumbstick is becoming less relevant. Therefore, I can really only recommend this to anyone who views the iPad as a gaming platform first and everything else second. If you are one of those gamers, pick up your Fling by clicking the link below. Thanks for reading!

http://www.tenonedesign.com/checkout.php?product=Fling

*Quoted from http://tenonedesign.com/fling

Note: all images come from Ten One Design website

Republished from Bitmob.com

Does Sony Have Your Head in the Cloud?

Sony has been busy lately; combating hackers, releasing AAA titles, and even announcing new portables. So, it should come as no surprise that the rumor mill is buzzing. One rumor has peaked my interest, The Playstation Cloud. The service is to be released for Playstation Plus subscribers in the near future, and was recently featured on Kotaku. The Cloud, an online database where users on the PSN will be able to back up their PS3 saves, aims to be the first of its kind for console gamers. It has the potential to be so much more, as it could be the lynch pin in changing the consumer’s definition of a portable console.

Where the iOS devices have put pressure on Nintendo and Sony to evolve in the portable market, the NGP has emerged, jammed full of technology. Unlike the portables of the past, there are few limitations to the method in which you control games. The NGP has just as many options for control, if not more (touch vs. Move support) than the PS3 does. It comes with both 3G and Wi-Fi, meaning you can always be connected to the PSN, much like the PS3. Of course, a 5-inch OLED will provide you the illusion that the NGP is a near equal to that of the PS3 in graphical fidelity. But is it a PS3? Or more specifically, can I take a PS3 game with me and play it on the NGP? The most prominent obstacle in my mind is one of cross-platform compatibility for user content; i.e. game saves, trophy support and anything tied to your PSN ID. If I were to start a game on PS3 and move to the NGP version, my game save would be the most important piece of content in making the entire feature worthwhile. Otherwise the point that you have a PS3 in your pocket is mute since it isn’t an extension of “your PS3”.

That very obstacle could be addressed through utilization of the Cloud. To PC Gamers, this technology is old hat, since Steam Cloud has been active since 2008. For me; however, it is the implication of what all these features can do together on Playstation Hardware that makes me excited. If a single PSN ID can be used on multiple platforms and thus, all your Trophies and Game Saves can exist in the Cloud. At this point, all you need is a game that is cross compatible between platforms and bam - Portable PS3! Now, trophy hunters are no longer limited to their living room couch, they can hunt in the wild. You can start grinding at home after work and continue throughout the next day during train rides, lunch breaks or whatever downtime a gamer has outside of their home. Sure, there will be new trophies for platform-specific NGP titles, but if Sony wants to boast about how close the NGP is to performing like a PS3, I say prove it. Treat them as equals, and the concept of the NGP being a Portable PS3 will come to fruition organically. Publishers should release each disc-based copy with a digital NGP copy (kind of like Blu-Ray), maybe charge a little more, but make the process as easy as possible. Feel free to let me know in the comments how many of you gamers would be interested in this feature and whether or not you would be willing to pay for it. If Sony is considering this feature, they are also considering how to monetize it, so speak your mind.
*Note: Images courtesy of Google Image Search and Photoshop

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