i think the split design is the direction Nintendo should go on with their controllers, the idea was abandoned too soon after the Wii. This is important because it adds a lot more degrees of freedom than a 2 handed design and it's quite easy to convert two equal pieces like that into a traditional held controller either with a dock or other coupling mechanism.
Another interesting thing its that is symmetrical setup that with only one model needed to produce.
There's also a variety of ginmick uses:
- For example, you can lift the controller near the eye sight and simulate looking through an scope to aim.
- Or simulate the appearance of the object been interacted with in the game like a keypad, a safe dial or a couple of maracas.
- The touch screen can have some linear motion in the Y axis to detect the amount of pressure been applied with a touch or gesture. This would be a way to modify basic inputs.
I haven't tried out the technology, but can touchscreens with haptic feedback really give you the sense of using physical buttons? I've seen technology that can change the texture of touchscreens to make parts of the screen feel smoother and others more rough, but still I'm not sure it's possible to really get proper tactile feedback even with these technologies.
I do like the idea of a modular controller, I think the concept of the Wiimote with optional Nunchuck is on of the best control schemes there is. Having more options with a virtual interface and the ability to combine two separate Wiimote-like controllers into a more standard controller is interesting.
It is exactly like you claim, it doesn't feel like a physical button. It changes the resistance of the surface in a variety of ways. But i think it is enough to have a good substitute for a thumbstick, for example, the farther you move the finger from the contact point the more resistance it conveys. You can also set a neutral zone of reference and have the player touch with a thumb in any four directions from that point to simulate the 4 face buttons we have in more traditional controllers. Th point is, there are an ample variety of interactions that a touch screen of this type allows that are beyond what a button can offer. But either way there are traditional buttons still on that mock up for use when neccessary.
