Game Apparatus Handedness Input Mode Adaptation
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Solution Overview
Problem
Existing game technologies do not adequately accommodate left-handed users when requiring complex input operations, as they often rely solely on placing input areas on the left or right side of the screen, leading to difficulties for left-handed users performing tasks like drawing circles or arcs, resulting in an uneven gaming experience based on handedness.
Innovation Solution
A game apparatus and storage medium that allow users to select between right-handed and left-handed input modes, determining whether the path drawn by the pointing device is in a right-handed or left-handed circular arc direction, enabling the same level of difficulty for both right- and left-handed users by adjusting the input operation accordingly.
Engineering Contradictions & Design Principles
Engineering Contradiction Analysis
1Ease of operation
If the input area is placed on the left side or right side of the screen, then the operation becomes easier for users with that dominant hand, but it creates difficulty for users with the other dominant hand
Solution Approach 1:
The patent applies dynamics by making the input mode changeable based on user selection. The system dynamically switches between right-handed mode and left-handed mode, where the direction of circular arc path recognition is reversed. This allows the interface to adapt its behavior according to the user's dominant hand, resolving the contradiction between optimizing for one handedness and maintaining adaptability to all users.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent changes the parameter of path direction recognition based on the selected input mode. In right-handed mode, the system recognizes clockwise circular arcs as valid input paths. In left-handed mode, it recognizes counterclockwise circular arcs. This parameter change allows the system to maintain ease of operation for different user groups without compromising adaptability.
2Productivity
If the game requires continuous touch inputs to draw complex paths like circles or arcs, then the game can be played, but left-handed users find it considerably more difficult compared to right-handed users
Solution Approach 1:
The system dynamically adjusts the expected path direction based on the selected input mode. For right-handed users, the system expects clockwise circular arc paths. For left-handed users, it expects counterclockwise paths. This dynamic adjustment ensures that both groups can perform continuous touch inputs with equal ease, as they can naturally draw paths in their comfortable direction without encountering the difficulty described in the contradiction.
Solution Approach 2:
The patent applies inversion by reversing the direction of path recognition for left-handed mode. Instead of requiring all users to draw paths in the same direction (which would disadvantage left-handed users), the system inverts the expected direction. When left-handed mode is selected, counterclockwise paths are recognized as valid, effectively flipping the operation requirements to accommodate left-handed users' natural movement patterns.
Data Source
AI summary
A game apparatus includes a display and a touch panel provided thereon. A CPU core displays a game screen on the display. A user draw a circular arc path on the touch panel by continuously touching the touch panel with a stick or the like. In either case of continuous inputs so as to draw a clockwise circular arc path in a right-hander mode or continuous inputs so as to draw a counterclockwise circular arc path in a left-hander mode, it is concluded that the same input operations have been carried out. Accordingly, a user character is moved to the right in proportion to a predetermined angle in the right-hander mode, and the user character is moved to the left in proportion to the predetermined angle in the left-hander mode.