Touchscreens are a technological advance that have had its ups and downs in the past few years since it’s been released, but one of the biggest benefits that it has had is probably within the realm of gaming, such as games that are loaded onto the iPhone, the iPod touch and the iPad. Gaming apps are usually pretty good on touchscreen devices because they’re incredibly intuitive and easy to learn.
For example, the air hockey game on the iPhone requires you to only move your finger with the blocker, and scoring in that game is pretty simple. However, what about more complex games on more complex systems, such as StarCraft II, for the PC?
The neat thing about this set up is that you can play against each other on a table-top setting, with a flat surface and a completely interactive experience. The control is multi-touch, but the game didn’t have to be modified for it to work – my guess is the touch is like a mouse control, without the presence of a mouse. The system set up in the picture and the video below are two 22 inch 3M displays, and some students from the University of Massachusetts Lowell’s robotic lab actually set up this cool multi-touch duelling table for the game.
The $1,600 USD displays accept all the basic commands you need to run the game, which are pretty much the same as the ones you’d use for any touch system or tablet. While this may not please the hardcore keyboard and mouse (with hotkeys) gamers, the idea of being able to use your fingers to select a squad and direct it at an enemy is potentially very exciting. Of course, the major downside is the very likely possibility that while an opponent is working on their troop selection, they could direct their eyes onto your screen “accidentally” and look at your build order, but that’s a problem that could be easily remedied.
You can check out Starcraft related stories such as the Star Craft 2 Peripherals, Starcraft 2 iPod Spoof Video, or Multi-touch table designs like this iPhone 4 Table
Via: Dvice
