The gaming industry is quite popular, to say the least. Statistics show it will reach a market cap of $282.3 billion in 2024. The total number of gamers also exceeds 3 billion. Naturally, for an industry with such high numbers, you can expect innovation to take place.
Game companies are always trying to find new methods to improve gaming experience. One exciting development that has happened is the introduction of haptic feedback. The technology uses touch and vibrations to communicate sensations or feelings to the gamer. This leads to a more immersive experience to be enjoyed.
Within the game world, real sensations can be simulated like force and movement. This makes the game more believable and real. Like feeling the rumble after an explosion takes place or the impact of a car crashing can help make these events more effective. There’s also the added bonus in the form of feedback. Haptic touch provides immediate feedback so you can feel your actions as you carry them out in the game. This may help you better understand the consequences your decisions have and make you feel connected to the game.
As we’ll see soon, there are many devices integrated with haptic feedback that seek to elevate gaming.
Online Gambling: Haptic VR Gloves
Haptic VR gloves are specialized to provide an immersive virtual reality experience. They simulate realistic touch and force feedback as you interact with the game. The sensors in the gloves make it seem like you are actually touching the virtual objects.
Online gambling is one area where these gloves shine. In digital casinos, where people play online gambling games, they will be able to feel the texture and weight of the chips and cards they hold. By simulating these game elements, the quality of the experience is improved.
Take the game of poker which has multiple elements. You can feel the cards as you shuffle them, the chips as you stack them, and even the table surface when you place a bet. This tactile feedback works in real time making the game more enjoyable.
Haptic VR gloves can also help enhance the social experience. In a purely online game, feeling the presence of virtual hands and objects can make the physical distance feel less.
Racing Simulators: The Role of Haptic Steering Wheels
Racing games are pretty popular and enjoyed by many gamers with more than 1 billion people playing such titles. One of the reasons for this is because of the tech that has been incorporated into this genre to improve simulation.
Haptic steering wheels are one of these. They are special controllers that are designed to place you into the driver’s seat. Through feedback, these wheels allow you to feel the vehicle being handled. This includes elements like the vibration of tires on different terrains and the resistance that comes with turning a tight corner.
All this contributes to making the races feel immersive and realistic. This is even more evident in games like Forza Horizon and Gran Turismo, which already have high levels of immersion.
Action Games: Haptic Suits and Realistic Combat
Haptic suits deliver feedback to the wearer’s whole body rather than just the hands. This works best when paired with action games which have elements that revolve around body parts. For instance, when playing a first-person shooter game, the suit would mimic the sensation of firing the gun and you would feel bullets flying around.
Similarly, in fighting games like Tekken or Mortal Kombat, the suit would add to the experience by allowing you to feel the weight of each move. When a punch is thrown or a kick is landed, the vibrations would apply pressure to simulate the blow. This is something that traditional gaming controllers cannot achieve.
Mobile Gaming: The Impact of Haptic Touch on Immersion
Games in the mobile world make up 51% of total gamers, showcasing how important the audience is to companies. For this reason, innovative features have been added to mobile games, one of which is the haptic touch.
This technology works similarly to other haptic feedback methods by relaying players’ actions to the fingers. With the wide variety of mobile game genres available, there are several examples of the working of haptic touch.
In shooters like Call of Duty and PUBG mobile, you can feel the gunfights and recoil simulations. In racing titles, you can feel the shifting of gears as you accelerate and vibrations on different surfaces. All this helps amp up the experience of the game helping captivate the players and make them stay immersed.
The technology involved in gaming is constantly being improved to bring even more enjoyment to players. By making the game feel more immersive and objects and elements interactable, a certain level of depth is achieved, no matter if you’re playing in VR or competing online.
This not only contributes to the overall experience but may also add to the story element of the game. As haptic feedback tech improves, we’re likely to experience even more of the game’s sensations.
