From: ace@tidbits.halcyon.com (Adam C. Engst) Subject: 3D controllers Date: Wed, 5 Feb 92 13:44:57 PDT In Regards to your letter <9202050117.AA30133@sumax.seattleu.edu>: > Does anyone out there know how to convert a Mattel PowerGlove (for Nintendo > I think) to the Mac, preferably through the ADB port? I realize that the > software driver would have to be created, but for now I'm more interested > in the hardware specs. (Of course, anyone who has any ideas about the driver, > please let me know)... Well, since these issues of TidBITS aren't readily available (but send email to fileserver@tidbits.halcyon.com with the word locations in the Subject: to find out where most back issues can be found), I'll repost this information from TidBITS#19 and TidBITS#64... cheers ... Adam C. Engst, TidBITS Editor TidBITS#19/03-Sep-90 The first of the video game decks to attain massive popularity was the Atari VCS, but it died down and was replaced several years later by the Nintendo Entertainment System. I've never seen one of these decks, but even the videotape rental stores around here now carry Nintendo games, so I suspect their popularity may surpass that of the Atari VCS. "Why does he care?" you ask, quite reasonably. Well, a company called Transfinite Systems (TS) has introduced a little ADB device called Gold Brick, which provides translations between a Mac or Apple IIgs and various Nintendo-compatible controller devices. (Luckily, Transfinite Systems sent us the Gold Brick manual, because the concept of a controller interface is not one that is inherently obvious.) Nintendo-controller compatibility is an interesting ability, because some Nintendo games support 2D and 3D motion using a number of different controllers. Again, I haven't seen any of these devices, but Gold Brick can translate controller input from the Broderbund UForce, the Nintendo Power Pad, the Enteractive Roll&Rocker and the Mattel Power Glove. (Game companies are very serious about trademarks, as you can tell.) Of these, the only one I know anything about is the Power Glove, because it is a commercial version of the Data Glove used in the virtual reality experiments. With the Data Glove (or presumably the Power Glove), you can move virtual objects around in a virtual space (viewed through a head-mounted display system). Transfinite Systems has chosen an interesting method of marketing Gold Brick. By designing it to work with inexpensive and commercially available controllers, Transfinite is using an existing market to create a potentially new one. The first applications of Gold Brick will no doubt be ports of Nintendo games or even communications between the game deck and the Mac through Gold Brick. However, after some games have broken the ground, we expect that drivers for the 3D graphics applications like Swivel 3D and Super 3D will be written. Rotating a 3D solid with a Power Glove should be a lot easier than doing the same thing with the mouse. After that, our imagination is the limit for new methods of controlling virtual objects. Gold Brick's sub-title is "The Cyberspace Interface," which hints at the cyberspace environment of William Gibson's "Neuromancer" and "Mona Lisa Overdrive." For standard applications of today, though, the user can specify 2D motions or keystrokes for the Gold Brick translations, allowing people to explore and design alternate forms of interface manipulators. One way or another, Gold Brick sounds like it might help introduce the next generation of controllers. Transfinite Systems * 617-969-9570 TidBITS#64/03-Jun-91 Way back when in September of 1990 (i.e. the good old days :-)), I wrote about a controller interface device called the Gold Brick. The Gold Brick is an interesting idea - it acts as an interface between the Mac's ADB and a variety of 2-D and 3-D controllers made for Nintendo games. Back then, the Gold Brick was relative vapor, but it now appears that Transfinite Systems is shipping an upgraded version of the Gold Brick along with a cheaper interface for users, called the Nugget. The Gold Brick sells for $245 and the Nugget for $169, and although you could buy the Nintendo controllers from the company, they encourage users to look for cheaper prices in toy and electronics stores. The main upgrade to the Gold Brick is the ability to accept more in the way of 3-D input, so the device can now accept 3-D forward and backward signals, as well as roll controls. Needless to say, such ability greatly increases the controller's utility for interactive use with simulated 3-D objects. The other upgrade to the Gold Brick is the ability to work with the Nintendo Power Pad, which I've never seen, but which I gather is kind of like a game of Twister with electronic sensors built in. Such a device would be extremely useful for architects and engineers working with programs like Virtus WalkThrough, although you might need a lot of processing power to take advantage of the combination. The main Nintendo device that I would like to try with the Gold Brick is the Power Glove. It's a slightly scaled down version of the glove used by the virtual reality people, but is definitely a step in the right direction as far as computer controls go. I suspect that it wouldn't even be all that hard to combine the Power Glove technology with the Infogrip's chord keyboard technology so you could type on a virtual keyboard. I suppose that would produce a whole slew of hypochondriacs complaining of virtual repetitive strain injuries. :-) As much as the Gold Brick is impressive, Vivid Effects of Toronto has an even better idea. In Mandala, they've made the controller itself virtual by using a video camera attached to an Amiga and some custom hardware. The camera films you and can insert you into an animation from a paint program or into a laserdisc, at which point you can interact with the other entities in the reality to the extent the software allows. Currently, Vivid Effects has two versions, a high-end version that interfaces with a laserdisc and a low-end version that only requires a video camera and a digitizing board and is much cheaper, but can't work with the laserdisc. Using the virtual controller gives Mandala a number of advantages over current controller schemes. You don't have to wear goggles or a body suit or a glove or anything like that, and other people can join in the same reality with ease. In addition, the Mandala technology makes it easier to mix virtual controls with real ones, if for instance, you were in a cockpit simulation. Vivid Effects said that Mandala is quite popular, especially with science museums and the like because they could set up a virtual reality and let lots of visitors play with it. They expect a significant increase in popularity when they port the hardware to the Mac and the PC, since the Amiga, for all its features, is still a fairly limited market. Transfinite Systems * 617/969-9570 Vivid Effects * 416/340-9290