Valve Job Posting Confirms Hardware Plans 219
redletterdave writes "Valve is reportedly interested in building hardware. The Bellevue, Wash.-based software developer added a job posting to its site on Tuesday morning for an industrial designer. We're frustrated by the lack of innovation in the computer hardware space though, so we're jumping in,' the posting said. 'Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years. There's a real void in the marketplace, and opportunities to create compelling user experiences are being overlooked.'"
Design requirements (Score:5, Interesting)
Even basic input, the keyboard and mouse, haven’t really changed in any meaningful way over the years
Maybe the reason for this is the basic form works. The design of the wheel hasn't changed much in a 5 thousand years either. I wonder why.
I beg to differ. The basic design requirement of a wheel is that it's round and rolls, and I'll certainly grant you that this aspect of wheels hasn't changed. However, a rough-hewn wooden round, such as used in the simplest of carts, bears very little other resemblance to the three-spoked carbon-fiber performance bicycle wheels I see with some frequency on my morning bicycle commute. Sure, both are round and roll, but otherwise, there's thousands of years of difference between them.
So what are the design requirements for computer input? You could start by looking at the requirements of a keyboard and a mouse: 1) Must have all the keys required to input at least ASCII. 2) Must have some kind of pointer-device control, ideally with at least two buttons.
So sure, you can have your basic flat keyboard, and a basic mouse. Or you could have something quite different, like this [disabledonline.com], or this [disabledonline.com], or this [artlebedev.com], or this [alphagrips.com] (what I'm actually using to type this message).
And that's not even looking into other possible input schemes, such as voice recognition [google.com], eye tracking [enablemart.com], etc.
I applaud Valve's efforts to look into better ways of doing things. This kind of exploration is exactly what leads to new and better things.
Cheers,
Re:So, I can FINALLY buy ... (Score:5, Interesting)
I know you meant this as a joke, but take it seriously for a moment.
Wouldn't it be spiffy if Valve took their hardware plaform and came up with a Steampunk option for it? Obviously the basic low-cost version will have to be basic and low-cost. But they're in an obvious position to sell a Steampunk version for a premium.
Touch typing vs. hunt and peck (Score:5, Interesting)
console controllers, for example, are actually better for some games, such as platformers or racers, though not for FPS or RTS games
As I tried to type a long post on my Nexus 7 tablet a few days ago, I realized something. Pressing buttons on a keyboard or a gamepad is like touch typing, as the player memorizes where the buttons are relative to his thumbs' resting positions and uses the feel of the edges of the buttons to adjust his hand positioning. Using a mouse or touch screen, on the other hand, is like hunt and peck: see something on the screen, move your mouse, and click. Aiming in FPS and selecting units in RTS are nearly ideal hunt and peck tasks; platformers and fighting games need touch typing because movement is relative to the player's current position.
I've written more about this [pineight.com].
Comment removed (Score:2, Interesting)