Game Time
Alright, enough with this multimedia exploration; time to break out the games! I started out with Ghost Recon Advanced Warfighter and was impressed with the added feeling of immersion you get when you get very real tactile feedback to low frequency events. Explosions, gunfire, vehicles, you name it; they can all cause your seat to rumble or jolt quickly depending on the situations. I didn’t have a chance to try the ButtKicker out with something like F.E.A.R. or any other creepy titles, but I get the feeling that it would be downright scary sometimes to get a jolt up your spine in some of those scenarios.
Of course, sims is where the ButtKicker really shines though. We’ve come a long way toward recreating the experience of flight with PC games in the graphics department. Now software and hardware are starting to really merge; taking our immersion even further (NaturalPoint’s TrackIR simply revolutionized simming and gaming). With natural head movement, tactile feedback, awesome graphics and sound, real-time voice communications and multi-player connectivity we are starting to get all of the bases covered. I wouldn’t be surprised if soon we have “smell tracks” that waft the essence of cordite and napalm from some external peripheral. Helicopter sims really benefit greatly from the use of the ButtKicker since vibration is an integral part of the helicopter experience. Adjusting the volume and frequency level to get a constant and steady low vibration is easy and works great.
