In this section, I will discuss the different platforms and how they use electrical parts differently including the benefits and downfalls of choosing any of the many gaming platforms.
Platform Dependencies
Mario & Sonic At The Olympic Games (Nintendo Wii)
Nintendo has many exclusives do to the different distribution and manufacturing ideas such as the Cartridge storage and the Wii or Wii U controls which allow developers to get more creative and bring more customers to Nintendo giving them some market share. The Mario & Sonic At The Olympics game demonstrates the uses and capabilities of Nintendo’s controllers however it has been specifically developed for that platform meaning customers who want to play the game must buy Nintendo Hardware first.
Until Dawn (PlayStation 4)
The same applies to PlayStation 4 customers since their controller has a touchpad that works the same as new smartphones and now allows them to perform actions with finger gestures when playing certain PlayStation exclusive games.
Gears Of War 4 (Xbox One)
While Xbox One owner’s don’t have anything specifically exclusive on their controllers they do have certain exclusive features on their Xbox One system such as a wide range of media file types support and all exclusives can be played on both Xbox and Windows capable hardware.
Each of these things adds a customer base to the companies releasing these products and this customer base is giving them market share and keeping them in business.
Operating System
Introduction To OS
An Operating System (OS) is a program that receives input and gives output data so all the different components of hardware and the different software. This is what makes your device work, an OS takes the information from everything you have and makes it so other software can understand the information. for example, if you buy a storage device but haven’t got an OS installed then you can’t see what information is stored.
MAC
The Apple OS named IOS is used for any electrical Apple product and just like other Operating Systems it also has advanced built-in Anti-Virus protection and is really easy to use and fast. Due to the advanced Anti-Virus protection, IOS loses some compatibility between 3rd party developers as it doesn’t allow full support for all software or media.
Linux
Linux can be a very useful OS depending on what you use it for and how much computing knowledge you have. For a software developer, Linux might be their OS of choice but that is usually because of their extensive programming knowledge whereas for some just learning to use a PC or just a regular user who doesn’t know much Linux is not really that user-friendly and they would be better off with Windows or IOS.
Windows
Windows is the most commonly known operating system and the majority of 3rd party software or hardware are compatible with Windows but not always IOS. Like IOS windows also has its own virus protection and user-friendly features however windows does have a lot more customizability but without the knowledge, you would need if you had Linux.
Console Features
Xbox One Console
Below is a set of images showing the different ports on the physical console of the Xbox One Original and a description of each port.
Front
- Eject button: Used to eject a disc from the console. Discs will insert automatically.
- Xbox button: The console power button and LED indicator.
Side
- USB 3.0 port: Used to connect wired accessories, such as the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit.
- Eject hole: Used in the rare event a disc gets stuck inside the console. See Manually eject a disc from your Xbox One S or original Xbox One console.
- Accessory pairing button: Used to connect wireless accessories such as the Xbox One Wireless Controller.
Back
From left to right:
- Power supply port: Power supply connects here.
- HDMI out: HDMI cable connects here and then to your TV.
- S/PDIF: Optical audio output (optional; optical cable not included).
- HDMI in: HDMI cable connects here and then to your HDMI-compatible cable/satellite receiver.
- USB 3.0 ports: Two ports used to connect wired accessories, such as the Xbox One Play & Charge Kit and gaming accessories.
- Kinect port: Proprietary USB port, to be used only for Kinect.
- IR out: Infrared output port for IR blasters (optional; IR blaster not included).
- Networking port: Ethernet cable connects here from your modem or router (Ethernet cable not included).
- Lock port: Allows you to connect a laptop lock to your console to secure it (optional; lock not included).
PlayStation 4 Console
I tried to find an image however it is not so easy as the Xbox One was and they have the same ports more or less. The PlayStation 4 only has:
- 1 HMDI: for output to the TV
- 2 USB Ports: for charging controllers
- AC Power: To supply power to the console
- Ethernet: Connect to the internet
Platform Differences
There are a few differences and limitations to each platform and the main difference is the way it changes your experience. Will PC has the highest number of buttons not as many people can use the mouse to control views compared to the number of people that are comfortable using a Thumbstick on a console controller. The same can be said for mobile games, there are some games which can be played on all platforms but work better on mobile devices due to the touchscreen controls.
Depending on how you want to play video games, which types of video games you want to play and what devices you are most comfortable with will decide which platforms and which versions of video games you buy.
Setting Up an Xbox One
Here is a video of me demonstrating how to plug in an Xbox One Original 1TB and install a game as well as getting into multiplayer with a few customizable touches inside the Xbox One’s settings. I forgot to mention you will need to buy an Xbox Live Gold Membership in order to be able to play the multiplayer modes.
Platform Configuration
Due to the many differences on each platform they all have different hardware and understand electrical surges differently, this means if you were to have the same game on multiple platforms you would need to almost start the development process again. To move a game from one port to another you would need to re-configure your development engine’s settings for that specific platform and edit the coding so that the chose platform be it console, mobile or and arcade console can understand the code. Many problems can occur if you were to just export the game for that platform without configuring it first so it is a good idea to test it in the office before releasing another copy of the game.
Explaining How An Arcade Console
This is a video of an employee at Arcade Club Manchester showing you how an Arcade Console handles the information needed to play a video game.
In the video, you can see the circuitry that accepts input from the console’s controls and if you were to open a mobile phone or a console controller then you would be able to see how different the circuitry is and this can prove challenging to some developers when porting their game from platform to platform.
Limitations
Compared to a PC many other devices are quite limited but this is because they trade that for a better more friendly gaming experience. For example whilst you can play video games on a PC you can also manage and play media content such as videos, music and pictures, however, some consoles and mobile devices cannot play such media or certain media types like the PS4, Nintendo Switch, and older mobile devices cannot play Matroska (.mkv) files whereas the PC and Xbox One can.
PlayStation
The PlayStation is solely focused on giving the consumer a GAMING experience and therefore loses a lot of the customizable options that you can get with a PC, other than being able to socialize on the PlayStation network and play games there is not much else you can do with a PlayStation and due to the hardware not all games like popular MMO’s can be played because of the small number of buttons. The only other thing you can do with a PS4 is watch DVD and Blu-ray discs by removing a game disc from the disc drive and replacing it with one of the media discs.
Xbox One
The Xbox One unlike the PS4 or Nintendo Switch can do many things like a PC but still keep the similar hardware that limits its usefulness as the only way to map the controls for so many different features is to re-map the whole controller every time a piece of software is loaded up, therefore, forcing consumers to keep re-learning the different controls for the different software.
The Xbox One can read many many different media file types and has a section on the Microsoft Store where you can download even more software to play media. Without installing any extra software the Xbox One can manage TV boxes such as the Sky+, Sky Q, Virgin Tivo or Talk Talk hub boxes which PC’s and other consoles cannot but the Xbox one is limited in other areas like being completely reliant on the Xbox Live Services. If the Xbox Live Services are not operating correctly then your Xbox One will not allow you to play video games unless you have a disc and have already retrieved your save data off the cloud servers.
Mobile Devices
While mobile devices work excellent with social media apps and some media players and formats they usually struggle playing console or PC quality graphics and video games limiting them to specific genres of video games that have been specially made to run on mobile devices. This is a repelling fact to most gamers as they lose a lot of things when using a mobile device compared to their console or PC.
Timeline
The very first PC was the MITS Altair 8800 and was designed as a way to process and store information during the 1970’s (1975-onward) and came delivered as a kit that you would need to connect and configure yourself which required some programming knowledge. Even though the first PC was until 1975 video games had entered the household in the form of Atari Console’s such as the Atari 2600 in 1970 and Arcade Consoles entered popular shopping locations during the same year. Console and arcade machines may have entered the race first but due to the unpopular nature arcade machines introduce many people to video games and not as many people had console machines. As time went on the arcade consoles got less and less popular but where never out of the race and are still featured in many entertainment resorts or centers.
With the popularity of video games growing and more consumers buying console machines more companies created their own hardware for consoles and began the console wars. For those of you out of the loop for decades whenever someone has discussed playing video games in their home the conversation tends to end up in an argument as to which machine is better. Although the public is always fighting for their favorite console throughout the year’s companies have judged the console wars by statistics, how many copies sold, how many have been returned, how many people have one over the others in their home.
The recognition of the console wars and companies fighting for the biggest slice of market share has been used to keep track of the different generations of consoles, and of course, each generation started another console war. There have been 8 generations so far.
Generation 1
Right at the beginning the first set of home systems where the Magnavox Odyssey, Home Pong (1st Atari), and Colour TV Game (1st Nintendo). with these consoles releasing only a few years apart during the 1970’s and only being able to display simplistic black and white games such as pong, Space Invaders, and Asteroids. All thought the games back then are nothing like the modern ones they are so simplistic and it was the first era of video games so not much was expected from developers and these games where enough to keep people entertained for hours. There isn’t much information on these machines as it was also at the same time the first developments in computing technology in general never mind home retail hardware.
Generation 2
This is where popularity rose up with video games and home computing systems as it is referred to as “the golden age of arcade games”. This is the generation in which the Atari 2600 and the Magnavox Odyssey 2 which each had a processor between 1.10-2.00MHz. At the time most other PC’s had 5MHz processors but costed a lot more to buy for home use. The best selling games during this generation were Pac-Man, Las Vegas Poker, and Pinball Challenge so compared to the first generation with the advance into colour video games themselves made quite a jump.
Generation 3
Most middle-aged adults today will remember the 3rd or 4th generation games and in the 3rd generation Sega joined the fight with more than one console of their own but during the same year, Nintendo released the Nintendo Entertainment System (NES) and the first 3 Super Mario Bros. games. The best consoles in this generation had processors between 1.15-3.80MHz along with GPU components.
Generation 4
In an attempt to compete with Nintendo and their Mario game series, Sega released the Sega Genesis Console which had a 7.6MHz processor and The release of Sonic The Hedgehog. Nintendo still was keeping up with Sega and released the SNES (Super Nintendo Entertainment System) and the first additions to many Nintendo exclusive series’ that are still being made today such as The Legend of Zelda, Metroid, Star Fox, Donkey Kong Country. Nintendo, Atari, and Sega also released Hand Held systems to explore a new area of the market and take home computing into a mobile device.
Generation 5
Here is when Sony stopped being just a media company and became one of the most well-known names in the video game industry. This happened because Sony entered the fight by adding their console the PlayStation 1 and their first competitor being Nintendo with their newest console the Nintendo 64. This generation of consoles also came with sound chips included in the hardware which allowed developers to make many different sounds and create a better experience for the players. At this point, the GPU’s had reached over 30MHz at 32-bit Video Display and CPU’s were at speeds of 20MHz or more.
Generation 6
Mostly known as the 128-bit era both video games and console hardware took a leap forward and this is where Microsoft decided they can do better than both Sony and Nintendo. The launch of the Original Xbox and one of Microsoft’s most well-known titles Halo was a huge success.
Generation 7
The Biggest time to be into video games was during the 7th generation as this is when Microsoft was at their peak after releasing the console Xbox 360 which had an advanced interface and encouraged massive multiplayer player with different types of multiplayer connectivity and the ability to play 4 player split-screen in online matchmaking games. Sony tried to fight back with the PS3 and a series of games that were re-designed version of older classics using newer technology. Xbox eventually won this battle thanks to its many exclusive titles and thousands of arcade games but Nintendo didn’t back down and they took a different approach to how games are meant to be played with the Nintendo Wii console and its advanced motion technology.
Generation 8
Finally, we get to the current generation of consoles, the Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Nintendo Switch. The 8th generation is pushing the console platform and hardware to its limits and reaching nearly PC grade hardware at an affordable price for home entertainment. The current gen consoles can work as great media centers and have games that are massively expanding with the design of console controls and multiplayer.
Coding Languages
When creating a game most of them require knowledge of a coding language to actually be able to develop a functioning game. The most popular languages to use are C++ and Java.
C++
The language C++ is an extension of C and an object-based (information must be contained in “objects”) coding language which is used in almost any program or software and most commonly known for being used to write the windows OS. C++ is the most used coding language since it is almost immediately compatible with any hardware or software and has practically no limitations other than the level of knowledge that you possess.
Java
Java has many different uses and whilst also and object-based coding language like C++ it is much easier to learn and also has web applications which is one reason why it is used for game development since it can be easier to program it in ava and upload it to the web rather than using a different language and trying to upload it to the web.
Comparison
While both C++ and Java have their uses there is quite a difference as for where C++ can be used to communicate and share information between different systems and hardware whereas Java is used to share information over web signals and different Operating Systems and does not have the capabilities that C++ has but is much easier to learn. I would recommend that anyone trying to learn some coding languages should start with learning how to understand and code Java then move onto a more advanced language like C++
Application Programming Interface (API)
An Application Programming Interface is a piece of software containing protocols, tools and other features that can be used to build another piece of software. A great example of this is a game engine program as it uses an interface to manage tools that can be used to develop many different video game applications. The reason a program like this is an API is that it writes the C++ code for you and it does not require you to have any knowledge of any coding languages to use the software.
Cory Robinson <_o-o_> 