If gaming operates by the statement “what you see is what you play”, haptics technology is paving the way to make your experience a truly interactive one. Nowadays, what you play onscreen is actually what you feel.

I first experienced this technology with Tekken for the Playstation. I would always clamor for the Dual Shock controller, because it magnifies the deadly moves my Kazuya Mishima can impose. It’s not enough to see the earth shatter in 3D rendition, actually feeling it made my gaming experience larger-than-life. In arcades, this sensation was duplicated in racing games such as Gran Turismo and Need For Speed. Never being a fan of car racing, I found myself warming the arcade Nascar seats, only because my steering wheel would retract at every virtual collision I encountered. It was thrilling.

Incorporation of this technology in gaming was then manufactured on a consumer level. Logitech churned out handheld consoles with the force feedback feature. LucasArts, in their console version of Jedi Knight II: Jedi Outcast, had players feel the power and feedback of wielding a light saber. These initial attempts created a standard by which all future gaming consoles live up to. All gamepad controllers now boast of this tactile feedback dictated by the 3D virtual adventures.

Manufacturers continuously find ways for the consumer to have a fully interactive virtual experience. We see the future of gaming in the development of the CyberGlove – meant for motion capture systems. But the next step towards this technological innovation would be the incorporation of haptic technology, which is currently being developed. Pretty soon, we’ll be feeling the collision of those virtual punches in boxing games, and feel the tension of the bow and arrow in virtual archery.