The WiiU's controller - possible applications?

At the moment it's hard to tell how the WiiU will turn out when it is released in a year and what games it will see during it's lifetime. Still, from the moment the 6'' screen was rumored (those were leaks after all - and big ones!), people here have tried to make sense of it. I'd thought it'd be nice to have a thread so everyone can make up the wildest concepts.

So, now that it has been revealed we know about it's shape and capabilities, but what do you think will or should it be used for - alone or in combination with other inputs? Sound off below!

Some things to keep in mind: It's seems like the console will only support one of the tablet-controllers (point me to a source, please). It is however possible to use it in combination with all other Wii peripherals.

Nintendo is already heavily hinting/suggesting some concepts:

One more application Myamoto proposed in the recently published Iwata Asks is using the controller for non-game apllications without turning on the TV. Example: check weight in Wii Fit, without having to fire up the whole TV setup.

^ Those concept games look pretty fun!

I posted this for Pikmin 3

Like that 'pirate arrow' Wii U demo creates a 'virtual room' around you almost, so you can see things all around you that carry the image on further than the TV... I like the idea of aiming the screen at the floor and seeing it covered in foliage with Pikmin at you feet.

Or some sections in the game where you have to take a small group of Pikmin on side missions where you place the screen on the floor, seeing a few Pikmin in their true scale and working out some touch screen puzzles/assembly tasks with them etc...

Myself and Zechs Merquise were talking about this in respect to Call of Duty (as we had been playing Black Ops at the time).

The screen on the controller could show both the map (full map) and also 3 "killstreak buttons" (each button would show the icon of the killstreak you choose).

Let's say you have selected Spy Plane, Napalm Strike and Attack Helicopter.

During the match you come across multiple enemies and get your first two killstreaks in succession without using any of them.

Now currently you'd have to use the Napalm before you could use the Spy Plane because the game will prioritise your higher killstreak as they can only be used via one button.

However in this case you could simply tap the Spy Plane icon and the killstreak would now be activated on your map.

This then gives you the situational advantage you need for using your Napalm. To use this, you tap the icon then quickly draw a line on the map with your finger to place the Napalm Strike exactly where, and in the direction, you drew the line.

To use your helicopter you would simply tap the icon then tap the place on the map you wish to deploy it.

I like the idea of aiming the screen at the floor and seeing it covered in foliage with Pikmin at you feet.

Hows about an FPS where you can point the screen downwards and see your characters feet...!

In Zelda, you could have it as an item management screen, but also with the ability to swap it to a map screen etc.

Then when you use particular items it could operate as these... the Lens of Truth, for example, perhaps to aim your Slingshot/Bow... even as the Mirror Shield for when you wish to reflect light.

In a First Person Metroid it could be to operate particular visors; Scan Visor & X-Ray Visor for example.

In Zelda, you could have it as an item management screen, but also with the ability to swap it to a map screen etc.

 

Then when you use particular items it could operate as these... the Lens of Truth, for example, perhaps to aim your Slingshot/Bow... even as the Mirror Shield for when you wish to reflect light.

We all know you're skirting around the real issue here...

... the Tingle Timer must return.

There are a million uses. Look at the DS library to see some excellent uses that would transfer easily. FLIPNOTE Wii u would be imense, though I'd like to see a game creator for it, a rival for LBP, would be perfect.

As for more innovative uses. Here's a few, though surely its easy to come up with hundreds. Sme of these I've mentioned in other thread, but this is the collation of them all, so...

- Night vision goggles. The room is pitch-black (or smokey), use the Cree to look around the environment to navigate it.

- as an addition to the above. Xray vision. There's an alien in disguise, use it to fins out who or whatever. so basically could work as the visor for a metroid game

- as another addition. Maybe even in a ghost game, you hold the screen up to see where the ghosts are...

- in mario. You go down a pipe and end up in the screen!

- the uses for animal crossing are utterly unreal and so predictable they're not worth saying,, but it just came in my head

All this stuff though, as in, the screen as additional info is all amazing. But what I find exciting is the different gameplay stuff, like in the chase mii game, the u controller does something different to everyone else. One Dev came up with the idea that in trauma centre, one guy is performing an operation on the Wii u controller, while on the television someone is driving in the ambulance as fast as they can. Every crazy turn, scrape etc jolts the screen on the Wii u... That'd be amazing.

What ideas do people have for this type of gameplay?

When I saw the 'Shield Pose', I instantly thought of something along the lines of Fatal Frame/Project Zero where the Wii U controller acts as your camera and you can use it to look all around you and take the snaps!

Alternatively, there could be a sequel to killer7. Remember in the original you could only see the Heaven Smiles when you scanned with the L-Trigger? Now when you hear them, you'd have to hold the controller up to the TV in order to see them appear..

There's also the potential for that touch screen football game that I've been crying out for since 2007 that the DS never got..

I like the possibilities for Multiplayer. Split-screen is no longer a requirement for local multiplayer.

But also, that thing they showed with Tekken, where you can make your own drawings/logos/facial hair to customize your character. That's great by itself.

I like the possibilities for Multiplayer. Split-screen is no longer a requirement for local multiplayer.

 

But also, that thing they showed with Tekken, where you can make your own drawings/logos/facial hair to customize your character. That's great by itself.

Let's not get too much into the multiple controllers, but even if you can use more than one, I highly doubt they'll have sployscreen to each device, would be amazing though.

All the customisation stuff is great, the more I think about it, the more incredible I think this will be. And developers with better gaming minds tha all of us will really surprise us I'm sure!

I like the possibilities for Multiplayer. Split-screen is no longer a requirement for local multiplayer.

 

But also, that thing they showed with Tekken, where you can make your own drawings/logos/facial hair to customize your character. That's great by itself.

Just thoug of another use. Say in a game, a FPS or something. You set up a security camera, the screen can display the image while you do what you have to do. Be good to see where people are, maybe it has a gun. Or maybe even a camera on a remote controlled car that you can drive around!

The roadie mode on guitar hero I'm sure will be expanded upon with the newly announced guitar hero Wii. U (well from pachter)

Just thoug of another use. Say in a game, a FPS or something. You set up a security camera, the screen can display the image while you do what you have to do. Be good to see where people are, maybe it has a gun. Or maybe even a camera on a remote controlled car that you can drive around!

Say in a Metal Gear Solid game for example... One player is Snake, the other is the security... cycling through the live security camera feeds and moving the cameras about etc... they can watch the guards on their patrol patterns, and are looking out for Snake. Player 1 has to constantly keep out the way of the camera's using stealth. It would be neat for Player 2 to be switching between camera's and come across a downed guard... you know Player 1 is nearby!

As soon as Player 2 see's Snake on their screen at any time...

	Audio

And that's when it gets tougher for Player 1 as backup is alerted to your location!

On a racing game, say for example an F1 simulator, you could have an interactive representation of the wheel display showing revs, speed, gear but also allowing advanced players to touch the dials on the screen to change engine & aero settings on the fly, just like the real thing. Or a simple display allowing to quickly select & change tire strategies or set your next pit change mid race. Or simply a circuit map to help you.

I feel like maps are going to be the new waggle.

The things I'm not particularly excited about are inventory management and the likes. basically delegating stuff to the controller that has been previously done on the big screen while pausing the game. I see potential, but for the most part these functions might not be essential and even more comfortable to use, if you don't have to look down each time you use them. These games should be unproblematic for full game streaming however.

What I'm most excited about is the potential of asynchronous multiplayer with Wiimotes + tablet controller. Nintendo has already shown two rather classy examples for mini/party-games in the youtube video above, but so much more can be done:

Imagine a local multiplayer in Alien Colonial Marines like this: The Wiimote players are the marines, playing via split-screen and trying to survive / achieve objectives. The tablet player is the Alien Queen and watches a map, where he can control his troops RTS-style. He has to throw waves of Aliens at the Wiimote palyers to prevent them from achieving their goals.

Another, very similar example: Has anybody here ever played the Doom / Descent boardgames? They're dungeon crawlers where one player ("dungeon master" if you will) controls the monsters traps etc. while the other players have to work together to get through the dungeon to the loot and best the dungeon master's monsters. Add in resource management for both sides and you could design whole games around the concept in real time. These would be ideally played in local multiplayer.

Not game related

There are other minor and not game related things that might have an impact for how the console is used as well. Iwata, Myamoto & co. have stated several times, that they would like to make the Wii a machine people turn on unconsciously to browse the web, get news etc.. But it's always been associated with firing up your whole TV setup, which - in case of the Wii - gave you a clunky OS without notable connectivity.

Fast forward to the WiiU: Take the controller, remotely start the base machine, access the web via a browser, browse your friend list from the sofa, do video calls/party chats and/or send them online pictochat messages etc.. Integrate all messaging seemlessly into the friend list and you've basically got console equivalent of Skype. You or someone else can watch TV the whole time or you could jump into some online match at any time - if the TV is taken even on the controller.

I somehow feel that for all these things, having them on the controller is an advantage. You get the computing grunt of a potent machine in the background, but you're not chained to the whole TV setup.

In the developer interview video, the Tekken creator guy talks about how the person with the WiiU screen could build a level as players fight, dropping obstacles in the way of fighters, changing the dynamics etc...

I think this is where they are heading with Smash Bros. It would make SO much sense.

Just thoug of another use. Say in a game, a FPS or something. You set up a security camera, the screen can display the image while you do what you have to do. Be good to see where people are, maybe it has a gun. Or maybe even a camera on a remote controlled car that you can drive around!

Already confirmed that the drones in Ghost Recon will be using this.

What I'm most excited about is the potential of asynchronous multiplayer with Wiimotes + tablet controller. Nintendo has already shown two rather classy examples for mini/party-games in the youtube video above, but so much more can be done:

 

Imagine a local multiplayer in Alien Colonial Marines like this: The Wiimote players are the marines, playing via split-screen and trying to survive / achieve objectives. The tablet player is the Alien Queen and watches a map, where he can control his troops RTS-style. He has to throw waves of Aliens at the Wiimote palyers to prevent them from achieving their goals.

Confirmed as a multiplayer mode for Killer Freaks.