Grant: Engage Grants Program

According to Entertainment Software Association (ESA) of Canada, more than 88% of Canadian video games companies are micro or small studios (fewer than 99 employees). Additionally, the number of games being developed by small (and indie) teams developers on low budgets is on the rise. A company's success in the game industry is contingent on its ability to attract a significant user community. This is especially true for small studios, seeking to gain name recognition and popular acclaim within an increasingly large and diverse marketplace. To acquire more customers, one key strategy is cross-platform availability; the notion of making agame accessible on many different devices to appeal to a wider audience. When creating interactive content for multiple devices, such as cross-platform video games, specific care must be taken in preserving the quality and functionality of user interaction. A myriad of design challenges may arise during the porting process, for example, in creating a mobile version of a PC or console game. This is the current research challenge for Lightning Rod Games (our partner in this application). They are in the process of making their games (developed for PC or mobile platforms using touch- or cursor-driven controller schemes) accessible on console platforms (often using dual analog sticks on game controllers). This research project aims to explore touch- and cursor-driven controller schemes that have effectively ported their core interaction to other mediums and understand what makes these interactions successful. This analysis provides a practical guideline for various core interaction methods in games and will offer game developers with a functional approach to game design focusing on the key systemic mechanics. Our aim is to provide an open and collaborative exploration into core interaction methods aimed primarily at smaller development teams.The video game industry contributes over $3.0 billion to Canada's GDP and employs the equivalent of over 20,400 full time employees. This project is designed around the current needs of the game industry based on the change in interaction models.