Game Paltform types

Jamie Parker
There are many gaming platforms out there since the beginning of the video game industry and many people play on different platforms. There isn't just the Xbox, PlayStation and PC platforms, there is a wide range of platforms which tonne's of people around the wide go on and play a wide range of video games. The type of Platforms around the world:

Xbox One

The Graphic capabilities of the Xbox one is extremely good compared to the predecessors of the console series. The CPU cache block for the Xbox one attaches tot eh GPU MMU, which drives the entire graphics core and video engine. The resolution for the Xbox one has 1080p at 30fps for Alien Isolation and for Battlefield 4 it has 720p at 60fps. The limitation to this console is the resolution on some games. When you play the games it is hard to tell the difference between the resolution because all of the games look really good and play well so even though the resolution and frame-rate changes depending on what game you play it doesn't bother me or other players because can not tell by the slightest. The size of the Xbox one is 3.1x10.8x13.1 inch which is fairly big for a console you play at home. The size of this console is bigger than the PS4 by a few centimetres so it is heavier than the PS4 which means it is less portable if it had been a portable gaming platform. The Xbox one is not portable which means you cannot play games on the go on the bus, plane or even in a public area however there is laptop briefcase which you can plug your Xbox one into and place inside the bag and zip it up. When ever you want to play on your Xbox one you can un-zip the bag and play your games on the screen inside of the bag. The console has an 8core x86 processor.

This is the portable device but for Xbox 360 and they are making on for the Xbox one.

The Memory (RAM) is 8GB which is good for a console but rubbish comparing it to a PC. The Storage of the Xbox one is 500GB and there is another Xbox one out which has a 1TB (Terabyte). There are multiple games out for the Xbox one such as:
Action and Adventure:
Ori and the blind forest
Grand theft auto
Assassin's creed Unity
Sunset Overdrive
Destiny
Tomb Raider
Family:
Minecraft
Nutjitsu
The Lego Movie Videogame
Zoo Tycoon
Angry Birds Star Wars
Power Star Golf
Racing & Flying:
Fast and Furious (Forza Horizon 2 presents)
Forza horizon 2
Trials Fusion
Need for Speed Rivals
Zombie Driver Ultimate Edition
LocoCycle
Role Playing:
The Witcher 3:Wild Hunt
The Division
Fable Legends
Dragon Age Inquisition
Middle Earth Shadow of Mordor
Project Spark
Shooter:
Battlefield Hardline
Evolve
Halo The Master Chief Collection
Call of Duty Advanced Warfare
Titan Fall
Sniper Elite 3
Sports & recreation
Shape up
NBA2K15
Fifa 15
Madden 15
Xbox fitness
Kinect Sports Rivals
There are many other games for the Xbox one for each of the genres which I did not mention because of the amount of time it would take me. Here is the link for the website to show all of the Xbox one games http://www.xbox.com/en-GB/games/xbox-one. All of these games look the same with the resolution and the smoothness of the game. The only difference of these games is the game style of gameplay and the art style of the graphics. Also another major factor of how the game looks is the game engine that they are made with. The Xbox one is the newest of the console series and there will be another Xbox after it. The first Xbox in the series was 'Xbox' which was released in November 15, 2001. The Xbox had 733 MHz x86 Intel Celeron/Pentium . The memory was 64MB DDR SDRAM and 200 MHz . It was 128-bit configuration. The next one after 'Xbox' was the 'Xbox 360' which was released in November 22, 2005 which had 512 MB of GDDR3 RAM clocked at 700 MHz .
To me the only console which is unique is the Xbox one because it is the newest one of them all and the technology of it is a lot more better than the predecessors. However the unique thing about the Xbox 360 is the fact that it was the first platform to introduce kinetic movement via camera which watches your movements. Now PlayStation has copied Xbox with its PlayStation move which also copied Wii.

PlayStation 4

The graphic capabilities of the PS4 is really good when compared to its predecessors such as the PlayStation 1, 2, 3, Portable and Vita. Its resolution for Battlefield 4 is 900P at 60fps and Alien Isolation is 1080p at 30fps. So the PlayStation 4 has better resolution when it comes to certain games which proves that the PS4 has better resolution but not better frame-rate. The limitations of the PS4 are that the Blue-ray Disc games must be cached to the hard drive to ensure you get a smooth gaming experience. Another bad thing about the PS4 is that you cannot use any external devices (according to Sony). The PS4's default hard drive is 500GB, and you can, however, swap it out for other higher-capacity 9.5-mm hard drives. It also has a reduced music playback because the system does not support MP3s.  The measurements for the PS4 are 275x53x305 mm(Width x height x length). These dimensions are bigger than the PS4 but smaller than the PS3 and its weight is fairly light for the size of it and for the components inside of it. The PlayStation 4 is not a portable system however you can get the PSP and the PSVita which are two individual PlayStation portable platforms which allow you too play games on the go. The PlayStation 4 has a 8-core processor, like the Xbox one, with 64-bit x86 'jaguar' built in by AMD.

The memory (RAM) for the PlayStation 4 is 8GB and it has a storage of 500GB which allows you too store a lot of game. Although the storage is the same as the Xbox one however the PlayStation games do not take as much space up as the Xbox one games so that is a benefit. There are multiple games out for the PlayStation 4 such as:
Action adventure:
OlliOlli2: Welcome to Olliwood
HELLDIVERS
The Order: 1886
Hand of Fate
Dying Light
Super Stardust Ultra
Horror:
Resident Evil HD
Daylight
Outlast
The Evil Within
Alien: Isolation
P.T.
White Night
Resident Evil Revelations 2
Shooter:
Zombie Army Trilogy
Evolve
Load out
Metro Redux (Metro 2033 Redux, Metro: Last Light Redux
Sniper Elite 3
Blue Estate - The Game
Crimsonland
Hotline Miami
Transformers: Rise of the Dark Spark
Killzone Shadow Fall
RPGs:
Dragon Age: Inquisition
Citizens of Earth
Lords of the Fallen
Dust: An Elysian Tail
NAtURAL DOCtRINE
Onigiri
Transistor
Bound by Flame
Final Fantasy XIV: A Realm Reborn
Mercenary Kings
DC Universe Online
Racing:
Motorcycle Club
Switch Galaxy Ultra
The Crew
MXGP - The official Motocross Videogame
MotoGP 14
DRIVECLUB
Cel Damage HD
Trials Fusion
Need for Speed Rivals
For the PlayStation there are hundreds more than this which you can access through this link http://www.playstation.com/en-us/explore/gamefinder/?console=ps4.html. Most these games run smoothly with no interruptions such as bugs in the game. They look the same with the clearness and the resolution of the games but the art style of the games which also does depend on the realism of the graphics depends on the game engine that the game is developed by. The PlayStation 4 is the newest Platform in the famous Sony series known as 'PlayStation' and it is the successor of the other platforms made by Sony. The first Platform is the 'PlayStation'  which was released in December 3, 1994 and was redesigned, called PSone, and was released in July 7, 2000. The next one was the 'PlayStation 2' which was released in 2000, 15 months after the Dreamcast was released. This console became the fastest game console to reach 100 million units shipped, which accomplished the feat within 5 years and 9 months from its launch. Four years later the launch of the PlayStation 2 Slimline which was the first major  redesign of the PlayStation 2. It was smaller, thinner, quitter and also included a built-in Ethernet port. Also in some markets it has an integrated modem. Next it was the PlayStation 3 which was released in November 17, 2006. It is a seventh generation game console from Sony. The unique thing about this console was that it was the first to use a motion-sensor. This system competed against the Wii and Xbox 360.

Portable Devices:
PSP was released in December 2004 and March 2005. This was the first handheld console that sold millions of copies worldwide and was the most famous handheld gaming system that has ever existed. The dimensions for the PSP was approx. 170 mm (L) x74 mm (W) x 23 mm (D) and the CPU was a system clock frequency 1~333MHz). The memory was 32MB which is a lot of space for a handheld system where the games took up a very little space. The DRAM was 4MB and its had a very good disc drive: UMD Drive (Play Back only). There were a few more models and designs of the PSP such as:
PSP-1000 was the first PSP to be made and released and it was fairly chunky and heavy for a handheld system. some of the buttons were a little stiff compared to the other buttons and most of the colours for this design was limited or not a wide range. Also the colours mainly appeared to be Matt black.
PSP-2000 was the next PSP to be released by Sony and it had a slightly thinner design compared to the PSP 1000. Also the analogue stick and all of the buttons seemed to be smoother and easier to move around. This PSP came in a wide range of colours such as Silver, White, Black, Blue, Gold, Red, Purple and Pink. The colour also looked to be more chrome because it had a shine to it.
PSP-3000 was the third PSP to be released by Sony and it was a lot more slim compared to the PSP 1000 and the PSP 2000. It had more of a shine and still had the same DRAM but had a higher storage compared to the Predecessors. It seemed to have an even shine to it's surface.
PSPGO was a remade and redesigned PSP which was smaller than the previous PSPs. It had a control pad which was used for when you wanted to play a game. You would have to slide down the control pad and then you will be able to play your games like a your holding a controller. The last handheld system that was released by Sony in 2012 was the PSVita which had greatly improved graphics compared to the PSPs. It had a lot more space and more RAM which allowed the handheld system to have better graphics and better gaming experience. especially with the smoothness.

PC (Computer)


The graphic capabilities of the PC/Laptop gaming is dramatically good compared to the consoles. It has better resolution and better
frame-rate. The resolution for Battlefield 4 is 1080p at 30-60fps which is amazing compared to the consoles. The resolution is a lot better than the two consoles, the frame-rate will depend on what computer you have and how powerful the core processor. The key features of IvyBridge-E Family of Intel core i7 4000-series processors:


Improved  CPU performance
40 lanes PCI-Express gen 3.0
4 Channels of DDR3 at 1866MHz
Intel Turbo Boost Technology 2.0
Intel Hyper-threading Technology
unlocked processor options to overclock
The graphics power: Now you can equip your Aurora with the optional GeForce GTX TITAN Z, a graphics monster that is built to power the most extreme gaming rigs o the planet. With a massive 5760 cores, 12GB of 7 Gbps GDDR5 memory, and the most advanced power delivery system, it's the fastest graphics card NVIDIA has ever made. The Alienware Aurora offers easily accessible input and outputs ports for all your accessories and multimedia needs.
Ultimate control over your PC: AlienFX is Alienware's exclusive lighting control system that allows you to create your own custom lighting and special effects for a truly unique and personalized look. Alienware Thermal Controls allow you to control the thermal and venting behaviour of your Aurora. You can also create and save multiple thermal and venting profiles for different usage scenarios. AlienAdrenaline features a custom game and application launcher, a system performance optimizer and a performance monitoring tool. AlienFusion power management controls give you the freedom to decide when you need maximum performance for resource-intensive tasks and hard-core gaming or when to scale back for less intensive daily tasks.
Accessories: Alienware TactX Keyboard which has programmable macro keys, an anti-ghosting WASD cluster and exclusive AlienFX customable lighting zones. Alien TactX Mouse has pinpoint accuracy and you can customize and save macros to its on-board memory for true plug-in and-paly gaming experience. Alienware TactX Headset allows you to hear your enemies every move. Its has custom-engineered soundscape that gives you an advantage in multiplayer games cause you can hear which direction they are coming from.


It has high performance memory which offers you professional design simulating software and video editing plus more. It has advanced hard drive options which contains massive storage with the new 3rd generation SATA technology and options for 7,200 rpm hard drives, solid state drives and of course the RAID combinations for higher performance and security. also it has enhanced entertainment and storage options like DVD burners and Blu-ray discs. You can boost your storage options from 740MB to 50GB for media backup. And finally it has increased wireless capability with optional 802.11n Wireless-N connectivity, Aurora opens up greater placement possibilities. If you want to you can also share your home network capabilities with visiting friends to share data.




Smartphone: A Smartphone is a mobile phone with an advanced operating system. The games for the Smartphone can vary on the gameplay experience and the visuals of the game you play depending on who made it and what they used in order to develop it. The games for the Smartphone are either level type games, build-em up games, fighting or multiplayer games and most these games a extremely good for gaming because you can play these wherever and whenever you want which is a challenge for the handheld systems but the handheld devices are a lot better than the Smartphones for the games. If we use the IPhone 6 for example:
The graphic capabilities - PowerVR GX6450 (quad-core graphics)
Processor power - Dual-core 1.4 GHz Cyclone (ARM v8-based)
The size and portability - 138.1 x 67 x 6.9 mm (5.44 x 2.64 x 0.27 inches). The weight is 129g
Memory size - Internal memory of 16, 64, 128GB, 1GB RAM.
So what is the limitations of the IPhone 6? well the limitations are the same as the other IPhones which is the battery usage when using apps, especially games. The games can run smoothly but most of the time that is dependant on your network connection. The power of this device is also very small/miniscule compared tot he consoles of this generation and most of the games do not and cannot run a triple A standard game.

Human - Interaction with Game

What does HCI stand for? Human - Computer Interaction. It involves the examination and studying of a specific platform or multiple platforms, depending on what your game is created for. There are different interactions to consider especially if your game is on multiple platforms. The main platforms include:

                 Xbox                  

The interactions for this platform will be very different compared to the Smart Phone. Take the control system for instance, with the controller for the Xbox the complete map for the controls will be different. The buttons for which the player will press such as 'A' or 'RT' to jump or fire while on the Smart Phone it will be double the left side of the screen and to fire you would tap or hold a button with a bullet symbol. The experience will also be very different, the feeling of how the game is when you play it. The feeling of a touch screen game compared to the feeling of a console game will feel completely different even if its the same gameplay experience.
PlayStation

          The interaction system for the PlayStation is very similar to the
          Xbox with the controller set up such as where the buttons are on the
          controller. The only difference is that the buttons are different with
          the numbers and letters, such as with the PlayStation it has numbers
          , letters and shapes on the controller scheme while Xbox only has
          letters. The actual start up of the two consoles and the home screen
          will be completely different but with some minor similarities.
          However the home layout is mainly different on the two consoles
          because on Xbox you have to press 'RB' or 'LB' to go to another
          screen while on PlayStation the screen is mainly just one screen.
 

Smart Phone

The interaction for the Smart Phone (as I mentioned further up the blog) is very different compared to other platforms. Mainly because
the touch screen is a fairly new control format that is difficult to control if you are new to playing IOS games or other Smart Phone gaming operating systems. The format map of the controls have multiple options such as the touch screen buttons or tilt screen option. However in racing games for Smart Phones tilting the screen is a lot harder than just touching the screen in my opinion.
 
PC (Computer)

The interaction to this platform is the same as Smart Phone when it comes to be completely different, well that depends if you have a controller for your PC. If you are new to PC gaming then the controls will be very confusing but as you keep playing games on PC then you will become better and would have just developed a new skill. Some people do buy controllers for their PCs so they can easily play their favorite games without having to learn any new skills however learning the skills are more difficult if you are use to playing console games because there are multiple keys to press.

Games like Mine craft are on multiple platforms if not all platforms that are big/known today such as Xbox, PlayStation, PlayStation Vita, PC, Smartphone, Android, Macintosh, GNU/Linux, Web browser, Microsoft Windows, Windows phone, Java and Mac OS. For all of these platforms the control system will be extremely different however each platform, big and small screens, the gameplay experience is the same so every person that buys the game will get the same experience. Although the game will be scaled down when designed and produced for a smaller platform so you won't get the full massive open-world experience. The submissive feeling of the unlimited world of Minecraft is the only downside of the multiple cross-platform game. However Minecraft is known for bugs and floating objects if you venture out to far on the map.

Another cross platform game is Lost Planet Colonies which is on Xbox 360, PlayStation and Microsoft Windows. The gameplay experience is very much the same however the version on Microsoft Windows is slightly better with the smoothness of the game and the graphics will be improved by a millimeter with the HD quality. The control system is very much similar between PS4 and Xbox because of the controller map. The controls for Windows will be different with the map of the controls because the keyboard is very different compared to a controller. However you will have the exact same buttons or options will be the same. The difference you will have is the graphics and smoothness of the game.