Semi off-topic ..
So, my question is directed at #3- is it possible to make an input device that allows 2 people to play a PC game simultaneously, in front of the same monitor? I assume that there are significant hurdles to making one, or one would already exist,
Heheh .. yeah, they are called joysticks. :) Starting many years ago SoundBlasters began shipping with joystick ports. Many sound cards have this additional "game card" functionality built-in, but it was sort of obsoleted first by game ports on the motherboard (part of the I/O package) and then by USB. If you haven't been in the market for joysticks and gamepads then you probably wouldn't know about any of this, but they have been there for a long, long time.
As for how well they work? Well, compatibility is always an issue. It's not like I write drivers for these things so I don't know for sure, but there hasn't ever really been much of a standard game port interface at the software level - most joysticks and gamepads boasted serious compatibility problems amongst their other features, especially when using two or more devices. DirectInput of course is MS's solution to all that but I don't know much about using it.
In any case, the problem you stated has already been solved - although it is not quite to the point where you can go to the store, pick any gamepad you like, buy two of them, plug them in, and start rocking. But as new standards emerge and USB makes more waves, I expect to see this problem disappearing over the next couple of years.
-G
P.S. Happy holidays to all and may your investments bring you fortune! I consider myself lucky because almost everything in my portfolio is off the charts, with the exception of DIS and TDFX. :) In retrospect I'd say that holding COMS was perhaps my best decision of the year (next to buying INTC) - some growth can be attributed to the overall market rally but as a stock and a company I feel it has grown leaps and bounds in the last half a year or so ..
P.P.S. I like the ring to "netfriends". |
