How will the controls of your favorite smartphone games work with xCloud? Microsoft and The Coalition this week unveil the touch controls built into Gears 5. A good look at what to expect on the streaming game service expected next month.
This is what touch controls look like on Gears 5 // Source: The Coalition – Microsoft
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Optimize touch controls of compatible games xCloud from their development. This is what recommends Microsoft. Still, for games already launched, the thing can be difficult for developers to understand. To set an example, and to show us in passing what to expect in this area, The Coalition unveiled the touch controls created for Gears 5.
This demonstration, made during a stream broadcast on August 3, follows the first presentation of xCloud touch controls, last year.
Fully customized controls for the mobile experience
« When we started to [parler des contrôles tactiles], we initially had to rely on something a little too complicated because we weren’t sure what to do », Explains Jarret Bradley, gameplay manager at The Coalition. ” And when we started digging into it, we realized the best thing we could do was treat this device as a different input device, since we already support keyboard and mouse, and gamepad. We therefore customized the controls and reallocated the orders. ».
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Jarret Bradley starts talking about Gears 5 touch controls as of 35:28 minutes of this broadcast.
More concretely, The Coalition has completely modified the controls of Gears 5 to provide a tactile solution to each of the game’s commands and interactions. Beyond the buttons for aiming, shooting, reloading and controlling vehicles, the studio teams have worked to create “layers” of controls that only appear when certain keys are pressed. The idea being not to clutter up the display more than necessary. The D-Pad, which allows you to change weapons, appears for example only when it is useful, then disappears automatically.
The Coalition has also thought of some practical functions, such as aiming using the smartphone’s gyroscope, but also the dynamic disappearance of HUD elements when cutscenes are launched.
As specified The Verge, Microsoft now allows xCloud testers to access the touch controls of another Xbox Game Studios title: Hellblade Senua’s Sacrifice. Other games are expected to launch with similar touch controls by the time xCloud launches. The latter will be accessible as part of the subscription Xbox Game Pass Ultimate, And this from September.
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