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Latest Apple patents include "invisible" touch controls
Apple recently filed a patent that makes touch controls disappear -- literally. The patent (No. 8,303,151) is for something called "microperforation illumination," and while the name is catchy, the technology is actually rather complex. First you pick a non-display surface of a device like a laptop. For this example, let's just say the top of the laptop's lid. Then, using microperforations in the surface itself, you pass light through the material, making a shape appear. Combining this idea with touch controls means you could soon have "invisible" buttons that appear when in use, but disappear promptly afterwards. But the patent goes beyond just the idea of invisible controls. There is also the mention of varying sizes and shapes of microperforation, and even tiny lenses that could control the flow of light from one side to the other. However, as with all patents that make us raise an inquisitive eyebrow, there's no clear indication of what product, if any, might incorporate this rather interesting feature. [Via: AppleInsider]
First details on Mortal Kombat for Vita: 60FPS, touchscreen fatalities and more
Having a scorpion in your pocket isn't usually the kind of experience people rush out and pay for, but Mortal Kombat progenitor and NetherRealm Studios creative director Ed Boon doesn't seem too worried about that. In fact, the Vita port of Mortal Kombat is starting to sound pretty legit: The title will include all of the characters and modes from the PS3 version, run at 60 frames per second and support both local and online 1-on-1 multiplayer via wifi, according to an interview with PlayStation Blog. The handheld homage to hemorrhaging also includes a second, brand-new Challenge Tower that takes advantage of the Vita's touchscreen and accelerometer in 150 new challenges. While unable to speak specifically on how the Vita's tech has been implemented in these challenges, Boon teased being able to tilt your Vita in order to change gravity's orientation during a hypothetical mission. The touchscreen will also be used for activating X-Ray attacks and swiping direction inputs to initiate fatalities, but beyond that no Ultimate MvC3-esque touch controls have been implemented. "We goofed around with ideas like that," said Boon. "It was an interesting novelty at first, but literally everybody who tried it said 'Oh, that's cute,' and then went right back to the normal control scheme." Mortal Kombat for the Vita is set to tear out tiny, adorable spines sometime this spring.
How UMvC3's Vita touch controls work
Portable versions of fighting games have a long and storied history of using alternate control schemes, although it's primarily been more out of necessity than for the sake of innovation. These days, however, modern handheld systems (like Sony's upcoming Vita) offer just as much input dexterity as their shelf-based counterparts, if not more so, to the point where developers are able to expand and experiment with their control paradigms. The Vita port of Marvel vs. Capcom 3, for example, makes use of both the device's touch screen and its rear capacitive touch panel for movement and attacks. Moving your finger horizontally along the back panel moves your character left or right, moving it down makes them duck and moving it up makes them jump. Attacks are initiated by tapping the screen, and hyper-combos are triggered by tapping the hyper meter; assists are called in by tapping the respective character's icon. It sounds like an awful lot of furious tapping and awkwardly loving strokes along the back of the device, and considering that all of your characters' meters could be on the left or right side of the screen, a bit of ambidextrousness may be required as well. Fear not, however: Conventional control methods will be included at no extra charge.
