Nineteen Eighty-Four is my favourite novel; I must have read it half a dozen times. There are many reasons why I believe it to be a work of literary genius, but recently I’ve been thinking about one specific aspect of it that has a very clear analogue to video games: vocabulary. More specifically, I’m referring to the idea that applying deliberate constraints to vocabulary can directly restrict the concepts that one can think and discuss. Before I touch on video games specifically, I hope you’ll indulge a brief aside about vocabulary as it relates to Nineteen Eighty-Four.

ñ ineteen八四 是我最喜欢的小说; 我一定已经读了六遍。 我认为它是文学天才的作品有很多原因，但是最近我一直在思考与视频游戏非常相似的一个特定方面：词汇。 更具体地说，我指的是这样一种思想，即对词汇表施加故意约束可以直接限制人们可以思考和讨论的概念。 在我专门介绍视频游戏之前，希望您先简单介绍一下与“ 十九四十四”相关的词汇。

新闻和思想控制 (Newspeak and thought control)

In the novel, protagonist Winston Smith lives in a totalitarian state (known as Oceania) ruled by a single political entity simply known as “The Party”. Much like the totalitarian states that we are familiar with today (Russia, for example), The Party utilises sophisticated propaganda as one of many methods to control and influence the populous. But in Nineteen Eighty-Four, the dissemination of false news dovetails with a broader — and perhaps more sinister — effort to physically control language itself through the application of Newspeak.

在小说中，主角温斯顿·史密斯(Winston Smith)生活在一个由单一政治实体(简称“政党”)统治的极权国家(大洋洲)中。 就像我们今天所熟悉的极权主义国家(例如俄罗斯)一样，该党利用复杂的宣传作为控制和影响人口的许多方法之一。 但是在十九四十四中 ，虚假新闻的传播与通过Newspeak的应用在物理上控制语言本身的努力更加广泛，甚至更加危险。

Newspeak is the official language of the state, and is subject to continuous revision by The Party in an effort to progressively restrict both grammar and vocabulary. The aim is to ensure that all language — and therefore, all possible thought — is guided through a strictly-controlled funnel that aligns with the principles of Ingsoc (the ideological orthodoxy of The Party). Consequently, unorthodox language and thought is avoided to the maximum degree possible.

Newspeak是国家的官方语言，为了不断限制语法和词汇量，该党不断受到党的修改。 目的是确保通过严格控制的与Ingsoc原则相符的渠道来指导所有语言以及所有可能的思想 (党的思想正统思想)。 因此，最大程度地避免了非正统的语言和思想。

A great example can be found on the relevant Wikipedia page:

可以在相关的Wikipedia页面上找到一个很好的例子：

The Oldspeak word ‘free’ existed in Newspeak, but could only be used in terms of something not present, as in the sentences “The dog is free from lice.” and “This field is free from weeds.” Politically, the word free could not denote free will, because such a humanist concept does not exist in the society of Oceania. The linguistic design of Newspeak is for thought control, by diminishment of the user’s range of thought, which is realised with a minimal vocabulary of limited denotation and connotation; hence words such as: crimethink (thought crime), doublethink (accepting contradictory beliefs), and Ingsoc (English Socialism).

“新闻”中存在“ Oldspeak”一词“ free”，但只能用于不存在的词语，例如“狗没有虱子”。 和“这个领域没有杂草。” 从政治上讲，自由一词不能表示自由意志 ，因为在大洋洲社会中不存在这样的人本主义概念。 Newspeak的语言设计是通过减少用户的思维范围来进行思想控制的，而这种思想的实现是通过最小化具有有限外延和内涵的词汇来实现的。 因此，诸如： 犯罪思维(思想犯罪)， 双重思维 (接受矛盾的信念)和英 格索克 (英语社会主义)之类的词。

Take a moment to consider the implications of this. The idea is very simple: if you have no way to articulate a particular concept through language, then your ability to think of or imagine the concept is either diminished or entirely negated. There is a very real sense in which your articulation of the thing enables your conceptualisation of the thing.

花一点时间来考虑一下这个含义。 这个想法非常简单：如果您无法通过语言表达特定的概念，那么您思考或想象该概念的能力就会减弱或完全消失。 在非常真实的意义上，您对事物的表达可以使您对事物进行概念化。

In this way, I see language and its constituent parts (vocabulary and grammar) as tools that can enable us conceptualise something with greater or lesser degrees of fidelity.

这样，我将语言及其组成部分(词汇和语法)视为可以使我们以某种程度的保真度概念化某些东西的工具。

拉弦 (Pulling the strings)

I might be drawing a long bow, but I think there’s a clear comparison to be made with video games here. If the game is the thing or the concept — and if we are interacting with or interpreting that concept — then surely the controller is our vocabulary and grammar. You might argue that there are other elements at play (like graphics and sound), and you’d be right. But your ability to manipulate the game (to not simply view it passively, but to “conceptualise” it in literal terms) really comes down to the tools you’re using to physically pull the strings.

我可能会鞠躬致意，但我认为这里可以与电子游戏进行明显的比较。 如果游戏是事物或概念，并且我们正在与之交互或解释该概念，那么控制者无疑就是我们的词汇和语法。 您可能会争辩说还有其他因素在起作用(例如图形和声音)，这是正确的。 但是，您操纵游戏的能力(不仅仅是简单地被动看游戏，而是按照字面意义“概念化”游戏)确实取决于您用来实际拉弦的工具。

If you accept this argument, then my underlying thesis might be that much more salient: game controllers can fundamentally limit or expand the kinds of experiences we can have with video games. To some degree, I’d argue that controllers influence this even more than raw processing power.

如果您接受这种说法，那么我的基本论点可能会更加突出：游戏控制器可以从根本上限制或扩展我们在视频游戏中可以拥有的体验。 在某种程度上，我认为控制器对这一点的影响甚至大于原始处理能力。

Here’s a little thought experiment I went through, which might help to underscore the point. It relates to the first time I played Super Mario 64 (this works especially well for me because I’m ancient enough to remember the pre-N64 consoles when they were still new).

这是我经过的一些思想实验，可能有助于强调这一点。 这与我第一次玩Super Mario 64有关 (对我来说效果特别好，因为我足够古老，可以记住N64之前的游戏机还很新)。

I will never forget the moment when Mario triumphantly leapt out of the warp pipe at the beginning of the game, large as life, barely a moustache-whisker away from the camera lense.

我永远不会忘记在游戏开始时马里奥(Mario)胜利地跳出扭曲管的那一刻，就像生活一样大，几乎没有胡子从镜头上移开。

Mario in 3D! Wow!

3D马里奥！ 哇！

And then I tilted the little analogue stick on the Nintendo 64 controller (which, at first glance, seemed like a completely bonkers way of doing much of anything in a video game). It all felt so new; I remember tentatively nudging the stick upwards.

然后，我将小模拟杆倾斜到Nintendo 64控制器上(乍看之下，这似乎完全是傻瓜式的方式，可以在视频游戏中完成很多事情)。 一切感觉如此新 ; 我记得试探性地将棒向上推。

Mario is…tip-toeing?

马里奥(Mario)是……脚尖踩？

Now a more confident tilt.

现在更加自信。

He’s walking!

他在走路！

And now — complete with an ear-to-ear grin — full tilt.

而现在- 充满耳目一笑- 完全倾斜 。

He’s running! Look at his little arms and legs go!

他在跑步！ 看他的小胳膊和腿去！

It seems so simple now because it’s totally and utterly granted in virtually every modern game. Back then, though, this felt like magic!

现在看来是如此简单，因为几乎所有现代游戏都完全认可了它。 但是，那时感觉就像魔术一样！

I’d seen 3D games before, having played a Sega Saturn well before I ever laid eyes on a Nintendo 64 in the flesh. Although Super Mario 64 was visually more advanced than anything I’d witnessed on the Saturn to date, the concept of 3D graphics wasn’t new to me. Mario felt so new — so different, and so liberating — because until that point, I’d never manipulated a character in a 3D space with true 360 degrees of movement and the precision that analogue controls afford.

我以前看过3D游戏，在玩过Sega Saturn之前还没看过Nintendo 64。 尽管Super Mario 64在视觉上比迄今为止我在土星上所见的任何东西都要先进，但3D图形的概念对我来说并不陌生。 Mario感到如此新颖-如此不同，如此自由-因为在那一点之前，我从未真正以360度的运动度和模拟控件所能提供的精度来操纵3D空间中的角色。

As much as the Nintendo 64’s processing power enabled those large and beautiful worlds to unfold before my eyes, it wouldn’t have meant anything — and it wouldn’t have been so utterly delightful — without that revolutionary controller.

Nintendo 64的处理能力可以使那些广阔而美丽的世界展现在我的眼前，如果没有那个革命性的控制器，那将毫无意义，也不会那么令人愉悦。

Gaming history buffs may be tempted to note that Sega actually beat Nintendo to the market with its 3D control pad for the Saturn. That’s true, although I’d say it was the combination of Super Mario 64 and the Nintendo 64 controller that represented an enormous leap forward for video games.

游戏史上的爱好者可能会想起，世嘉公司凭借其土星3D控制板实际上击败了任天堂。 没错，尽管我想说的是Super Mario 64和Nintendo 64控制器的结合，代表了视频游戏的巨大飞跃。

优胜劣汰 (Survival of the fittest)

Throughout video game history, there have been many unique controller designs, but very few become mainstream or maintain their influence across many generations of games.

在整个视频游戏历史上，都有许多独特的控制器设计，但很少有成为主流或在多代游戏中保持其影响力的。

The Atari 2600 Paddle Controller is one of many designs that was popular for a brief window and was then superceded by other designs. This particular controller debuted alongside Atari’s Pong (arcade version), and a similar design was later used across numorous platforms (including everything from the Magnavox Odyssey to the Apple II. This particular form factor actually survived for some time and was well-suited to certain genres (including various driving and sports titles). The underlying technology underwent several revisions, though, because the original potentiometer-based design loses accuracy when the potentiometer contacts become worn or dirty. Although this particular design appeared in various forms throughout the years — particularly in arcades — it never became a mainstream design for most games (in contrast to something like the D-Pad, which is still an important standard, even in an age of 3D analogue-based game controllers).

Atari 2600桨式控制器是众多设计中的一种，该设计在一个简短的窗口中很受欢迎，然后被其他设计取代。 这个特殊的控制器与Atari的Pong (街机版)一起首次亮相，后来在众多平台上使用了类似的设计(包括从Magnavox Odyssey到Apple II的所有东西)，这种特殊的形状实际上可以保存一段时间，并且非常适合某些潜在的技术经过了几次修改，因为最初的基于电位计的设计会在电位计触点磨损或变脏时失去准确性，尽管这种特殊的设计多年来一直以各种形式出现-特别是在街机游戏中，它从未成为大多数游戏的主流设计(与D-Pad之类的东西相反， D-Pad仍然是重要的标准，即使在基于3D模拟的游戏控制器时代)。

That said, not all game controllers were necessarily intended to unseat the mainstream designs. The highly-unique Dreamcast Fishing Controller, for example, was really only ever designed for use with Sega Bass Fishing, although it was compatible with some other games (such as Virtua Tennis).

话虽如此，并非所有游戏控制器都一定要超越主流设计。 以高度独特的Dreamcast Fishing Controller为例，尽管它与某些其他游戏(例如Virtua Tennis )兼容，但实际上仅设计用于Sega Bass Fishing 。

运动是未来……对吗？ (Motion is the future…right?)

Not so long ago, you might have been tempted to claim that some form of motion control would unseat the humble — but ubiquitous — analogue stick. That time may have long since passed, but when the Wii first exploded, the survival of “traditional” controller didn’t seem so certain. Not only did the Wii become a massive global phenomenon, but it did so in large part thanks to the innovative Wii Remote controller.

不久之前，您可能会想声称某种形式的运动控制将取代不起眼的但无处不在的模拟摇杆。 那段时间可能已经过去很久了，但是当Wii第一次爆炸时，“传统”控制器的生存期似乎还不确定。 Wii不仅成为一种全球性的现象，而且在很大程度上要归功于创新的Wii遥控器。

When I first played WiiSports, I definitely felt that the experience was new; arguably as new as the feeling I’d first had with Super Mario 64. What was different, though, was that the Wii Remote wasn’t some complex controller that only longtime game enthusiasts could enjoy; it completely levelled the playing field in a way that I don’t think I’d seen since the original D-Pad design launched. So-called “lapsed gamers” (people who hadn’t played games in years, perhaps since the 16-bit era) and “non-gamers” (people who had never played a game at all) apparently made up a large proportion of the Wii’s audience. This made sense: the Wii Remote relied on natural, physical movement rather than complex button combinations.

当我第一次玩WiiSports时 ，我绝对觉得这种体验是新的。 可以说跟我对超级马里奥64的感觉一样新。 不过不同的是，Wii Remote并不是一个只有长期游戏发烧友才能享受的复杂控制器。 自从最初的D-Pad设计发布以来，它就以我认为从未见过的方式完全平衡了比赛环境。 所谓的“失败的游戏玩家”(也许是自16位时代以来多年没有玩过游戏的人)和“非游戏玩家”(根本没有玩过游戏的人)显然占了Wii的听众。 这是有道理的：Wii遥控器依靠自然的物理运动，而不是复杂的按钮组合。

It didn’t take very long for Nintendo’s competitors to not only recognise this “blue ocean strategy”, but to begin responding in kind.

任天堂的竞争对手很快就不仅意识到了这一“蓝海战略”，而且开始采取实物应对措施。

Sony more or less mirrored the Wii Remote with the PlayStation Move, which is functionally quite similar to the Wii Remote, except that it is underpinned by different technology (it tracks its position in 3D space by having the PlayStation Camera track the glowing balls atop each controller).

索尼通过PlayStation Move或多或少地镜像了Wii Remote，它在功能上与Wii Remote十分相似，只是它受不同技术的支持(通过让PlayStation Camera跟踪每个顶部的发光球来跟踪其在3D空间中的位置)控制器)。

Microsoft went in a completely different — and to their credit, quite bold — direction with Kinect. Originally unveiled as “Project Natal”, Kinect promised a very different future for video games: digital characters would be able to converse directly with the player and interact with them naturally without the need for any kind of physical controller, thanks to a highly sophisticated motion tracking/image recognition software.

微软与Kinect的发展方向截然不同，而且值得赞扬。 Kinect最初以“纳塔尔计划”(Project Natal)亮相，它承诺了视频游戏的一个截然不同的未来：由于高度复杂的动作，数字角色将能够直接与玩家对话并自然地与他们互动， 而无需任何类型的物理控制器。跟踪/图像识别软件。

I think the best representation of what Kinect promised was the E3 2009 Milo demo video. In recent interviews, Peter Molyneux was asked about Milo and he said that as development of Kinect progressed, the technology was progressively stripped back in order to achieve a reasonable price point at retail. The rest is history, really: Microsoft valiantly continued on with Kinect for a while (even including it in the first-generation Xbox One hardware), but it was ultimately relegated to the status of a pricey (and optional) accessory.

我认为Kinect承诺的最好代表是E3 2009 Milo演示视频 。 在最近的采访中，彼得·莫利纽克斯(Peter Molyneux)被问及有关Milo的问题 ，他说随着Kinect的发展，该技术逐渐被剥离，以实现零售价的合理价位。 剩下的就是历史了：微软勇敢地继续使用Kinect了一段时间(甚至包括在第一代Xbox One硬件中)，但最终降级为昂贵(和可选)配件的地位 。

Motion control has never really seen the ubiquity it achieved during the Wii years. Even the Wii U — which did support the Wii Remote — ended up focusing on a controller/tablet hybrid design, which didn’t set the world on fire (although the concept of using touch screens for games has become as ubiquitous as the D-Pad, if you consider the proliferation of games on smart devices like phones and tablets).

运动控制从未真正看到过Wii年来实现的普遍性。 甚至支持Wii Remote的Wii U最终也将注意力集中在控制器/平板电脑混合设计上，该设计并没有引起世界的关注(尽管使用触摸屏进行游戏的概念已经像D-如果您考虑在智能设备(例如手机和平板电脑)上大量开发游戏，请使用Pad。

新领域 (New frontiers)

It was only quite recently when entirely new video game experiences could be achieved solely by improving graphics technology. If you move from NES to SNES, for example, games don’t just become prettier; the palette for developers becomes sufficiently larger to offer gameplay designs that simply weren’t possible before. Whether it’s about adding more characters to the screen, or creating a realistic feeling of driving through the use of technology like Mode 7, increasing hardware power allowed for new experiences to emerge.

直到最近，仅通过改进图形技术即可获得全新的视频游戏体验。 例如，如果您从NES迁移到SNES，则游戏不仅变得更漂亮，而且还变得更加漂亮。 开发人员的调色板变得足够大，可以提供以前根本不可能实现的游戏设计。 无论是在屏幕上添加更多字符，还是通过使用模式7之类的技术来营造逼真的驾驶感觉，增加硬件功能都会带来新的体验。

I would argue that we are no longer living in a world where iterative advances in graphics technology alone can foster completely new gameplay experiences.

我认为，我们不再生活在仅凭图形技术的迭代进步就可以带来全新游戏体验的世界中。

At this point, it’s worth going back to the Sega Saturn vs Nintendo 64 example I mentioned earlier.

在这一点上，值得回到我前面提到的Sega Saturn vs Nintendo 64示例。

Compared with its predecessors, the Saturn offered a new paradigm in terms of graphics technology — for the first time in a home game console, players were able to truly explore 3D worlds in a fidelity that hadn’t been previously available outside the arcades. I remember playing Nights into Dreams and being completely blown away at how stunningly beautiful it was at the time.

与之前的产品相比，土星在图形技术方面提供了新的范例-首次在家用游戏机中，玩家能够以前所未有的高保真度真正探索3D世界。 我记得曾经玩过《入梦的夜晚》 ，并被当时的惊人魅力完全震撼了。

Why is it, then, that playing Super Mario 64 felt like crossing the rubicon into a completely new world?

那么，为什么玩超级马里奥64感觉就像是将魔鬼图标带入了一个全新的世界？

It was not just about visual fidelity — it was about the intersection of advanced graphics and innovative 3D controls that dovetailed to create an experience which looked and felt like nothing else.

这不仅与视觉保真度有关，还与先进的图形和创新的3D控件的交汇点相吻合，从而创造出一种看上去和感觉都不外的体验。

This is where game controllers — or, more generally, the way we interact with games — play an increasingly important role.

在这里，游戏控制器(或更广泛地说，我们与游戏的交互方式)发挥着越来越重要的作用。

Consider that games like Half-Life: Alyx are best experienced — and arguably only truly possible — thanks to highly-sophisticated VR controllers that provide a degree of movement and dexterity in 3D space which has never been possible before. Of course, the graphics technology and the VR headset are also crucial. But imagine playing a game like that with, say, a traditional Xbox or PlayStation game pad. Your relationship to the in-game action would be abstracted by many orders of magnitude.

考虑到像《 半条命：Alyx》这样的游戏是最有经验的，而且只有真正可行，这要归功于高度复杂的VR控制器，该控制器在3D空间中提供了前所未有的移动和灵巧程度。 当然，图形技术和VR耳机也至关重要。 但是，想象一下使用传统的Xbox或PlayStation游戏手柄玩类似的游戏。 您与游戏中动作的关系可以从多个数量级中抽象出来。

Even “traditional” controllers continue to evolve in an effort to establish finer and more nuanced points of connection between our hands and the digital worlds we’re interacting with. Sony’s DualSense controller for PlayStation 5 is a great example. Not only does the entire pad apparently feature a form of force-feedback that is even more advanced than we see on the Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons, but the analogue triggers are able to “push back” against your fingers (one potential use case here involves, say, drawing back on a bow and arrow, where the trigger will provide greater resistance a the tension in the string increases).

甚至“传统”控制器也在不断发展，以期在我们的手与与之互动的数字世界之间建立更精细，更细微的联系。 索尼针对PlayStation 5的DualSense控制器就是一个很好的例子。 整个打击垫不仅具有明显的力反馈形式，甚至比我们在Nintendo Switch Joy-Cons上看到的还要先进，而且模拟触发器也可以“推回”手指(这里有一个潜在的用例)包括拉回弓箭，其中扳机将提供更大的阻力(琴弦中的张力增加)。

It’s easy to forget just how much controller design influences the way games feel and the possible range of interactions we can have with them. If you’re in any way tempted to underrate the importance of this, I recommend going back and playing Super Mario 64 DS using only the D-Pad. The central importance of the analogue stick immediately becomes apparent. It feels something like wearing heavy gardening gloves while trying to do fine calligraphy; clearly, it’s the wrong tool for the job.

很容易忘记，多少控制器设计会影响游戏的感觉以及我们与之互动的可能范围 。 如果您想以任何方式低估它的重要性，我建议您回过头来仅使用D-Pad播放Super Mario 64 DS 。 模拟棒的中心重要性立即变得显而易见。 感觉就像在尝试制作精美的书法时戴着沉重的园艺手套； 显然，这是工作的错误工具。

I think it is also important to understand that when we talk about user interfaces in games, we aren’t just talking about the GUI (graphical user interface) within the game itself. All components that connect player to game are part of the interface — including both the controller in your hands and the technologies through which audiovisual information is being relayed to you (your screen and speakers, in other words).

我认为了解我们在谈论游戏中的用户界面时，不仅要谈论游戏本身内的GUI(图形用户界面)，这一点也很重要。 将玩家连接到游戏的所有组件都是界面的一部分—包括您手中的控制器以及通过其将视听信息中继到您的技术(换句话说，就是您的屏幕和扬声器)。

In the same way that Newspeak applied deliberate constraints to vocabulary as a way of restricting possible thought, the mechanical constraints of game controllers ultimately determine the range of possible actions within a video game. It may be tempting to think that controller design has reached its zenith with dual analogue sticks, four face buttons, and comfortable shoulder triggers. But I’d argue that the industry should continue to explore both evolutions of this model as well as entirely new models. So, in conclusion, I feel the need to borrow a concept from Satoru Iwata here: we live on a planet we call “game controllers” — but what other planets could we discover? It’d sure be fun to find out.

就像Newspeak对词汇表施加刻意的约束以限制可能的思想一样 ，游戏控制器的机械约束最终决定了视频游戏中可能采取的行动的范围。 可能会很想起，控制器的设计达到了顶峰，它具有双重模拟手柄，四个面部按钮和舒适的肩部扳机。 但是我认为行业应该继续探索该模型的演变以及全新的模型。 因此，总而言之，我觉得有必要在此向岩田聪提出一个概念：我们生活在一个被称为“游戏控制者”的星球上，但是还能发现什么其他星球呢？ 肯定会很有趣。