by Karen Hertzberg on Nov 16, 2007
It's not a Knife, It's a
Switchblade
All across the world, almost everyone has one thing in common: We love
being comfortable. Whether we're relaxing in a hot tub or kicking back
in our Lay-Z-Boy recliner, people generally love to be in positions
where they can stretch out and relax. For years, however, the computer
gaming industry has been tied to the keyboard and mouse set up; not
exactly the best choice for ergonomic game playing. All of that is set
to change with the introduction of Blue Orb's SwitchBlade technology,
which allows you to play your favorite MMOGs via an Xbox 360
controller. To learn more about this new technology, the Ten Ton Hammer
staff tracked down Aaron Levin, Blue Orb's VP of Business Development,
and asked him a slew of questions about SwitchBlade and MMO gaming in
general.
The left analog stick controls movement, while the
right analog stick
controls the mouse. The left and right shoulder buttons control the
left and right mouse buttons, respectively and if a user
holds down the right shoulder, they can use the right analog stick to
control the camera and the direction their character is facing. There's
even an option in the SwitchBlade interface to lock the camera by
simply hitting the right shoulder, which results in a much more
console-like experience.