Motion controls are the opposite of immersive

I love that Nintendo decided to go with the Wii Motion+ attachment for the main implementation of Skyward Sword's control. They, as a result, stimulated an invigorating and immersive experience for me, pulling the player deeper into the action and adventure that constitutes Zelda.

The world was bright and vibrant with color, even in the barren wastes of Present Lanayru and the volcanic terrain of Eldin, which somehow seemed to emphasize the effects of the motion controls. It was an enjoyment to carry out the vast array of puzzles that pervade almost every inch of the game, and an engaging challenge to face off with the various operatives within Ghirahim's forces. Most importantly, though, I think the controls act as a bridge to truly connect the player with the world inside the game. Whenever I swung my Wiimote and Link followed suit with his sword, it felt as if I really was the one controlling his actions. At least only his hands and arms. Everything else is functional due to how the game was produced. When Link runs, it's not us jogging in place or dashing toward the sensor bar (which would have been aggravating indeed); we have to press a button for that. But I'm perfectly fine that it's that way, because the main focus, movement-wise, is on the upper torso anyhow.

Not only does Skyward Sword have a lot to do with motion outside the game, but it even introduced a few action-based features inside the game as well. These added touches inspire the player to take a little more time and care in their gameplay and against enemies. We have the Skyward Strike, which sends a surge of energy down Link's sword while it charges, and then he can expel the revolving beam into an oncoming attacker or a Goddess Chest. The Stamina Meter (or Air Gauge if underwater) is another one that affects movement because it causes Link to go kaput if he overexerts himself. Running, rolling, or using too many Spin Attacks all at once will make the gauge drop exponentially or even put his life on the line. So in this particular case the danger is manifested in our own actions.


*Running up a steep incline

In addition to those features, Skyward Sword has a very broad arsenal and wide use of items. Unlike previous items, where you either pressed or held down a button to utilize one and move it around with the analog stick, in Skyward Sword each weapon is controlled by the motion of the Wiimote somehow. It can be a simple swipe or by pointing the Wiimote toward a certain location on the screen. The former is applied for swiping the Bug Net or slinging out the Whip, whenever a single motion sets off the desired effect of them both. Rolling bombs first requires you to hold the Wiimote down, direct where to send it, and let it go; tossing bombs was a simple downward motion.


*Preparing to bowl a bomb into an enemy

On the other hand, the latterly maneuver is attributed to the long-distance items in Skyward Sword. As I mentioned, pointing the Wiimote at a desired target would aim the item in that direction. For me this was way more fluid and often quicker than tilting the analog stick to just the right spot, which expanded on how the motion controls brought the game to life. They made the items very versatile and integrated in many challenges in puzzles and combat.

Some of the challenges were as simple as using the Gust Bellow to sweep uncover a switch buried beneath the sand, or in a more engaging light, sniping annoying enemies before they could attack you. Aside from holding a button down to activate the Slingshot, Gust Bellow, dual Clawshots, and Bow, everything is completely focused on the player's movement. The Beetle is the only exception, for when it's utilized, it becomes a separate tool that Link has no more physical control over. The player guides it on to a desired target themselves, where they then order it to speed up, drop bombs, or run into a switch/Timestone [depending on the upgrade]. My only gripe is that it consistently took the pointer a second or two to catch up with my motion; in a fast-paced battle using the Bow, such as with Tentalus, I needed to act quickly, but this thwarted my progress quite a bit.

Likewise, the Motion+ also controlled the direction Link moved in some instances. The Wiimote became like the analog stick, steering him around in a field of water, which hearkens back to Zora Link's ability from Majora's Mask, and doing the same with the new addition of riding a Loftwing in the Sky—heck, we could even control a motorboat! Shaking the Wiimote would cause Link to burst forward, doing a spin attack underwater, or in the Sky have his Loftwing flap to gain altitude. So long as there was not interference outside the game (sensor bar pointing the wrong way, dysfunctional Wiimote, etc.), both of these maneuvers flowed seamlessly with the gameplay. There were few times when a button had to be pressed—to have the Loftwing perform a speed boost, for example—but only because all the movements wouldn't have fit in with the Motion+ alone.


*Swimming beneath a watery terrain

Swordplay is the most emphasized combat component in Skyward Sword. Due to the intelligent nature of SS adversaries, the player finds it much harder to land a blow on a foe, because they're constantly parrying and moving around, while looking for an opening in Link's defense.

The opponents of previous games would almost always leave themselves open, without even attempting to ward Link's blade away. But the Motion+ made it possible for them to block from nearly all sides, and the player had to uncover the window of opportunity themselves. Needless to say this made clashes very engaging and oftentimes difficult to overcome with relative quickness. Flailing the sword around wildly seldom got anywhere, as most if not all of the enemies had some sort of protection. The player had to watch out and react quickly enough if they wanted to strike a direct opening. For foes such as Stalfos or Bokoblins, who switched the stance of their swords quite a bit, they simply needed to be aware of the open space. Harder foes—Lizalfos and Moblins in mind—carried huge shields that covered the majority of their bodies, so Link has to wait for them to drop their defenses, or get around them and attack from behind. And some enemies didn't even wear protection, but could only be defeated if Link slashed them in certain areas (Beamos and Sentrobes), whiles others are slain by simple sword strokes (Chuchu and Keese). Most of the time, though, an adversary will be carrying a sword, and Link must hit the opposite direction that they use it to block.

Outside of combat, the sword has become a useful resource for a number of other features. The aforementioned Skyward Strike was one of them as it dematerialized the Goddess Chests and activated Hylian Crests. In my opinion, the Strike was underused in terms of puzzle-solving, but the sword itself still had multiple uses. There were doors locked by eyeballs, that could only be opened by "befuddling" the eye [nearly similar to "Mr. I" from Super Mario 64]. Additionally combination locks also kept Dungeon doors fastened, and could only be opened if the sword knocked the "dials" in the right pattern. However, I believe that the most crucial element of the sword was the brand-new process appropriately labeled dowsing. In the game, dowsing is using the sword as a sort of indicator to detect traces of a desired target which Fi picks up and lets Link know if he's on the right path. Dowsing itself is almost like a puzzle that encourages exploration, but again, movement is required to set things in motion [no pun intended]—and Nintendo did an excellent job establishing this new feature for the sword.


*Dowsing for buried treasure...possibly?

Now to delve into the rougher aspects of the Wii Motion+.

For a huge deal of the time, the motion controls worked great and were extremely responsive. But as others have mentioned above, too much movement all at once could produce a "confusion" in the calibration. This would give way to the game having to pause itself in order to recalibrate and then continue where it left off. Personally, I experienced this more than I would have liked, but looking back I can understand why.

It's because of the immense level of gameplay interaction in Skyward Sword; during some really intense moments it was easy to get carried away. By that I mean whipping the Wiimote around like a madman (something Mr. McShea would relate to) until the sensor bar couldn't properly pick up the signal. Compared to, say, Wii Sports, Skyward Sword was not some casual title that people could sit back and play nonchalantly the entire time. Literally like the only time I could truly relax while on the move was flying the Loftwing. The rest of the time I was continuously active, fighting foes, dodging rolling boulders, running from one point to another, etc. SS, in this sense, lent me the feeling that I was a part of the adventure and that I had to be lively every minute of it. Another thing that the motion controls contributed drastically to.

Given all that, Wii Motion+ immersed the player in various aspects, although it also stationed them under some intuitive duress sometimes, which in turn affected the controls at times. Take all of The Imprisoned's battles, for example. After breaking free from his seal, this enormous menace makes his way to toward the Sealed Temple. Link is charged to stop him by slashing off all his toes, making him fall backwards. This caused the player to think and act quickly in light of a pressure that Zelda fans typically don't experience. During these hurried moments it was possible to swing the Wiimote so much force that it threw off the calibration. Perhaps this even offset the quickness of the motion sensor, like I brought up in relation to long-distance items; thankfully though, the issue could be resolved with the push of a button to center the pointer on the screen. At any rate, whenever the controls go haywire, it could very well be the player's movement that originates the need to recalibrate. But before that it should be noted that the game is set up with moments of complete urgency, and that they are partially the blame that the player is rushed.


*Ghirahim caught my sword! These controls stink!

In Conclusion:

So no, Wii Motion+ might not be perfect at this time, and nor is it without flaws, but motion controls can be expanded on and improved in the future. They weren't synonymous to "bad" in any manner, except when they stopped to calibrate abruptly. The swordplay and item-wielding exponent flowed smoothly with the pattern of movement. This had already been developed to a nearly perfected degree in terms of prompt responsiveness, and despite the issues I highlighted above, they were very minimal next to the extensive playtime of Skyward Sword. I just look forward to what Nintendo can do with them in the future, if they choose to use them again, and hope that a new system is made to further ensure that no problems occur.

As someone who just got the game, I do somewhat agree with the OP (emphasis on somewhat), in that it is a ♥♥♥♥♥ to recalibrate all the time. That being said, do any of you lot have any good tricks you found to keep the Wii Mote in check during gameplay, or anything of that nature?

Originally Posted by Super Dude

As someone who just got the game, I do somewhat agree with the OP (emphasis on somewhat), in that it is a ♥♥♥♥♥ to recalibrate all the time. That being said, do any of you lot have any good tricks you found to keep the Wii Mote in check during gameplay, or anything of that nature?

Is there something I'm missing? I only ever have to calibrate it once during my whole session, and that's at the very beginning, before I've even selected my file. Or do you mean when you have to press down in order to centre the cursor? If that's the case, then just keep holding your Wiimote in the same position when you aren't using it for attacking or something.

Yeah that's what I meant.

I think the motion controls were completely functional and enhanced the game. But there is still room for improvement. Doesn't that potential excite people? This is why I want to see motion controls continue for Zelda. They're only going to get better. I think being able to wield at least your sword (and maybe even your shield) is the natural culmination of Zelda game-play.

Combat in Skyward Sword is still a little simplistic, but future games could take it to new levels with more precise, reliable motion controls and improved enemy AI. Imagine the combat not being a simple matter of horizontal vs. vertical slices, but an intense experience of reading your enemy's movements and reacting to them. Imagine the same attack pattern not working every time (a criticism of not only Skyward Sword but every Zelda to date). That's the future I hope comes to fruition. Truly intense, realistic, and most importantly dynamic 1:1 sword combat. And if they improve the fidelity of the nunchuck (they should, call it Nunchuck +) maybe we can even get some realistic 1:1 shield action.

I didn't mind Skyward Sword's shield mechanics, but I think they can still be better. We should have to position our shield to block oncoming blows. The shield bash can be retained, but it needs to have a risk/reward element, and be much harder to time.

If people complain over something as simple as re-aligning an aiming reticle, that's really more the fault of the player. I'd be complaining if they DIDN'T take that initiative. I've yet to have to re-calibrate it even once in-game.

I don't like the way Link runs with the Sword when you have it out. He holds it out in front of him in a way that looks unnatural. And idk why it just looks super weird to me.

Originally Posted by DarkKnightGamer24

I don't like the way Link runs with the Sword when you have it out. He holds it out in front of him in a way that looks unnatural. And idk why it just looks super weird to me.

How are you holding your remote? Link holds his sword pretty much like that. If you don't like how Link is holding the sword, try changing how you're holding the remote.

^

Actually no. The game positions Link's sword depending on the Wii-mote's attitude (tilted up/down, left/right). It doesn't take the controller's position in space into account at all. To prevent Link from looking weird though, you can point the controller a bit to the right and it makes it a little more natural looking.

Well yeah. It's based on the tilt, not where it's physically located in space. But if he has an issue with how it looks, he simply needs to tilt his remote differently. I apologize for being imprecise.

Just going to try and get the thread back on subject here....

I think the motion controls were just fine. With the exception of flying (but that's because I suck), I kind of felt a little bit like I was swinging a sword when I fought. After all, you weren't just pressing a button and watching animation. If you wanted to hit the enemy with your sword horizontally, you had to make the wii remote horizontal. It made it feel a little more real in my opinion.

I think the only complaint I have as that when I set the wii remote down to go take a drink of water or something while I'm looking around, I just get lost and it all goes whack. But that's my fault! What else was I supposed to expect from waving it around and setting it on an uneven surface? Actually, I think my real complain is why is there no pause button? But that has nothing to with motion controls.

Motion controls are week old vomit. No matter how good they get it will never be immersive. The LESS movement the player has to make, the more like the character he feels. Him swinging his sword a second after me is not immersive, it makes me have to swing a second earlier than I think I need to.

At least with the buttons Link did what I told him when I told him not when he deciphered my arm swing

I didn't like the motion controls at all. I absolutely adored the Twilight Princess controls so I have no idea why they felt they had to change them so drastically :/ It just meant buying a new more expensive controller so that I could be endlessly annoyed when it didn't work. Not what I call a good deal :p

I agree that the motion controls cause a disconnect at first, but once you've gotten used to it, you don't really think about it afterwards.
There's an initial hump that you need to first get over in order for things to run smoothly. Most will get over it quickly; some not so quickly; others not at all.

Swimming and flying are annoying. Combat pretty much comes down to how well you can use the unresponsive shield bash then waving the wiimote as fast as you can. Aiming with motion + is harder to do then with an analogue stick or ir pointer because of how often I have to recentre.

Ironspy, Squirrellink and Craymel, I suggest you get yourself a new controller. There's no doubt whatsoever that your controllers are faulty.

Originally Posted by Advance123

Ironspy, Squirrellink and Craymel, I suggest you get yourself a new controller. There's no doubt whatsoever that your controllers are faulty.

I guess all of my motion plus controllers are faulty then. The nunchuck shield bash never worked that well since it was first introduced in twilight princess. The responsiveness of the wiimotes aren't perfect.

I prefer traditional controls to motion controls. I feel like SS tried too hard to implement the motion controls in every aspect of the game. While fighting was impressive, I found myself swearing at the enemies quite a bit when the motion controls didn't read me like I hoped they would. I also got really irritated whenever I used the bug net. Maybe I should send a video of me playing, but for some reason I can't get Link to move the bug net with the same motion that I'm using with the Wiimote.

Not that I don't like SS. I do complement Nintendo on trying something new with it. If they keep at it and keep improving, I think a future Zelda with motion controls would be fantastic.

Originally Posted by Advance123

Ironspy, Squirrellink and Craymel, I suggest you get yourself a new controller. There's no doubt whatsoever that your controllers are faulty.

Actually I tried three different controllers in case that was the problem, and it wasn't. I just didn't get on well with the controls because I didn't like how they were used.

Originally Posted by TofuFishy

Just going to try and get the thread back on subject here....

I think the motion controls were just fine. With the exception of flying (but that's because I suck), I kind of felt a little bit like I was swinging a sword when I fought. After all, you weren't just pressing a button and watching animation. If you wanted to hit the enemy with your sword horizontally, you had to make the wii remote horizontal. It made it feel a little more real in my opinion.

I think the only complaint I have as that when I set the wii remote down to go take a drink of water or something while I'm looking around, I just get lost and it all goes whack. But that's my fault! What else was I supposed to expect from waving it around and setting it on an uneven surface? Actually, I think my real complain is why is there no pause button? But that has nothing to with motion controls.

Why do people want a video game to feel real? The point of a video game is that it isn't real. When I play a game, I want to sit still in a comfortable chair and enjoy something that isn't real.
If I wanted to pretend I was really link, I'd buy a costume and go to comicon.