2004-03-23T02:58:00.000-08:00

What kind of gaming works well with a TabletPC?

For a game to be a good TabletPC Game means:

Point & Click Interface

No keyboard input required

No CD or Dongle Required *See below for more on this

Appropriate, lower-end System Requirements

Point & Click Interface
Nothing beats the direct interface of a Pen Computing for Point & Click. Most PC games are made to play with a mouse/keyboard. This makes perfect sense, as that's what most people use. And while it's quite possible to plug in a usb mouse, and sure, you can connect a usb keyboard to a tablet, or use one of the Hybrid TabletPC's that's not what I'm looking for. This isn't LaptopGamer. This is about games that I can play, sitting in the bean bag. If the game requires "mouse look" it's not gonna cut it.

No keyboard input required
If keyboard shortcuts are a must, forget it. Games that have minimal text-entry needs are ok if they run in a window, as the TabletPC's soft-keyboard or hand-writing input is fine for a chat, but if it need's lot's of typing, or quick, time-critical
keyboarding, it's not a good fit for the TabletGamer. This really also cuts out most multi-player games, unless they run in a window.

Appropriate, lower-end System Requirements
For Tablet Gaming, 3D-shooters are right out. As a Gaming Platform, the TabletPC isn't gonna cut it for cutting-edge games. The 3D abilities of the current generation of TabletPCs.. sucks. I have a fine desktop machine with a screamin 3D card,
and when I wanna play Tribes2 or PlanetScape, I sit down at my desk, and fire away. Basic requiremenst should fit under a PIII 933Mhz, 256MB Ram and the Intel 830MG Graphic Chipset.

No CD or Dongle Required
Any game that requires that the CD to play is not gonna cut it. The last thing a want when I plop down in the bean bag is to have a CD/dongle hanging off the side. Unfortunately, as a form of copy-protection, most PC games requires the CD. To that end, while I absolutely do not condone piracy, I'll would be remiss if I didn't point out that there are several ways around the CD issue.
One is to an application will copy a whole CD to the hard disk, and fool the game into looking at the "Virtual CD". One disadvantage to this is it means the game takes up double the hard disk space, and TabletPC aren't known for their massive 100Gig drives..

There is a great commercial product called Game Drive http://www.farstone.com/home/en/shtml/gamedovview.shtml

There is free product that does the same thing called DAEMON Tools http://www.daemon-tools.cd/

Anther option is using a No_CD fix. Pretty much every game that is released
quickly has a "crack" that allows you to play the game without the
CD. But beware! You take your life in your own hands when you delve with the
"seedy" side of the net.

The best place to "no-cd cracks" is
http://www.gamecopyworld.com

Beware of pop-ups on this sort of site, and be sure to be running a virus protection
program, and backup before you run any of these apps. That said, I'll try to point out when I recommend a game, how I got it to run on my TabletPC.

Tip of the day: If a game requires the Right Mouse Button,
you might want to try Wacom's Enhanced Graphics Driver for the TabletPC.
http://www.wacom.com/tabletpc/driver.cfm

2004-03-17T02:13:00.000-08:00

The TabletPC is touted as a good way to take notes, and a solution for "Mobile Information Workers"
Well, yeah, it can be used for that, but it's also an amazing device for PC gaming!
I originally looked to the TabletPC, as simply a way to change up my interface with the computer. I use the computer a lot: at work (I'm a
programmer); for fun (as a gamer); and as an hobbyist artist & musician.

15+ years of mouse & keyboard has given me a good dose of "Repetitive Strain Injury" (RSI). That it to say using mouse for any length of time is incredibly painful. I don't want to spend to much time on this, but if i can help somebody realize the problem before it gets to bad, then I'll feel consider this whole thing a success. I've included a couple of links at the bottom of this blog for more information on RSI, but in summary, using muscles over and over in a way that they were never designed can inflame the tendons and connective tissue in your hand.. There are lot's of kinds of repetitive stress disorder, the type I'm talking about here is in the hand, an usually caused by clicking the mouse.Yeah, that tiny little "click click click" and even worse "click hold drag" can over time with excessive use cause enough pain and discomfort to where I can't use you cant to grip, hold things, or anything.

It is not uncommon for people to have to leave computer-dependent careers as a result of RSI, or even to be permanently disabled and unable to perform tasks such as driving or dressing themselves.

To bring this on-topic, it's Mouse-based Gaming that really did me in.
To be specific: Diablo. Sure I used the mouse tons in everyday work and usage, but if was after a series of long nights of playing Diablo that I noticed that the tendons is the back on my hand were on fire.
I tried to change clicky finger, stretch my fingers, take longer breaks, but mostly I had ignored it as I clicked thousands and thousands of times killing hordes of monsters. (For those of you who somehow missed Diablo/Diablo II or any of it's brethren, like Balder's Gate, it's the sort of game, you click on a monster to attack. Each click=1 attack, so a big battle sounds like "click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click click")
Well after the pain got too bad, I tried to switch the mouse to my left hand, which was like trying to write with my left hand: awkward and frustrating. I DID start to train myself to left-handed mouse, before I got a Wacom Tablet.

The important thing to realize it that the worse it gets, the harder it is to treat.
Taking a "Couple Days off" from the mouse doesn't make it go away. It comes back quicker & quicker the worse it gets.

If any of this sounds familiar, you owe it to yourself to read up on RSI.

If you are already a TabletPC user, then you've already moved on to better computer interface =)

I had gone through all kinds of interface alternatives, and for the last 5 years, I've
been a Wacom Tablet user. I still use my Wacom when working at a Desktop PC (at work, and my other computer)

Anyone who uses a Wacom or other Tablet has probably wished they could look at the
tablet instead of the screen (it's like writing without looking at your
hand..) (oh, and no I don't work for Wacom or anything, I've just been well branded..)

When the TabletPC's came out, I knew that would be my next computer.
As soon as I could pick one up affordably(relatively) I was there.

Ok, next blog I'll actually start talking about games and the TabletPC.. I promise!

For more information on RSI Check out:
The Computer Related Repetitive Strain Injury Site

Tablet Gamer