With the evolution of technology, game graphics, sound, and size have undergone extreme advances. Each innovation has helped to further videogame presentation and the playing experience. Along with these though, a fourth staple of player interaction almost always goes unmentioned. Beginning with the single-button age of Atari and entering Nintendo's "Revolutionary" universe of physical input, the gaming world has felt numerous additions to the mechanics of game control. This timeline is not only a testament to the growing ease, accessability, and functionality of control in videogames, but also the entertaining, engrossing, and emotional possibilities this technology offers.

It is hard to account for every level of interaction that videogame control has offered. The first mainframe-based games, for example, involved players punching holes in cards to progress. The computer would read these cards and print out new ones, creating an overall timely and removed experience. Over time, this process has become something infinitely greater, whether it's the light gun and Duck Hunt gameplay of yesteryear or the dual-analog joystick control of the revolutionary shooter Halo.

With these innovations through gaming history, an increased level of control has offered restructuring of the interactive experience. What was once a removed card-punching process has evolved into pressure-sensing buttons, rumble-paks, and soon, physical activity to all incorporate the gamer in the game world. One might see these innovations leading to gameplay abilities alone, such as tighter movement or more precise aiming and jumping, but that does not account for a new level of emotional strength. With increased interaction and involvement in another world, one can truly become a character, sensing and feeling his physical movements, stress, and adrenaline.