Open main menu
Home
Random
Recent changes
Special pages
Community portal
Preferences
About Wikipedia
Disclaimers
Incubator escapee wiki
Search
User menu
Talk
Dark mode
Contributions
Create account
Log in
Editing
Light gun
(section)
Warning:
You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you
log in
or
create an account
, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.
Anti-spam check. Do
not
fill this in!
==Early history== {{main|Light gun shooter}} The first light guns were produced in the 1930s, following the development of light-sensing [[vacuum tube]]s. In 1936, the technology was introduced in [[Arcade game|arcade]] shooting games, beginning with the Seeburg Ray-O-Lite.<ref>{{Cite journal|last=Cowan|first=Michael|date=2018|title=Interactive media and imperial subjects: Excavating the cinematic shooting gallery|url=https://mediarep.org/handle/doc/4207|journal=NECSUS. European Journal of Media Studies|volume=7|issue=1|pages=17β44|doi=10.25969/mediarep/3438}}</ref> These games evolved throughout subsequent decades, culminating in [[Sega]]'s ''[[Sega Periscope|Periscope]]'', released in 1966 as the company's first successful game, which requires the player to target cardboard ships.<ref>Ashcraft, Brian, (2008) ''Arcade Mania! The Turbo Charged World of Japan's Game Centers'', p. 133, Kodansha International</ref> ''Periscope'' is an early [[Arcade game#Electro-mechanical games|electro-mechanical game]],<ref>{{KLOV game|12985|Periscope}}</ref> and the first arcade game to cost one [[Quarter (United States coin)|quarter]] per play.<ref>[[Steven L. Kent]] (2000), ''The First Quarter: A 25-Year History of Video Games'', p. 83, BWD Press, {{ISBN|0-9704755-0-0}}</ref> Sega's 1969 game ''Missile'' features electronic sound and a moving film strip to represent the targets on a projection screen,<ref>{{KLOV game|10600|Missile}}</ref> and its 1972 game ''Killer Shark'' features a mounted light gun with targets whose movement and reactions are displayed using [[Rear projection effect|back]] [[Image projector|image projection]] onto a screen.<ref>{{KLOV game|10821|Killer Shark}}</ref> [[Nintendo]] released the Beam Gun in 1970 and the [[Laser Clay Shooting System]] in 1973,<ref>[http://nintendoland.com/History/Hist2.php History of Nintendo β Toys & Arcades (1969β1982)] ([https://web.archive.org/web/20100329080322/http://nintendoland.com/History/Hist2.php archived]), Nintendo Land</ref> followed in 1974 by the arcade game ''[[Wild Gunman]]'', which uses [[movie projector|film projection]] to display the target on the screen.<ref>{{KLOV game|10432|Wild Gunman (1974)}}</ref> In 1975, Sega released the early [[Cooperative video game|co-operative]] light gun shooters ''Balloon Gun''<ref>{{KLOV game|12795|Balloon Gun}}</ref> and ''Bullet Mark''.<ref>{{KLOV game|12685|Bullet Mark}}</ref> ===Sequential targets=== The first detection method, used by the NES Zapper, involves drawing each target sequentially in white light after the screen blacks out. The computer knows that if the diode detects light as it is drawing a square (or after the screen refreshes), then that is the target at which the gun is pointed. Essentially, the diode tells the computer whether or not the player hit something, and for <var>n</var> objects, the sequence of the drawing of the targets tell the computer which target the player hit after 1 + ceil(log<sub>2</sub>(<var>n</var>)) refreshes (one refresh to determine if any target at all was hit and ceil(log<sub>2</sub>(<var>n</var>)) to do a [[Binary search algorithm|binary search]] for the object that was hit).<ref name="DuckFeedZapper">{{cite web|url=https://www.cs.columbia.edu/~sedwards/classes/2011/4840/reports/Duck-Hunt.pdf|title=DuckFeed: An Embedded Take on Duck Hunt Columbia University, Spring 2011 CSEE 4840: Embedded System Design|last1=Teger|first1=Daniel|last2=Rogowski|first2=Scott|date=May 13, 2011|page=5|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180623220601/http://www1.cs.columbia.edu/~sedwards/classes/2011/4840/reports/Duck-Hunt.pdf|archive-date=June 23, 2018|access-date=Jan 21, 2015|last3=Dinerman|first3=Julie|last4=Ramkishun|first4=Kevin}}</ref> A side effect of this is that in some games, a player can point the gun at a light bulb or other bright light source, pull the trigger, and cause the system to falsely detect a hit on the first target every time. Some games account for this either by detecting if all targets appear to match or by displaying a black screen and verifying that no targets match.<ref name="DuckFeedZapper"/> ===Infrared emitters=== The [[Wii Remote]] uses an infrared video camera in the handheld controller, rather than a simple sensor.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://wiibrew.org/wiki/Wiimote#IR_Camera |title=Wiimote |publisher=WiiBrew |date=2011-04-26 |access-date=2011-06-01}}</ref> Wesley Yin-Poole stated that the Wii Remote was not as accurate as a traditional light gun.<ref>{{cite web|last1=Yin-Poole|first1=Wesley|title=Resident Evil: Umbrella Chronicles Review|url=https://www.videogamer.com/reviews/resident-evil-umbrella-chronicles-review|website=Video Gamer|language=en|date=January 6, 2008|accessdate=February 11, 2022}}</ref> [[GunCon|GunCon 3]] is an infrared light gun used for the PlayStation 3 port of ''[[Time Crisis 4]]''.<ref>{{cite web |first=Brian | last=Ashcraft |url=http://kotaku.com/gaming/reload/how-the-time-crisis-4-light-gun-works-268674.php |title=Reload: How The Time Crisis 4 Light Gun Works |publisher=Kotaku.com |date=2007-06-13 |access-date=2011-06-01 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100212062339/http://kotaku.com/gaming/reload/how-the-time-crisis-4-light-gun-works-268674.php |archive-date=2010-02-12 }}</ref> ===Rectangular positioning=== Rectangular positioning is similar to image capture, except it disregards any on-screen details and only determines the rectangular outline of the game screen. By determining the size and distortion of the rectangle outline of the screen, it is possible to calculate where exactly the light gun is pointing. This method was introduced by the Sinden Lightgun.<ref>{{cite web |title=Sinden Lightgun |url=https://lightgungamer.com/sinden-lightgun/ |website=Lightgun Gamer |date=12 March 2019 |access-date=12 March 2019}}</ref>
Edit summary
(Briefly describe your changes)
By publishing changes, you agree to the
Terms of Use
, and you irrevocably agree to release your contribution under the
CC BY-SA 4.0 License
and the
GFDL
. You agree that a hyperlink or URL is sufficient attribution under the Creative Commons license.
Cancel
Editing help
(opens in new window)