How PlayStation 5’s DualSense Revolutionized Game Development

It has almost been a month since the new-gen consoles launched. Now we can critically analyze the performance and abilities of both the consoles. Both the consoles are beasts when it comes to performance, however, the PlayStation takes it home with the experience.

PlayStation 5 gets more marks when it comes to immersive gaming, and it is not because of the 8K resolution or minimal load times. Sony’s DualSense controller makes all the difference here. It would be a shame to call the DualSense an upgrade from the previous DualShock. This controller is in a different league altogether, something Microsoft was unable to achieve with the launch of the Series X/S.

The DualSense controller features haptic feedback and adaptive triggers. No, they are not fancy names for the previous rumble feature, but way more complicated and precise. This amount of precision is exactly what is changing how developers create games.

Nicolas Doucet, Studio Director and Creative Director at Sony’s Worldwide Studios Japan Studio, spoke to Digitaltrends on how the DualSense changed the development process. He explained that the DualSense uses audio waveforms to enable the vibrations inside the controller.

“In classic game controllers, you have motors that spin. And as they spin, they need time to start and stop spinning. So what you get is an increase, and a buzz, and then it comes down. With waveforms, you’re able to have really pinpoint spikes. That’s the part that gameplay programmers will open their eyes to.”

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How the DualSense controller is changing PlayStation games

Astro’s Playroom is a  game that comes pre-loaded in the PS5 and gamers can play it right after the first boot. Sony specifically crafted this game to highlight the powers of the DualSense. Players can distinguish the spikes when Astro jumps on a mushy surface compared to a hard one. They can even feel individual raindrops or falling objects.

The experience is not enhanced just by what players feel in their hands, but by the combination of what they see and hear.

“The reason it feels good isn’t just the haptic feedback — it’s a combination of what you see, what you hear, and what you feel. This is why we make quite a big use of the controller’s speaker, because having the sound and what you feel coming from the same location adds something to the experience.”

Beyond Astro’s Playroom, Call of Duty Black Ops Cold War weapons respond to the adaptive triggers remarkably. They create a stunning resemblance of real-world recoil in different weapons. Even Fifa 2K21 is supposed to be ‘felt’ with the DualSense. However, not all games in PS5 were optimized enough to make full use of the controller, like Assassin’s Creed Valhalla.

2021 games for the PS5 will be the ones to watch out for.

Watch this space for more news on PlayStation.